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Hine finally gets one

After being denied the end zone several times last year on long kickoff returns, Adam Hine finally got there on Saturday against Virginia. Hine took a kickoff near the goal line, and raced untouched up the middle 99 yards for the score. His jaunt gave BYU a 41-26 lead with 7:48 remaining, and came after a Virginia TD that made it a one-score game. BYU's defense has to be gassed, because Virginia has held the ball for 35 minutes to BYU's 16 with 7 minutes left to play.

Juergens finds the end zone

Mitchell Juergens has scored his first career touchdown for BYU, and the Cougars have a 34-19 lead at LaVell Edwards Stadium with 10 minutes remaining. Juergens; 50-yard catch was set up by Taysom Hill's running ability, because Virginia's DB left Juergens when Hill broke out of the pocket, and he was wide open for the big play. BYU looks like it is going to pull this one out despite a so-so defensive effort. The Cavaliers have 336 yards to BYU's 329 with 10:17 left to play.

BYU takes control

It took awhile, but BYU finally took control of Saturday's game against Virginia with a clutch, 10-play drive that covered 73 yards. Taysom Hill made several excellent throws on the drive, and also picked up yards with his running ability. Jamaal Williams' 3-yard scamper made it 27-16 with 2:23 left in the third quarter. Virginia QB Greyson Lambert was injured on the Cavaliers' next possession while delivering a throw for a first down on third-and-11. Matt Johns replaced him.

Hill breaks loose

Virginia had bottled up Taysom Hill in the first half, but the BYU quarterback finally found the end zone with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. Hill's 15-yard scamper gave BYU a 20-16 lead with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter. Hill started to run more on the drive, after BYU took over midfield thanks to an 18-yard punt return by Devon Blackmon. The sequence might prove costly for BYU, however. Receiver Jordan Leslie hobbled off the field after an incomplete pass during the drive and was being helped to the locker room as Hill was running for the touchdown.

Penalties killing BYU

The Cougars were able to overcome a slew of penalties in their wins over UConn and Houston, but Virginia is better than those teams, and BYU might not be able to get away with the sloppy play today. At halftime, BYU has been penalized eight times already, for 85 yards. The Hoos have a 16-13 lead, kicking a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Three of Virginia's scoring drives in the first half were aided by BYU pass interference penalties. The story of the game so far, though, is Virginia's ability to move the football on BYU's defense. The Hoos have 248 total yards, while BYU has just 165. BYU's defense was on the field way too much in the second quarter, and couldn't stop the Hoos on third-and-long several times. Taysom Hill had a decent first half, completing 7 of 11 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. He's rushed seven times for 29 yards. BYU needs to get Jamaal Williams more involved in the offense; he has carried the ball just six times, for 27 yards.

Daniel gets a pick

Before failing to get a turnover against Houston last week, the Cougars had intercepted at least one pass in 12 straight games. The streak is back, and now stands at one, after Robertson Daniel picked off UVa QB Greyson Lambert in the second quarter. Daniel returned the pick 32 yards to the Virginia 23, but BYU couldn't get a first down and Trevor Samson came on for a 37-yard field goal. With 4:39 left in the first half, the score is tied at 13-13.

BYU DBs struggling BYU's defensive backs are struggling against Virginia's corps of excellent receivers. A pair of pass interference penalties have helped the Hoos on two of their scoring drives. The latest was a flag on BYU's Skye PoVey that put UVa in field goal range. A 42-yarder gave Virginia a 13-10 lead.

A shootout at LES? Didn't seem like that would be possible, but it's 10-10 with 13:48 left in the second quarter. BYU answered a Virginia field goal with a quick 75-yard drive, set up by Devon Blackmon's 56-yard reception. A 9-yard touchdown pass from Taysom Hill to Jordan Leslie tied it up at 10-10. Blackmon was wide open on the play, but couldn't outrun a Virginia defensive back and was caught at the 19. Hoos tack on a field goal BYU can't stop Virginia's offense, which was about the last thing anyone predicted would happen today at LES. The Hoos drove 75 yards in 12 plays and reached the BYU 1. But on 4th-and-inches, a false start penalty backed Virginia up and the Hoos settled for a 23-yard field goal.

Drive stalls

Taysom Hill heated up on BYU's second possession, connecting with Jordan Leslie for several nice gains. On 4th-and-1 at the Virginia 5, however, Paul Lasike false-started on a hard count when the Cougars were trying to draw the Hoos off-sides. BYU settled for Trevor Samson's 28-yard field goal to get on the board. Hill looked better on the drive after a bad start, patiently waiting for plays to develop before taking off downfield.

Bad start for BYU

BYU is off to a horrible start at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars trail 7-0 less than five minutes into the game. Virginia returned the opening kickoff to the 47, then scored four plays later on QB Greyson Lambert's sneak from the 1. Lambert's 37-yard scamper set it up, after Rob Daniel was flagged for pass interference on the first play from scrimmage. The Cougars took over at the 25 and went nowhere; After two running plays netted 3 yards, Hill dropped back to pass but was hurried and then dropped when he tried to run. The flag bearers Saturday were Leon White (alumni), Logan Taele (team) and Sione Takitaki (special teams).

Kaufusi warms up

On a gorgeous fall afternoon in Provo, BYU will play host to the red-hot Virginia Cavaliers at 1:30 p.m. today. One storyline before the game was the health of BYU linebacker Bronson Kaufusi, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the game at Texas. Kaufusi did not play in last week's 33-25 win over Houston. He warmed up prior to the BYU-UVa game, but had his ankle heavily taped. Another linebacker, Harvey Langi, also warmed up — but he was wearing No. 21. That's the number he wore at Utah. Prior to today, Langi had been wearing No. 41.

Whiteout in Provo

Expect to see a lot of white today at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Hosting Virginia today at 1:30 p.m., the Cougars will be decked out in the all-white uniforms that they usually wear on the road. Fans have been encouraged to wear white as well, and free white T-shirts were draped over chairs and benches some two hours before kickoff. Today's game will be televised nationally by ESPN. It's a big one — as every game will be for the 3-0 Cougars this season, until they lose. Virginia knocked off the Cougars 19-16 last year in Charlottesville, and has improved immensely after going 2-10 in 2013. The Hoos (2-1) could easily be 3-0 — they gave up three defensive touchdowns in a 28-20 loss to UCLA in their season-opener. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said BYU has to take care of the football today, after three turnovers in the 33-25 win over Houston. Virginia leads the nation with 13 takeaways, and has an opportunistic defense that will be looking to shut down BYU QB Taysom Hill and force him into mistakes.

On ESPN's GameDay, hosts Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso all picked BYU to win, but all three said the game woud be close. BYU is a 14.5-point favorite.