Cavaliers Score 24 Unanswered in Win Over BC; Improve to 4-1

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The UVA football team fell behind 14-0 early in the second quarter but never panicked Saturday afternoon. The Cavaliers held Boston College scoreless the rest of the way and rallied for a 24-14 victory in an ACC game at Scott Stadium.

Virginia, which won three games in each of its first two seasons under head coach Tony Elliott, is now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The crowd at Scott Stadium included many members of UVA’s 1989 team, the first in program history to win the ACC title, and the current honored them with a stirring comeback.

“As a program we grew up today,” Elliott told his players afterward. “We took a step.”

The Eagles (4-2, 1-1) came in with a 7-1 all-time record against UVA, and for the first 17 minutes it appeared they would continue their dominance in the series. At the end of the first quarter, Virginia had one first down, and BC went up 14-0 with 13:08 left in the second quarter.

The Cavaliers managed to stay connected, though, and grew stronger as the game went on. The first of Will Bettridge’s three field goals made it 14-3, and pivotal sequence late in the first half kept BC from taking a commanding lead.  The Eagles picked up a first down at the UVA 35, but their next three plays netted only one yard, and they ended up punting.

Virginia took over at its 3-yard line with 1:44 left in the half. Two penalties on BC—the first a targeting call—helped the Hoos drive across midfield and into the red zone. On the final play of the half, Bettridge’s 33-yard field goal cut the Eagles’ lead to 14-6.

The Wahoos dominated the second half, coming up with three takeaways.

Defensive end Chico Bennett Jr.’s came up with first career interception after Anthony Britton tipped a pass by BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos at the line of scrimmage. Bennett Jr.’s interception gave the Hoos possession at midfield, and two plays later they had their first lead. A first-down run by tailback Kobe Pace gained 20 yards, and quarterback Anthony Colandrea teamed with wide receiver Malachi Fields on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 10:39 to play.

Colandrea then passed to wideout Andre Greene Jr. for a two-point conversion that put Virginia up 17-14.

A disastrous series followed for BC. On third-and-9 from near midfield, Castellanos fumbled, and UVA safety Jonas Sanker scooped up the ball and raced 40 yards down the right field for a touchdown with 6:02 remaining. Bettridge added the extra point to close out the scoring.

Defensive back Kendrick Smith, a graduate transfer from Penn, came up with UVA’s final takeaway, his first interception as a Cavalier with 3:04 remaining.

The Hoos finished with 339 yards of offense, to 319 for the Eagles. Colandrea completed 15 of 26 passes for 179 yards and one TD.

Three wideouts had four receptions apiece for UVA: Fields (63 yards), JR Wilson (44 yards) and Greene (24 yards). Fields, who played quarterback at nearby Monticello High School, also completed a pass on a trick play Saturday, connecting with tailback Kobe Pace for a 29-yard gain.

Pace led all rushers with 83 yards on 19 carries.

BC defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku came in leading the nation in sacks, but the Cavaliers’ offensive line didn’t allow him to significantly disrupt their passing game. UVA, meanwhile, recorded three sacks, one each by linebackers Kam Robinson and James Jackson and defensive end Kam Butler.

UP NEXT
For the first and only time this season, Virginia will play a second straight home game. At 3:30 p.m. next Saturday, UVA takes on ACC rival Louisville at Scott Stadium. The game will air on ESPN or ACC Network.

No. 22 Louisville (3-2, 1-1) lost 34-27 to visiting SMU on Saturday afternoon.

Virginia has dropped two straight games to Louisville, which leads the series 7-5. When the teams met last season, the Cardinals rallied for a 31-24 win at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville.

Virginia Team Notes 

• Virginia is 4-1 for the first time since 2019 and the sixth time since 1999 – 2019 (4-1), 2017 (4-1), 2007 (4-1), 2004 (5-0), 2003 (4-1). 
• UVA is 2-0 to start ACC play for the first time since 2019.
• Virginia has back-to-back ACC games for the first time since 2021 (vs. Duke 48-0 & vs. Georgia Tech 48-40).
• Virginia improved to 2-7 in the all-time series against BC and is now 2-2 against the Eagles at Scott Stadium.
• The Cavaliers erased a 14-point deficit, the second time this season (at Wake Forest) UVA has overcome a 14-point lead to win. It marked the first 14+ point comeback at Scott Stadium since 2019 when they trailed 17-0 against ODU after two quarters.
• UVA is now 2-0 this season when trailing after the first quarter and 2-0 when trailing at the half.
• UVA held BC scoreless over the last 43:07 of the game and scored 24 unanswered points.
• Virginia scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, the most since Louisville in 2021. Coming into the game, Boston College had not allowed a fourth quarter offensive touchdown.
• The Cavaliers scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, the most in the final stanza since 2021 at Louisville.
• UVA has not turned the ball over in back-to-back games for the first time since 2019.
• Virginia recognized members of its 1989 co-ACC championship team in between the first and second quarters. The ‘89 team finished with an overall record of 10-3 and its 10 wins are still a school single-season record.

Virginia Individual Player Notes 

• Malachi Fields led the Cavaliers with four receptions for 63 yards and scored his third touchdown of the season. All three scores have come in the last two games. Fields has a reception in 20-straight games.
• Fields completed a 29-yard pass to Kobe Pace in the 3rd quarter. It was UVA’s first completion for a first down by a non-quarterback since 2021 at Illinois (Dontayvion Wicks to Brennan Armstrong for 18 yards). Fields’ completion was the longest by a non-quarterback since Perry Jones’ 36-yard completion in 2012 to Tim Smith against Louisiana Tech.
• Chico Bennett recorded his first career interception. Today marked his 41st career collegiate football game (25 at UVA, 16 at GT). The pick was the first by a UVA defensive lineman since David Dean against Virginia Tech in 2014.
• Jonas Sanker scored his first career touchdown on a 40-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter. It was UVA’s first fumble recovery for a touchdown since Eli Hanback recovered a fumble in the end zone to seal UVA’s victory over Virginia Tech in 2019.
• In the first quarter, Terrell Jones (0.5) and Anthony Britton (0.5) teamed up to record their first career tackle-for-loss. It was Britton’s first career start.
• Kendren Smith logged his third career interception and his first as a Cavalier. He added five tackles (2 solo) and one pass break-up.
• Daniel Sparks’ 62-yard punt in the first quarter is his season long and his eighth career punt of at least 60 yards.