Virginia Moves to 2-0 After Road Triumph at Wake Forest

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — They fell behind by 14 points in the second quarter and by 13 points in the third, but the Virginia Cavaliers never stopped believing in themselves and never stopped battling. They saw their perseverance rewarded in stunning fashion Saturday night at Allegacy Stadium.

UVA outscored Wake Forest 14-0 in the fourth quarter to secure a 31-30 victory in the ACC opener for both teams. For the Wahoos, who are in their third season under head coach Tony Elliott, the win was their first over the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem since 2002.

The Hoos’ fourth-quarter comeback started with a 66-yard touchdown drive. Its final three plays were passes from quarterback Anthony Colandrea to wide receiver Trell Harris that gained 18, 15 and 24 yards, respectively.

UVA linebacker Trey McDonald, pressed into service after starter Kam Robinson left with an injury, stopped Wake’s ensuing drive with a fourth-down sack, and the offense went back to work.

This time the Cavaliers marched 66 yards for a touchdown, a 1-yard sneak by reserve quarterback Grady Brosterhous with 2:07 remaining, and Will Bettridge’s extra point made it 31-30. The drive included two fourth-down receptions by wideout Malachi Fields, who also drew a pass-interference call on Wake. Fields finished with 11 receptions for 148 yards, both career highs.

“He’s a big-time player,” Colandrea said of No. 8.

The Deacons had two more possessions. The first ended when UVA’s Malcolm Greene forced a fumble that fellow safety Antonio Clary recovered at the Cavaliers’ 29. The Hoos went three-and-out, but Wake used all three of its timeouts stopping the clock, and Daniel Sparks’ 59-yard punt rolled to the Deacons’ 5 with 57 seconds left.

Wake didn’t get back to the midfield, and when the final second ticked off the clock, a celebration started on the UVA sideline that continued in the visitors’ locker room.

Little came easily for the Cavaliers on Saturday night. Wake scored a touchdown on its first drive, and Virginia’s offense sputtered at times early. On the Hoos’ second possession, Harris dropped a Colandrea pass on what would have been a 55-yard touchdown play.

Later in the first quarter, after back-to-back catches of 21 and 45 yards by Fields moved the Hoos to the Wake 3, they stalled at the 1 and had to settle for 19-yard field goal by Bettridge.

That made it 7-3, and the Deacons stretched their lead to 17-3 before Virginia settled into an offensive rhythm. Colandrea threw two touchdown passes in the first half, both to tight end Tyler Neville, a graduate transfer from Harvard.

Neville, who finished with four receptions for 68 yards, became the first UVA tight end since Tom Santi in 2007 to have two TD catches in a game.

On a night when Virginia totaled 430 yards, most came through the air. Fields dominated throughout, and Colandrea completed 33 of 43 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions. Harris, a transfer from Kent State, had a career-best seven catches for 91 yards.

UVA’s defense battled injuries all night — and Wake’s offense finished with 544 yards. But the Cavaliers recorded six sacks, with McDonald, Clary, Robinson, safety Jonas Sanker, linebacker James Jackson and end Chico Bennett Jr. collecting one each.

Virginia, which ended its five-game losing streak in the series, improved to 35-17 all-time against Wake. The victory was the Cavaliers’ first over the Deacons since 2007.

“This was a program win,” Elliott said.

UP NEXT: Former ACC rivals UVA and Maryland renewed their series last year in College Park, and they’ll meet again next Saturday night in Charlottesville. The 8 o’clock game will air on ACC Network.

The Terrapins (1-1) now belong to the Big Ten, and this will be their first visit to Scott Stadium since Oct. 13, 2012, when they knocked off the Cavaliers 27-20. Maryland lost 27-24 on a last-second field goal by Michigan State on Saturday.

Last year at SECU Stadium, the Terps broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and rolled to a 42-14 win over the Cavaliers.

In a series that started in 1919, Maryland holds a 45-32-2 lead.

Virginia Team Notes 

• With the win, the Cavaliers snapped a five-game losing skid in the series with Wake Forest and improved to 35-17 in the all-time series, which began in 1889.
• Virginia collected its first win in Winston-Salem since 2002, when it scored the final three touchdowns to erase a 17-point deficit and win, 38-34.
• Virginia is off to its first 2-0 start since 2021 and only the third since the 2013 season.
• UVA trailed for nearly 58 minutes until Will Bettridge’s extra point with 2:07 remaining. Virginia trailed by as many as 14 points, the largest deficit overcome in a victory since 2021 (at Louisville).
• Wake Forest was the first UVA opponent to score a touchdown on the opening drive since JMU on Sept. 9, 2023, a span of 11 games.
• UVA had not won a game when an opponent has scored a touchdown on the opening drive since it defeated Georgia Tech on Oct. 23, 2021.
• The Virginia defense totaled five sacks, the most in a game since recording eight at Georgia Tech on Oct. 20, 2022.
• The Cavaliers won their first ACC opener on the road since knocking off Pitt in 2019. UVA came into the contest having lost three-straight ACC openers.

Virginia Individual Player Notes 

• Malachi Fields finished with career high in receptions (11) and receiving yards (148). He recorded his second-straight 100-yard receiving effort. It marks the ninth-straight game a UVA wide receiver has gone over the century mark dating back to last season.
• Fields has 329 yards receiving in his last three games, which includes the 2023 season finale.
• Trell Harris caught a career-high seven passes for 91 yards, three yards shy of matching his career best.
• Tyler Neville recorded his first two-touchdown game of his career, catching first half scores of 18 and 24 yards. He now has 10 career touchdown receptions (8 at Harvard, 2 at UVA). He’s the first Cavalier tight end with two touchdown receptions in a game since Tom Santi against Duke on Sept. 8, 2007. Neville finished the night with four catches for 68 yards.
• Quarterback Anthony Colandrea completed 33 of 43 passes (77 percent) for 357 yards and matched a career-best with three touchdown passes. His 33 completions were a career-high and the most by a UVA quarterback since 2021 (Brennan Armstrong, 36 at Pitt).
• For the second-straight week, Antonio Clary led the team in tackles with 11. Fellow safety Jonas Sanker finished with 10 tackles including seven solo efforts and his first career sack.
• In his only rushing attempt of the night, quarterback Grady Brosterhous plunged forward for a one-yard rushing touchdown with 2:07 remaining, which ultimately led to Will Bettridge’s game-winning PAT. It was the first rushing touchdown of Brosterhous’ career.
• Linebacker Trey McDonald made a career-high nine tackles (four solo) and was credited with his first collegiate sack.
• With 1:24 remaining, Malcolm Greene forced a fumble after Wake’s Taylor Morin hauled in a 20-yard reception, and Antonio Clary recovered the ball at the UVA 29-yard line. Greene’s forced fumble was the second of his career and first as a Cavalier.
• Jahmeer Carter made his 25^th consecutive start, the longest active streak on the team as a Cavalier.