Virginia Stuns No. 23 Pitt in Prime Time

PITTSBURGH — On the road against a ranked opponent in a stadium where they had won only once, the Virginia Cavaliers found themselves trailing by six points at halftime.

They never flinched. UVA dominated the second half and knocked off No. 23 Pitt 24-19 late Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium.

With the victory, the Wahoos ended a three-game losing streak and improved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in ACC. Not since 2019, when they broke through in this city for the first time, had the Hoos prevailed at the home of the NFL’s Steelers.

“That was a complete team win,” third-year head coach Tony Elliott told his jubilant players in the visiting locker room. “It took all three phases.”

On offense, the Cavaliers scored three touchdowns and totaled 340 yards. On defense, they forced two turnovers and held Pitt, which came in averaging 38.9 points per game, to 292 yards. On special teams, Virginia blocked a field-goal attempt that would have given Pitt a 16-7 lead in the third quarter.

Tailbacks Xavier Brown and Kobe Pace scored all of the Cavaliers’ TDs: Brown on a 1-yard run and a 24-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Colandrea, and Pace on a 3-yard run.

Colandrea threw two interceptions Saturday, but in a game that tested Virginia’s resilience, he elevated his performance when it counted. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 143 yards and one TD, and his 29-yard run late in the third quarter set up the touchdown that put the Hoos ahead to stay.

Brown finished with 68 yards on 15 carries, and Pace rushed 12 times for 52 yards. Pace’s 9-yard gain with about 1:20 to play gave the Hoos a first down and allowed them to run out the clock.

On UVA’s previous possession, Pace had run for 3 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Pitt 24, extending a drive that ended with Will Bettridge’s 32-yard field goal. That made it 24-19, and the Cavaliers’ defense did the rest.

After the Panthers (7-2, 3-2) drove to the Virginia 47, backup quarterback Nate Yarnell attempted a long pass. Safety Corey Thomas Jr., a graduate of Penn Hills High in Pittsburgh, came down with the interception to all but seal the Hoos’ victory.

Another UVA safety, senior Jonas Sanker, turned in a spectacular performance. He had two tackles for loss, blocked a field-goal attempt and returned an interception 45 yards to the Pitt 20. Four plays later, Pace burst up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown, and Bettridge’s extra point made it 21-13 with 3:34 left in the third quarter.

With three regular-season games left, Virginia needs one more win to become bowl-eligible for the first time in Elliott’s tenure.

The first two games are against ranked opponents: No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 13 SMU. The finale, in Blacksburg, is the annual battle for the Commonwealth Cup between UVA and Virginia Tech.

UP NEXT: Two of the Cavaliers’ remaining regular-season games are on the road. At 3:30 p.m. next Saturday, in a game to air on NBC, Virginia (5-4) meets No. 10 Notre Dame (8-1) in South Bend, Ind.

The Fighting Irish routed visiting Florida State 52-3 on Saturday night.

Virginia is 0-4 all-time against Notre Dame. In the teams’ most recent meeting, the Irish defeated the Cavaliers 28-3 at Scott Stadium in 2021.

Chris Tyree, a wide receiver who’s in his first season at Virginia, is a graduate transfer from Notre Dame.

Virginia Team Notes 

• The Cavaliers improved to 5-10 all-time against Pitt and 3-7 against the Panthers as members of the ACC.
• Virginia is now 2-5 all-time at Acrisure Stadium with its only other victory coming in 2019 (30-14).
• Virginia has won two of its last four games against AP top-25 opponents. Under head coach Tony Elliott, UVA improved to 2-4 against ranked foes.
• UVA is 4-0 under Tony Elliott coming off a bye week, including last year’s victory over then-No. 10 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
• UVA is 3-1 on the road this season. The three road wins are the most by Virginia since 2011.
• UVA is 3-1 in night games this season and has won four of its last six night contests dating back to 2023. UVA is 4-2 all-time against the Panthers in night games.
• The Cavaliers improved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in ACC play. It marks the first five-win season since 2020 and most league wins since earning four in 2021.
• Virginia recorded its first win in an NFL stadium since 2021, when it won at Hard Rock Stadium over Miami. UVA is 4-7 in NFL stadiums since 2018.
• Pitt entered Saturday’s contest 10^th in scoring offense (38.9) among FBS teams, and UVA held the Panthers to only 19 points. Pitt’s 19 points are its second-lowest scoring output this season, and fewest in a loss since its 2023 season finale against Duke, when the Panthers also scored 19 points.
• Virginia improved to 3-2 this season when trailing at the half. The last time the Cavaliers trailed at the half and won was against Boston College (Oct. 5) after trailing 14-6.
• With UVA trailing by six in the third quarter, Jonas Sanker blocked a Pitt field goal attempt. It was the first blocked field goal by the Cavaliers since 2021 against William & Mary.
• UVA did not allow the Panthers’ defense, which entered Saturday’s game second nationally in defensive touchdowns (four) and pick sixes (four), to score.
• For the second time this season, the Cavalier secondary came up with two interceptions. This year, UVA also recorded a pair against BC. The last time the Hoos recorded two interceptions on the road was against Miami in 2023.
• UVA tied its season high of seven QB hurries. The Cavaliers also recorded seven QB hurries in its 31-30 win on the road at night against Wake Forest.

Virginia Individual Player Notes

• Pittsburgh native Corey Thomas Jr. came up with an interception with 1:42 left in the game on Pitt’s final drive. It is Thomas Jr.’s first interception of the season and first interception since his freshman year (2019) at Akron.
• With two receptions for 11 yards, Malachi Fields extended his streak with at least one reception to 23 games. Fields now has 119 career receptions, only one shy from cracking UVA’s top-15 career receptions list.
• Fields passed Heath Miller (2002-04) on UVA’s all-time receiving yards list. Fields now has 1,706 career receiving yards, good for 11^th all-time in school history.
• Kempton Shine made his 34^th consecutive career start dating back to his tenure at Eastern Michigan. Entering Saturday’s contest against the Panthers, Shine was one of only seven FBS defensive backs with at least 30 consecutive starts.
• Terrell Jones made his first career start at defensive end. Jones finished with a career-high six tackles, including four solo and 1.5 for-loss.
• Chico Bennett Jr.’s 18-game start streak came to a close, which began with the Cavaliers’ 2023 home opener against James Madison. Bennett Jr. Finished with two tackles, including 0.5 for-loss, and one QB hurry.
• With a 24-yard catch in the first quarter, Andre Greene Jr. recorded the longest reception of his career. Greene also finished with a career-high 30 receiving yards on three catches.
• On the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Anthony Colandrea hauled in a 27-yard reception on a pass from wide receiver Suderian Harrison. It was the first reception by a UVA QB since Brennan Armstrong’s 18-yard reception against Illinois on Sept. 11, 2021.
• Immediately following the Colandrea reception, Xavier Brown scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and second of his career from Pitt’s 1-yard line. His other rushing TD came on Nov. 5, 2022, against North Carolina.
• With a 66-yard boot in the third quarter, Daniel Sparks now has 15 career punts (13 at UVA) of 60 yards or more. He eclipsed the 11 career 60-yard punts by Russ Henderson (1975-78) for the most ever by a Cavalier. It’s also Sparks’ furthest since his career-long 70-yard punt against BC in 2023.
• Chris Tyree recorded season highs in both receiving (42) and rushing (13) yards.
• Jam Jackson was credited with a half-sack in the second quarter, his first career takedown of a quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.
• With one made field goal and three successful PATs, placekicker Will Bettridge (2022-pres.) cracked UVA’s top-15 career points list. Bettridge now has 190 career points and passed Bill Dudley (1939-41) on the all-time list.

Offensive Starters: QB #10 Anthony Colandrea; RB #5 Kobe Pace, WR #2 Andre Greene Jr., WR #8 Malachi Fields, WR #4 Chris Tyree, TE #16 Tyler Neville, LT #52 McKale Boley, LG #77 Noah Josey, C #55 Brian Stevens, RG #51 Ty Furnish, RT #54 Blake Steen

Defensive Starters: Bandit #82 Kam Robinson, DT #90 Jahmeer Carter, DT #55 Anthony Britton, DE #25 Terrell Jones, LB #5 Kam Robinson, LB #8 Trey McDonald, CB #9 Jam Jackson, CB #29 Kempton Shine, Spur #4 Kendren Smith, S #20 Jonas Sanker, S #3 Corey Thomas Jr.

Game Captains: #3 Corey Thomas Jr., #8 Malachi Fields, #77 Noah Josey, #38 Daniel Sparks