Then Hawkins took over. He finished 10-of-17 for 190 yards and 2 touchdown passes to DJ Epps — a 29-yarder and a 21-yarder on 3rd-and-7 — and added 123 rushing yards and 3 more scores on 18 carries. That's 313 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns, and it came without a single interception.
That zero matters because Virginia's defense entered the day as the best story on either roster — a turnover in 12 of its last 13 games, 4 interceptions through 2 outings, second-most in the country. Against Hawkins, that group forced nothing. Chris Talley, West Virginia's banged-up running back, wasn't even on the game-day roster, and it didn't matter — Hawkins carried the offense without him.
West Virginia led 21-14 at halftime, Virginia tied it in the third quarter, and Epps' second touchdown catch put the Mountaineers back ahead for good moments later. A missed Virginia field goal handed the ball right back, and Hawkins answered with a 78-yard drive he finished himself on a 5-yard touchdown run with 5:24 left.
Virginia defensive end Fisher Camac called it "like another dagger" afterward, adding, "It's tough, but we won't let this one game define us." The Cavaliers fall to 2-1 and haven't opened a season 3-0 since 2019 — the exact drought the pregame numbers flagged as in play.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is 3-0 for the first time in Rich Rodriguez's second stint in Morgantown, and it happened behind a quarterback who hasn't thrown an interception through 3 games worth of attempts. That's the number Virginia's ranked defense couldn't put a dent in.