Penn State kicker Sam Ficken missed a game-winning 42-yard field goal as time expired, allowing Virginia to escape with a 17-16 win Saturday at Scott Stadium.
The Nittany Lions sophomore kicker missed four field goals in the game, and also had an extra point blocked.
UVA was trailing 16-10 with 8:04 left in the game, when junior quarterback Michael Rocco led the 'Hoos on a 12-play, 86 yard scoring drive.
Rocco connected with sophomore tight end Jake McGee on a 6 yard touchdown with 1:28 left, and Drew Jarrett knocked home the extra point to give the Cavaliers the lead.
McGee says, "I think the bigger part of it is we had to fight to win it. We were not playing well on offense, the defense was playing great. It was great that we could come back and win a close game."
McGee led UVA with 99 yards receiving.
Rocco was 21-of-33 for 258 yards passing, with 2 touchdowns and one interception.
"We have guys who were determined to get the job done," says Rocco. "Even if we had things go against us today, we did our best to overcome. We've got competitors, we have winners on this team."
The Virginia defense allowed Penn State (0-2) to run 85 plays on for 330 yards on offense, but kept PSU from putting points on the board.
Head coach Mike London says, "Just a tremendous job by the defense. We weren't clicking on all cylinders, but we clicked enough to eke out a win here."
Virginia (2-0) will open up ACC play this Saturday, as the Cavaliers travel to face Georgia Tech at 3:30pm.
