The Cavaliers took the field in their first ACC road game of 2024 at Wake Forest, and won an instant classic. For the first time since the days of Matt Schaub and Heath Miller, Virginia (2-0, 1-0 ACC) won on the road against the Demon Deacons (1-1, 0-1 ACC). Senior receiver Malachi Fields had 11 catches for 148 yards en route to an exhilarating victory.
Virginia’s first drive started with a quick pop pass to graduate receiver Chris Tyree in an attempt to get him involved in the game early after last week’s struggles. But on third-and-nine, sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea kept the ball on a speed option and got wrapped up short of the line. Graduate punter Daniel Sparks subsequently took the field for a punt.
Senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier then took over for Wake Forest and quickly strung together three passes for 53 yards getting the Demon Deacons down to the Virginia 17-yard line. One play later, junior running back Demond Claiborne took the handoff and hit a wide open hole on the run-pass option, zipping into the endzone.
Colandrea responded by connecting with senior receiver Malachi Fields for a 19-yard gain. On the next play, Colandrea went play action and launched a perfect pass 50 yards downfield to junior receiver Trell Harris — who was wide open — and let it fall through his fingertips at the goal line. A total gut-punch. One incompletion later, Sparks came out for another punt.
The Deacons took over and went back to the slow mesh playstyle, but freshman linebacker Kam Robinson penetrated and sacked Bachmeier. On third down though, Bachmeier could not connect on a back shoulder to senior receiver Donovan Greene who was blanketed by graduate corner Jam Jackson.
Virginia took over and counted on Fields to give them a spark. Fields delivered, first with a rolling 21-yard catch and again with a monstrous 45-yard catch-and-run down to Wake Forest’s three-yard line. A designed run for Colandrea advanced the ball down just a few inches away from the Demon Deacon endzone. But the Wake Forest defensive line came up with two stops on the goal line, and Virginia had to settle for three points. Junior kicker Will Bettridge came on and hit the field goal to cut the Cavalier deficit to 3-7.
Virginia forced Wake into a third-and-five, but Bachmeier fired a perfect, low-trajectory deep pass over Jackson for 42 yards. Three straight carries by Claiborne got the Deacons down to the Virginia three-yard line, but the Cavalier secondary forced an incompletion on third-and-goal, forcing redshirt junior kicker Matthew Dennis to kick and ultimately only allow Wake Forest to tack on three more points. Virginia and the Demon Deacons then traded punts.
The Cavaliers’ first drive of the second quarter started at the 37-yard line. On third down, Colandrea had his pass batted straight into the arms of senior defensive end Kevin Pointer — the first interception by a Wake Forest defensive lineman since 2019. The 285-pound Pointer intercepted the ball in stride and sensed glory but was hawked down by Colandrea at Virginia’s 9-yard line.
Two plays later, Claiborne powered over the goal line for a touchdown to put Wake Forest up 17-3. Back on offense, Harris extended the drive with a diving catch outside the hashes. Colandrea then connected with Harris again before throwing a perfect 18-yard strike to graduate tight end Tyler Neville who went up above the rim to snag it for the touchdown. The Cavaliers kept cutting into the lead, now only down 10-17.
Wake Forest’s ensuing possession started with a 31-yard Bachmeier strike on another slow-mesh run-pass option play. Senior safety Jonas Sanker then disrupted Wake Forest’s march with a sack on second down. Joining in, graduate defensive back Corey Thomas Jr. tackled Greene short of the first down, but Dennis knocked through the 38-yard field goal to extend the Demon Deacon lead to 10.
On the ensuing offensive drive, Colandrea connected with sophomore receiver Jaden Gibson who turned the corner for a 26-yard gain. Colandrea then threw a quick pass on third-and-three to graduate tight end Sage Ennis who was knocked down a yard short of the first. Virginia elected to attempt a fourth down conversion, and Colandrea ripped a throw from the far hash to the sideline and Harris who brought it down. On the following play, Colandrea threw his second touchdown to Neville running wide open up the seam. Despite some chaos on special teams with a blocked Sparks punt a few minutes later, the score would remain 17-20 heading into halftime.
Wake Forest got the ball after halftime and led a lengthy scoring drive that took half of the third quarter, and Bachmeier capped the fourteen play drive with a touchdown pass in the front corner of the endzone, extending the score to 17-27.
Colandrea tried to respond, but his throw did not have the necessary height and the Demon Deacons nabbed the easy interception.
Wake Forest continued to kill the Cavaliers with the slow mesh plays as Bachmeier ripped a 34 yard pass to a wide open receiver. With the Demon Deacons knocking on the door, Virginia’s defense held them to a field goal keeping it a two possession game.
Needing a touchdown, the Cavalier offense sputtered again going three-and-out. However, Wake Forest only managed to take 21 seconds off the clock before punting.
Colandrea managed to drive the Cavaliers over midfield with completions to Neville and Fields. A holding penalty put the Cavaliers in a first-and-20. Virginia dialed up back-to-back screen passes to Harris for eight and 15 yards, respectively, to erase the deficit. The Cavaliers rode the hot hand and went back to Harris a third time, this time for a 24-yard touchdown to cut the lead to six with just over 10 and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Virginia’s defense took the field, desperate for a stop, and got it. On fourth-and-nine from the Cavaliers’ 36-yard line, junior linebacker Trey McDonald flew in for a huge sack on Bachmeier.
Virginia ran the ball three straight times setting up a fourth-and-two, short of midfield. The Cavaliers elected to pass and Colandrea found Fields over the middle for the first down. On the following play, Colandrea went deep down the sideline to Fields again who drew a pass interference call. Fields came up with yet another clutch fourth down conversion at the Wake Forest nine-yard line.
A Colandrea run got Virginia down to the one yard line setting up a QB sneak opportunity for junior quarterback Grady Brosterhous, who charged in for the touchdown. Virginia took their first lead of the game — a 31-30 advantage — with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter.
On third down Bachemeier completed a 19 yard pass to senior receiver Taylor Morin who raced over midfield. On the next play Bachemeier hit another wide open receiver who turned to advance but was stripped of the football by graduate cornerback Malcom Greene. The fate of the game bounced on the turf — a frenzy for the football. First a recovery by Wake Forest. Then an incredible effort by graduate safety Antonio Clary to force and recover another fumble, turning it back over to the Cavaliers.
Virginia ran three plays and Wake Forest exhausted their remaining three timeouts. Sparks came out and hit an unorthodox but effective punt pinning the Demon Deacons down to the five.
Bachemeir took a sack on first down and fired for a 24-yard gain on second down. With five seconds left, Wake Forest executed a chaotic hook-and-ladder play but to no avail — Virginia won 31-30 in an all-time barnburner. The Cavaliers begin the season 2-0 for the first time in Coach Tony Elliott’s tenure.
Virginia will return to Scott Stadium Saturday for a rivalry game against Maryland. The game will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.
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