Following an eerily similar script to Boston College a week ago, this game took a heartbreaking twist. After falling into a 10-point deficit, sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea and company rallied to retake the lead deep into the fourth quarter. Virginia’s defense displayed its characteristic second-half fortitude — but in the game’s most crucial moment, they came up short in a 24-20 defeat at Scott Stadium.
“We just had a couple of critical mistakes,” Coach Tony Elliott said. “We had an opportunity that we just let slip away.”
Despite these mistakes the game remained close. Adhering to Virginia’s recent winning formula, Colandrea posted his third straight turnover-free game. His 279 passing yards and 58 percent completion percentage are fairly impressive considering his offensive line had an awful outing and his receivers struggled to get open against Louisville’s defensive backs. Senior receiver Malachi Fields racked up 129 yards receiving, but much of this production came while draped by Cardinal defenders.
From the first possession, the Cavaliers came out on fire — punishing Louisville with a blistering 75-yard touchdown drive to start the game. Junior quarterback Grady Brosterhous picked up the opening score on his signature quarterback sneak play. However, Virginia failed to score again in the first half.
Colandrea found success keeping the ball on read options but it was tough sledding for the Cavalier running backs, who managed just 45 yards in the first half. Virginia’s season-long red zone struggles persisted as the Cavaliers were turned away from Louisville’s three-yard line empty-handed on fourth down instead of settling for a field goal attempt. Virginia’s passing game wasn’t incompetent, but Colandrea dropped his eyes too often and took a beating when he did decide to run.
The Cardinals did not fare any better, thanks to another solid showing by the Cavalier defense. Sophomore linebacker Kam Robinson and senior safety Jonas Sanker were everywhere for Virginia, flying around and forcing timely stops. On a fourth-and-one on Louisville’s first drive, Robinson came up with a huge tackle for loss to turn the Cardinals over on downs. Senior quarterback Tyler Shough was kept in check as Virginia’s secondary displayed poise in coverage.
Eventually, Louisville did manage to get on the scoreboard — relying on the efforts of freshman running back Isaac Brown, who plagued Virginia all afternoon. Brown displayed elite burst, jetting into the endzone from seven yards out on an outside zone play. None of the Cavaliers’ defenders so much as laid a hand on Brown, as the game was then tied 7-7.
Both offenses had conservative first-half approaches, opting not to threaten either defense with vertical shots down the field. This resulted in congested and unproductive attacks with a focus on preventing turnovers. Going into halftime, neither offense was able to do much aside from a few scarcely productive drives.
Louisville’s 14th-ranked passing attack could only be held in check for so long though. And sure enough, on the second play of the third quarter, Shough connected with senior receiver Ja’Corey Brooks — who bounced off a tackle and raced for a 61-yard catch-and-run. Virginia’s bend-but-don’t-break defensive strategy was a smart ploy though, as the Cardinals were held to a field goal.
The game then began to slip away from Virginia as it had a punt blocked and then allowed a 14-yard Brown touchdown on the next play putting them down by 17-7. Once again, it was an outside zone play to the left side, and again Brown was able to run basically untouched.
But back on offense, the game was far from over. This gritty Cavaliers team has been down before this season, and they know when times get tough, senior receiver Malachi Fields is the man to turn to. Fields caught four passes for 70 yards and completed a 22-yard pass of his own in the third quarter. His efforts set up two field goals by junior kicker Will Bettridge, cutting Louisville's lead to 17-13 entering the fourth quarter.
The tide suddenly turned when a Robinson sack forced the Cardinals to attempt a field goal — which senior kicker Brock Travelstead missed. Colandrea and the offense then got the ball back with a chance to take the lead.
With the Cavaliers threatening, Louisville walked everybody up to the line showing massive pressure on a third-and-six. Colandrea snapped the ball, recognized the cover zero defense, and swung a pass out to junior running back Xavier Brown — who caught it in stride, broke a tackle and sprinted 46 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Virginia quickly retook the lead, with a slim 20-17 advantage.
On third-and-thirteen, Shough responded by ripping a pass deep toward the end zone — but freshman safety Ethan Minter leapt in front of the receiver, nabbing the first interception of his career. Unfortunately, four plays later, Virginia’s defense was back on the field in need of another stop.
Poor tackling and soft coverage allowed the Cardinals to march down the field on an 11-play drive, capped by a Shough touchdown pass to retake a 24-20 lead. Colandrea and the offense took over with just under two minutes to go and all three timeouts, in need of a game-winning touchdown.
In an obvious passing situation, the Cavaliers’ offensive line held up as Colandrea rifled three straight completions to move into Louisville territory. Three incompletions targeting Malachi Fields put Virginia in a fourth-and-ten with the game on the line. Colandrea faded away as he threw a pass into strong coverage towards graduate tight end Tyler Neville and the ball fell incomplete — marking an official 24-20 defeat.
Unlike most games this season, the Cavaliers fumbled chance after chance in the fourth quarter and walked away with a puzzling loss. The run defense disappointed, allowing Isaac Brown to rush for 146 yards and two touchdowns on just 20 attempts.
“We gave up too many big plays,” Robinson said.
Elliott’s squad had abundant opportunities to take over the game, but just could not seem to consistently produce clutch plays and get past Louisville’s tight defense.
Virginia will have to rebound quickly, as it travels to Clemson for a 12 p.m. kickoff next Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network as Elliott returns to his alma mater as an opposing coach for the first time — aiming to upset the No. 10 team in the country.
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