CBS SportsLine wire reports
Oct. 24, 1998

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Thomas Jones wasn't the best running back on the field Saturday. That honor went to Ray Robinson, North Carolina State's freshman tailback, who had two huge runs and 202 rushing yards in all.

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But after a key third-down pass from Aaron Brooks to Anthony Southern finally got the No. 16 Cavaliers going late in the third quarter, it was Jones who put the finishing touches on a 92-yard, nine-play drive.

"We were down and we needed a touchdown to go ahead," the ACC's rushing leader said after a 117-yard, two-touchdown performance lifted Virginia to a 23-13 victory over the Wolfpack. "That's all that was on my mind."

The victory allowed Virginia (6-1, 4-1 ACC) to stay in the conference title race, especially with front-runners Florida State and Georgia Tech playing Saturday night. The Wolfpack fell to 4-3, 2-2.

The victory also was costly as safety Anthony Poindexter sustained what coach George Welsh described as a sprained left knee at minimum, and defensive end Travis Griffith dislocated his left elbow. Poindexter is expected to have an MRI on Sunday.

Until late in the third quarter, Virginia looked like it might follow its 41-38 loss to Georgia Tech with a clunker against the Wolfpack, which last year deprived the Cavaliers of a bowl bid with a 31-24 victory.

THEN BROOKS HIT SOUTHERN FOR 22 yards on third-and-5 from the Virginia 15, only the Cavaliers' fourth third-down conversion of the game, and gave the offense the lift it needed after a series of drops and failed plays.

"I think there was a lot of enthusiasm coming off that play," said Brooks, who completed only 8 of 23 passes for 130 yards.

Brooks hit Terence Wilkins for 16 on the next play, Antwoine Womack ran for 22 yards and Jones did the rest, carrying on four straight plays, including an 8-yard run on third-and-2 and then the 9-yard scoring burst.

That gave the Cavaliers a 16-13 lead, but it wasn't over.

North Carolina State, which beat No. 6 Florida State and No. 21 Syracuse earlier this season, drove from its 19 to the Cavaliers 23 before a 16-yard holding penalty and Patrick Kearney's sack of Jamie Barnette pushed the Wolfpack back to the 44, out of Daniel Deskevich's field-goal range.

"I WAS TRYING TO HOLD THE BALL for as long as I could until one of our receivers could get open," Barnette said of the sack, which came on third-and-29 from the Virginia 42. "But Kearney did a great job."

Barnette finished 21-of-45 for 261 yards and became the school's career total offense leader with 6,104 yards. Nine of his passes were caught by Chris Coleman for 158 yards, and four went to Torry Holt for 33 yards, ending his string of 100-yard games at five. Holt's longest went for 12 yards.

Antwoine Womack finished the scoring, running 21 yards for a touchdown with 1:20 to play after Tim Spruill's interception of Barnette's pass.

Womack gained 109 yards in 21 carries.

Until Jones took over late in the third quarter, the game belonged to Robinson, who came in with 60 carries for 241 yards in his first six games and nearly doubled his yardage total. He ran 88 yards for a touchdown on the Wolfpack's third play, and added a 62-yard burst to set up a field goal.

"HE'S JUST STARTING TO SHOW his talent," Barnette said of Robinson.

The 88-yarder was the second-longest run in school history, the second-longest ever against Virginia and came only a week after the Wolfpack managed only 18 rushing yards all day in its 27-24 victory against Duke.

Jones drew Virginia even, capping a 10-play, 82-yard drive with a 14-yard run, but Robinson did it again in the second quarter. This time, he ran 62 yards from the Wolfpack 10 to set up Deskevich's first field goal, a 39-yarder. Deskevich added a 29-yarder as time ran out in the first half, capping a drive from the Wolfpack 16 to the Virginia 12 in the final 1:23.

The first half also featured another punting mistake by North Carolina State, this one producing a safety for Virginia as Devon Simmons blocked Jesse Wade's punt from his end zone out of the end zone. It was the third time this season that the Wolfpack's punting unit gave up a safety.