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Middlebrook's 2 rushing TDs help Virginia overcome 10-point deficit, beat Syracuse 28-24
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- Middlebrook's 2 rushing TDs help Virginia overcome 10-point deficit, beat Syracuse 28-24
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Jekail Middlebrook rushed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and Virginia overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to beat Syracuse 28-25 on Saturday night.
Middlebrook finished with 95 yards rushing on 17 carries. Beau Pribula was 11-of-19 passing for 119 yards and a touchdown for Virginia (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
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"The leadership of the team finally made a decision to say, 'Hey, this is what we're doing,'" Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. "And they went out there and played complimentary football and they executed."
Down 17-7 at the half, Virginia began its comeback when Pribula found Da'Shawn Martin down the sideline for a 43-yard touchdown late in the third.
"In the second half, I thought we did a better job of just taking what was there, staying ahead of the chains," Elliott said. "And then that allowed us to get to a position to take that shot and convert it. And then, again, momentum can change on one play in a football game."
Middlebrook then capped Virginia's next two drives with touchdown runs of 3 and 5 yards, respectively, to make it 28-17 with 5:20 left in the game.
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"I saw (an) alley and I hit it," Middlebrook said of his two touchdowns. "I mean, there's nothing much to it."
In his first start for Syracuse, Malachi Nelson was 16-of-29 for 217 yards and a touchdown. Amari Odom, who led the Orange to a 42-41 overtime win over UConn last week, was a game-time decision Saturday and did not play.
Virginia got off to an early 7-0 lead with a 14-yard touchdown rush from Xay Davis on its opening drive. But the Cavaliers struggled from there on, going scoreless across their next six drives, three of which were three-and-outs.
"We've been talking about, we need to kill that lull in the second quarter," Virginia offensive lineman Monroe Mills said. "It's kind of plagued us for the last few games."
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Syracuse (2-3, 0-3) outgained Virginia 142-27 total yards and held a 10-2 edge in first downs in the second quarter.
Down 28-17 late in the fourth, Danny Lauter came in at quarterback and connected with Daunte Bacheyie for a 46-yard touchdown with 2:50 remaining.
Syracuse outgained Virginia 430-288 total yards.
"At the end of the day, our guys were down 10 points at half and they found a way to come back and win an ACC game," Elliott said. "So, I mean, we're gonna, we're gonna enjoy this. We're gonna celebrate it. We're not gonna apologize for winning any football games around here."
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Up next
Virginia: Plays next Saturday at No. 24 SMU.
Syracuse: Hosts Louisville next Saturday.
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