Acrisure Stadium is a great place for a night game. The stadium is packed, the lights are bright and the competition is fierce. Yet, amongst all the glory of the iconic venue, the Virginia football team left the venue in Pittsburgh, Pa., feeling like the best team around. With a 24-19 win against the No. 23 Panthers, the Cavaliers (5-4, 3-3 ACC) have snapped their three-game losing streak and will look to turn their season back around after getting their third comeback win after halftime this season. Coach Tony Elliott praised his team’s resiliency postgame.
“We didn’t have to play perfect, and we didn’t play perfect,” Elliott said. “But we played well, and I’m super proud of these guys.”
Virginia’s win moves it another step closer to a bowl game, as Elliott and company now sit just one win away from bowl eligibility. Though two of the Cavaliers’ three remaining opponents are ranked — putting their odds of making a bowl game at just 40 percent — they are built to be the underdog. Under Elliott, Virginia has two road wins against ranked teams, more than the previous three Cavalier coaches combined.
There are three games remaining, two of which are on the road. Virginia will have to win just one of them to earn a spot in the postseason. That being said, the Cavaliers now 3-1 on the road — so another upset is possible. In Saturday’s upset win, Elliott’s bunch showed that they have what it takes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was not easy though.
Sloppy mistakes were a killer for Virginia in the first half against Pittsburgh (7-2, 3-2 ACC). After forcing a punt on their first defensive possession and getting incredible field position, the Cavaliers promptly turned the ball over in the red zone when senior wide receiver Malachi Fields dropped a pass into the hands of Pittsburgh’s senior cornerback Tamon Lynum. This undeserving interception, which was attributed to sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea, halted Virginia’s chances of securing an early lead.
The Panthers’ persistent six man pressure — dubbed the “sharks,” for their tenacious nature and constant movement — challenged the Cavalier offensive line. While the line did stay afloat for much of the game, they gave up six sacks and had a hard time ensuring Colandrea had enough time to throw. That being said, considering the strength of the Pittsburgh defensive front, this can be marked as a decent performance for Virginia’s below-average offensive line.
At another critical focal point of play, the Panthers committed 11 penalties — which gave Virginia constant opportunities to score on offense or force punts on defense.
The Cavaliers would take advantage of some of these opportunities, playing the field position game to eventually find paydirt on a touchdown run by junior running back Xavier Brown. This rush was set up by an amazing trick play in which sophomore wide receiver Suderian Harrison threw a beautiful pass to a wide open Colandrea for 27 yards.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein was not going to allow Pittsburgh to fall too far behind though, as he threw for 121 yards in the first half. Holstein’s dual-threat ability strained the Virginia defense, and he escaped the pocket numerous times to get positive yardage. Junior running back Desmond Reid also caused problems for the Cavaliers, and emerged after a silent first quarter to get 123 all-purpose yards. Yet, it would be sixth year running back Daniel Carter who ran in Pittsburgh’s first touchdown. Drops from wide receivers would be the only problem the Panthers encountered all game on offense, as this cost them multiple times on key downs.
In a second quarter drive, graduate safety Corey Thomas Jr. — a Pittsburgh area native — committed an egregious pass interference, turning a possible incompletion into a 15 yard gain for the opposition. Back on offense, Colandrea threw a poor interception to redshirt sophomore linebacker Kyle Louis — which allowed the Panthers to take the lead before the half via consecutive field goals. By the end of the first half, Virginia had given up four sacks, five tackles-for-loss and thrown two interceptions.
In all, the first half was a success for Virginia — trailing close behind at 13-7. Despite mistakes, it minimized the fallout of errors and kept it close. However, a team needs to play two good halves to upset a ranked opponent.
Unfortunately, the Cavaliers came out of the half rather slowly. They went three-and-out on their first two drives of the half, and momentum was building exponentially in favor of the Panthers. The ejection of junior linebacker Trey McDonald for targeting in the third quarter was yet another setback contributing to a slow start. On that play, McDonald’s hit sidelined Holstein for the remainder of the contest. In Holstein’s place, junior quarterback Nate Yarnell took the reins for Pittsburgh. Holstein’s injury was one of many that Pittsburgh faced, making it much harder to quell Virginia’s hopes of stealing a win.
With the Panthers trying to extend their 13-7 lead, senior safety Jonas Sanker blocked a field goal attempt that would have extended the Pittsburgh lead to multiple possessions. With momentum now on their side, Virginia went on to score two touchdowns in the third quarter, taking a 21-13 lead going into the final quarter.
Despite a poor quarter for the Panthers, Reid would continue to toy with the Cavaliers in the second half, both as a rusher and as a returner. He kept finding gaps in what was, for the most part, a strong Virginia defense and propelled the Pittsburgh offense to many of its 17 first downs.
As for the Cavaliers’ running backs, Brown was equally dominant. He had two total touchdowns and made plays wherever offensive coordinator Des Kitchings needed him to be. However, the day was not won on offense. It was the defense stepping up after an atrocious three-game stretch of surrendering an average of over 30 points per game. Sanker had a phenomenal game that included blocking a kick, snagging an interception and netting five tackles. Sanker was ecstatic after pulling off the upset.
“Playing in a big time game, you can’t take those opportunities for granted,” Sanker said. “After this, I’ve only got three games left, so it’s all about laying it all on the field and we did that tonight.”
With the lead in the fourth quarter, all eyes were on Virginia to see how they would go about holding their advantage. In what feels like a broken record, the Cavaliers struggled to hold the lead. They promptly gave up a touchdown to senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew, bringing the lead down to just two points. The situation only got worse for Virginia when they gave the ball back to the Panthers after kicking a field goal and failing to extend the game to multiple possessions.
Down five and needing a touchdown, Pittsburgh started their final drive with just two minutes to go. Yarnell had been shaky all game, but looked quite confident at the start of this drive. However, nothing could stop a lofted deep throw from falling into the hands of Thomas, the hometown hero. This interception sealed the game. The Cavalier defense saved the day. For Thomas himself, making the game-winning play in front of his hometown crowd was a dream come true — as he got to celebrate with his mom in the stands after that play.
Fresh off of this thrilling triumph, Virginia is back on the road next week as it travels to No. 10 Notre Dame. Kickoff time and broadcast location will be announced in the upcoming days. Should the Cavaliers win next weekend, they would clinch a bowl game berth. But for now, they can return to Charlottesville with the pride and joy of a historic victory in tow.
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