Cavaliers Come Up Short Against Louisville, 24-20

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia Cavaliers rallied for 13 unanswered points in the second half Saturday to put themselves in position to secure a dramatic comeback victory.

Louisville didn’t cooperate. The Cardinals scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 remaining, and that proved to be the difference in their 24-20 win over UVA in an ACC football game at Scott Stadium.

After Louisville’s final touchdown, Virginia (4-2, 2-1 ACC) took possession and drove across midfield to the 39-yard line with more than a minute left. Four straight incompletions followed, however, and the Cardinals (4-2, 2-1 ACC) ran out the clock.

“They made the plays at the end of the game to win the game, bottom line,” said Tony Elliott, UVA’s third-year head coach. “But we’re super proud of our guys for competing, to be in that position. We continue to, I think, take steps forward, even though we didn’t win the game.”

On the game’s opening possession, the Wahoos drove 75 yards for a touchdown, the final yard coming on a fourth-and-goal sneak by reserve quarterback Grady Brosterhous. Will Bettridge added the extra point, and the score remained 7-0 until early in the second quarter, when Louisville tailback Isaac Brown – moments after rushing for a 27-yard gain – ran it in from the 7.

Brown, a freshman, finished with 146 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

Late in the first half, with the score 7-7, the Hoos passed up what would have been a 20-yard field-attempt for Bettridge and went for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the Louisville 3. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea’s pass, intended for true freshman wide receiver Kameron Courtney, fell incomplete, and the teams went into halftime tied.

The Cardinals scored the first 10 points of the second half—on a field goal and a 14-yard run by Brown—before UVA’s comeback began. Bettridge booted two field goals in the third quarter, connecting from 31 and 23 yards, respectively, to cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to 17-13, and they regained the lead early in the fourth quarter.

On third-and-6 from the Louisville 46, Colandrea avoided the rush and lofted a pass to tailback Xavier Brown in the right flat. Brown, who’s from Lexington, Ky., caught the ball at the 40, broke a tackle and then sprinted down the sideline to the end zone. Bettridge’s PAT made it 20-17 with 10:03 to play.

Colandrea, a sophomore, led Virginia in rushing, with 84 yards on 15 carries, and completed 26 of 45 passes for 279 yards and one TD. His favorite targets were senior wideout Malachi Fields and tight end Tyler Neville, a graduate transfer from Harvard. Fields finished with nine receptions for 129 yards, his third career 100-yard receiving game, and Neville caught seven passes for 64 yards.

On defense, senior safety Jonas Sanker recorded a game-high 11 tackles to lead UVA. Sophomores Kam Robinson (linebacker) and Caleb Hardy (safety) had one sack each. True freshman safety Ethan Minter, who was pressed into service due to an Antonio Clary injury, came up with the Cavaliers’ lone takeaway when he leaped for an interception midway through the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT: Virginia (4-2, 2-1) visits Clemson (5-1, 4-0) next Saturday. The noon game will air on ACC Network.

The 10^th-ranked Tigers have won five straight since dropping their opener to Georgia. Clemson romped 49-14 over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday afternoon.

This will be Elliott’s first game against Clemson since he left Dabo Swinney’s staff after the 2021 season. Elliott is a former Clemson wide receiver who spent 11 seasons as an assistant at his alma mater.

The Cavaliers haven’t played in Death Valley since 2020, when they fell 41-23 to the Tigers. Since losing 30-10 at Scott Stadium in 2004, Clemson has won five straight over UVA. The Tigers lead the series 40-8-1.

Virginia Team Notes 

• Louisville won its third-straight meeting against Virginia and improved to 8-5 all-time against the Cavaliers. 
• Four of the last six matchups between UVA and Louisville have been decided by one score. 
• Louisville’s go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 remaining in the game was the first points by a UVA opponent in the fourth quarter since Coastal Carolina on Sept. 21, a span of 37:10. 
• The 24 points scored by Louisville matched a season low. Coming into the game, Louisville ranked 21st in the nation in offensive scoring (38.6 ppg).
• Virginia held Louisville to a season-low 231 yards passing. The Cardinals entered Saturday’s contest as the nation’s No. 13 team in passing offense (303.4 ypg).
• For the first time since 2019 (North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Liberty), Virginia tallied its third straight game with no turnovers.
• UVA is outscoring opponents 45-27 in the fourth quarter this season.
• Virginia trailed by as many as 10 points and took the lead 20-17 with 10:03 remaining in the game. It marked the third double-digit deficit UVA has overcome this season (14 points vs. Wake Forest & 14 points vs. Boston College). 
• UVA’s first touchdown (1-yard rush by Grady Brosterhous) with 9:39 left in the first quarter marked its first opening-drive score in ACC play this season. It was also the Cavaliers’ first since opening-drive touchdown since their season opener against Richmond.
• The last time UVA recorded a touchdown on its first drive was against Miami in 2023.
• The Hoos have won 2 of their last 3 games when scoring on the opening drive.
• Virginia opened the game with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a Grady Brosterhous 1-yard plunge. It was the longest (by time, 5:21) touchdown drive by UVA to open a game since 2018 (vs. North Carolina). It was also the ninth time this season UVA has put together a scoring drive of 75 or more yards.
• Virginia outgained Louisville 449-408 in total offense and 301-231 in passing yards, which marks the second-straight season UVA outgained the Cardinals in total offense and passing.
• The Cavaliers have had more passing yards in each of the last three meetings against Louisville.

Virginia Individual Player Notes 

• Wideout Malachi Fields finished with nine catches for 129 receiving yards, his third 100-yard game of the season, and third of his career. Fields surpassed 1,500 receiving yards for his career and has now caught a pass in 21 consecutive games.
• Tight end Tyler Neville eclipsed a career high with seven catches and added 64 receiving yards, three shy of matching a season best.
• Quarterback Anthony Colandrea was 26-for-45 passing with 279 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 84 yards, only five yards short of his career high, which he set against Louisville in last season. 
• Colandrea’s 279 yards passing are his third-highest output of the season. He now has 11, 200-yard passing games in his career, including four this season. 
• Linebacker Kam Robinson has a sack in three of his last four games and leads the team with three on the season. His sack came on third down with 11:47 remaining and forced Louisville to kick a 41-yard field goal which missed wide to right. Robinson finished with eight tackles (six solo) and a career-high two tackles for loss.
• Running back Xavier Brown caught a 46-yard touchdown pass, his first TD reception of his career and longest reception of his career. It was UVA’s fourth-longest play from scrimmage this season.
• Kam Butler tallied his 50th career start. He also served as a game captain. 
• Quarterback Grady Brosterhous recorded his team-leading fourth rushing touchdown of the season. He has four touchdowns on nine attempts this season.
• True freshman Ethan Minter recorded his first career interception. It marks the second straight season a UVA true freshman recorded a pick (Kam Robinson – vs. Louisville & Miami).