A sunny autumn afternoon in Charlottesville painted the scene as the Virginia Cavaliers (4-1, 2-0 ACC) hosted the Louisville Cardinals (4-2, 1-1 ACC) on Saturday. It proved to be a thrilling contest, with the Wahoos nearly mounting a comeback to overcome a two-score deficit late in the third quarter. In the end, however, the Cardinals performed when it mattered most and held on to win the contest, 24-20.
The Cavaliers were firing on all cylinders out of the gates, with quarterback Anthony Colandrea commandeering an eleven-play drive that was capped off with a touchdown on a risky fourth-and-goal sneak by Grady Brosterhous. The trip downfield featured Colandrea proving that he is a threat both running and passing the football, scrambling twice for 18 and 13 yards, respectively, while also connecting with tight end Tyler Neville on a 19–yard pass to enter the red zone. With senior Tyler Shough at the helm, Louisville countered by executing a promising drive of their own. As they neared the red zone, however, they were stopped on a crucial 4th down and turned the ball over on downs.
The remainder of the first quarter was characterized by strong defensive stands, with the next three sequences ending in punts. Early in the second, though, Louisville’s offense finally found their footing with a six-play touchdown drive that showcased running back Isaac Brown taking off for a 23-yard gain and then a 7-yard run on the next play to wind up in the end zone. Virginia responded with a prolonged drive—nearly nine minutes—that slowly wore down the Cardinals defense. During the trip, the Cavaliers completed four different third down conversions, including a clutch pass on 3rd-and-long to Malachi Fields to extend the series. Stalling after reaching the red zone, however, offensive coordinator Des Kitchings made the controversial decision to go for it on 4th and goal from the three-yard line instead of opting for a field goal, and an incomplete pass rendered the entire drive in vain. The 7-7 tie continued all the way into halftime.
Louisville acquired the ball to begin the second half and immediately capitalized with a 61-yard pass to star wideout Ja’Corey Brooks on the second snap all the way to the UVA 18. They picked up another first down, but a costly false-start miscue and three consecutive incomplete passes forced them to settle for a field goal. The Cavaliers weren’t able to respond, though, forced to punt from deep in their own territory. A ruinous error occurred when punter Daniel Sparks booted the ball straight into the back of one of his blockers, with Louisville taking over deep in opponent territory. This brutal special teams lapse allowed the Cardinals to tack on another touchdown on the next play and extend their lead to ten. Virginia countered with a field goal after two big plays, courtesy of Fields. A three-and-out by Louisville set UVA in good field position, and after a pass-heavy drive that once again sputtered near the goal line, another Will Bettridge field goal cut the deficit down to four.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Louisville’s offense found their groove again and worked their way into the red zone, but a huge sack by Kam Robinson killed their momentum and forced them to settle for a field goal try; however, the 41-yard attempt missed the mark, and Virginia capitalized on the chance to take the lead, with Xavier Brown securing a catch, breaking a tackle, and taking off for a 46-yard touchdown catch to make it 20-17. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Shough found Chris Bell for a 45-yard pass, but two plays later, first-year safety Ethan Minter fought his way over the intended receiver to make a leaping interception and give the Cavaliers a chance to put the game away. Costly penalties, however, forced Virginia to punt from their own end zone instead, giving Louisville another chance with six minutes to go. They marched down the field with a powerful run game from Isaac Brown, accurate passes from Shough, and a patient pace that bled four minutes off of the clock. On the first play following the two-minute warning, Shough found Jamari Johnson open in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown, leaving enough time for Virginia to get one last offensive possession. Things started out promising, with Colandrea completing four passes in a row with unprecedented poise to move a total of thirty-six yards downfield and into Cardinals territory. However, the wheels fell off as soon as they crossed midfield. His next four attempts were all broken up by Louisville defenders, leading to a turnover on downs that would ultimately end the game, a 24-20 victory for the visitors.
Over the course of the game, Virginia dominated the time of possession, won the turnover battle, and outgained Louisville in total yardage, but still fell short on the scoreboard when the clock hit zero. Despite playing incredibly strongly for most of the game, both the offensive and defensive units failed to deliver when it mattered most–in crunch time with the entire outcome hanging in the balance. Blocking also fell short of expectations, which greatly restricted the run game (Colandrea was the team’s leading rusher with 84 yards, many of which came from scrambles, and running backs only combined for 62 yards on the ground). The team also sorely missed the presence of safety Antonio Clary and receivers Trell Harris and Chris Tyree, who were all sidelined this week while dealing with injuries. Ultimately, the team played very well, but it simply wasn’t enough. While there is plenty of evidence to suggest that coach Tony Elliott is slowly evolving this program into one with a winning culture, remnants of last year’s shortcomings in close games are still lingering. Both teams will be back in action next week with tough tests; Virginia will visit the 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers, while Louisville will head back to Kentucky to host the 6th-ranked Miami Hurricanes.
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