Marquee Win Boosts Hoos' Confidence for Stretch Run

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

PITTSBURGH — With games still to come against top-15 opponents Notre Dame and SMU, plus a trip to Blacksburg for the annual Commonwealth Cup clash, the University of Virginia football team gets no breaks this month.

The Cavaliers aren’t complaining. They revived their season late Saturday night with a stunning victory in a stadium where they’d won only once, in 2019. And now, in their third season under head coach Tony Elliott, they need one more win to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2021.

“This could be a big stepping stone for us,” safety Corey Thomas Jr. said after UVA rallied to upset No. 23 Pitt 24-19 at Acrisure Stadium.

“We’re ready to fight,” fellow safety Jonas Safety said. “We’re ready to win, so we’re going to do whatever it takes.”

The Wahoos (5-4 overall, 3-3 ACC) were coming off a dispiriting 41-14 loss to North Carolina at Scott Stadium. That game was played on Oct. 26, and two weeks of physically and mentally demanding practices followed for the Hoos.

“We had to reset,” Elliott said. “We had to recommit.”

Defensive end Kam Butler, who had two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup Saturday night, described them as “two weeks of tough practices. So to come out here and get a win, especially in the fashion that we did, it was a huge team win.”

Virginia arrived in this city on a three-game losing streak and trailed 13-7 at the half. That didn’t faze the Cavaliers, who improved to 3-1 on the road. That’s their most road victories in a season since 2011.

“We knew that this was going to be like a heavyweight fight,” Elliott said. “There’s going to be some momentum changes and all we need to do is focus one play at a time and believe that in the end we’re going to make enough plays to win the game.”

On offense, the Hoos scored three touchdowns and totaled 340 yards. Among the most memorable plays: wide receiver Suderian Harrison’s 27-yard completion to quarterback Anthony Colandrea on a trick play in the second quarter, and Colandrea’s 25-yard completion to wideout Chris Tyree on third-and-15 from the UVA 20 in the fourth quarter.

Tailbacks accounted for all the TDs: Xavier Brown on a 1-yard run and a 24-yard pass from Colandrea, Kobe Pace on a 3-yard run. Brown finished with 68 yards on 15 carries, and Pace rushed 12 times for 52 yards.

“Props to the guys up front,” Brown said. “They were creating lanes for us all day and giving us the push that we needed.”

Colandrea threw two interceptions Saturday, but he delivered when it counted most. 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.

On defense, the Hoos came up with two takeaways—Thomas and Sanker each had an interception—and held the Panthers to 292 yards. Pitt (7-2, 3-2) came in averaging 38.9 points per game.

On special teams, Sanker blocked a field-goal attempt that would have given Pitt a 16-7 lead in the third quarter, and Ethan Davies contributed two excellent punt returns. Will Bettridge, who’s 17 for 19 on field goals this season, calmly connected from 32 yards with 2:06 left to push UVA’s lead to 24-19.

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

Needing a touchdown to regain the lead, Pitt took possession with 2:06 to play. The Panthers drove to the UVA 47-yard line but could get no closer to the goal line. On second-and-10, Thomas picked off a pass by backup quarterback Nate Yarnell, and the Hoos took over at their 14.

“I don’t even think I can put words to describe it, honestly,” Thomas said.

A graduate transfer from Akron, Thomas grew up in Pittsburgh and played at Penn Hills High School, and he had a large and loud cheering section in the stands Saturday night.

Thomas epitomizes “the town he’s from,” Elliott said, “just tough and blue collar and a worker. He was close on another interception earlier in the game, and I told him, ‘Hey, you’re going to get the next one.’ He came running off [the field] looking at his hands like, ‘I was this close.’ I said, ‘You’ll get the next one,’ and sure enough, he did.”

Virginia’s offense did the rest. On a first-down run, Brown gained three yards. Pace then carried for nine yards, after which Pitt, out of timeouts, couldn’t stop the clock.

“This is a big confidence-builder,” Brown said, “and just shows how resilient we are as a team.”

Standouts abounded for UVA. Tyree, a graduate transfer from Notre Dame, had his best game as a Cavalier, catching four passes for 42 yards and carrying once for a 13-yard gain. Another wideout, Andre Greene Jr., had three receptions for 30 yards.

Defensive end Terrell Jones, who started for the first time, and linebacker Kam Robinson recorded six tackles apiece, and Robinson had one of Virginia’s three sacks. Defensive tackle Anthony Britton had 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries. No player, however, shined brighter than Sanker, an All-ACC selection last season.

“Seeing Jonas out there making plays, it’s incredible,” Tyree said.

In addition to blocking Ben Sauls’ 45-yard field-goal attempt, Sanker had two tackles for loss, and he returned his interception 45 yards to the Pitt 20. That set up the Pace touchdown (and Bettridge PAT) that extended Virginia’s lead to 21-13 late in the third quarter.

“We needed him, and he showed up,” Thomas said of Sanker, the first Cavalier since 2021 to block a field-goal attempt.

“I thought he played a really good football game, but that’s what he’s been doing all year,” Elliott said. “That’s just Jonas being Jonas. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

UP NEXT: The Hoos have three regular-season games left, two of them 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.

Tyree, who grew up in the Richmond area, transferred to UVA in January after graduating from Notre Dame. In his 49 games with the Irish, Tyree totaled 3,284 all-purpose yards.

*I’m excited to go back,” Tyree said.

SOUND BITES: The Cavaliers improved to 4-0 under Elliott coming off a bye week. Among the postgame comments at the home of the NFL’s Steelers:

* Elliott on Thomas: “It’s only fitting that he that he has the interception that kind of seals the game for us here in his hometown.”

* Thomas on running over to a section of the stands after his interception: “It’s crazy. My mom, when we were on the field, I could see her out of the corner of my eye every time we were facing that way. She was over there screaming, losing her mind. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I got to go see her after this one.’ ”

* Butler on UVA’s seven quarterback hurries, which tied its season high: “All week we’ve been stressing that we’ve got to affect the thrower. Obviously, we want to turn some of those pressures into sacks.”

* Tyree on the Cavaliers’ November schedule: “I think this is a really good start for us to finish these last four games. So it’s just up to us to go 1-0 every week, take it day by day.”

* Tyree on Brown: “It seems like any time we need a play, he’s there to make one. He’s super athletic, super explosive. Being out there on the field and seeing him make plays first-hand, it’s impressive.”

* Butler on the Cavaliers’ resilience: “Even when we were losing, there was no wavering in confidence. That [UNC game] we all know that wasn’t who we are … Credit to everybody. We all bought into [Elliott’s] message and we got the victory tonight.”

* Sanker on his field-goal block: “I came close on [Sauls’] first one, so I kind of had a feeling. I can get off the edge quickly, and if the linebacker gets in that crease, I’m gonna be able to get one.”

* Sanker on UVA’s short-handed defense, which by game’s end Saturday was missing tackle Jason Hammond, linebacker James Jackson and safety Antonio Clary, among others: “Yeah, we’re banged up, but we’re resilient. We’ve got guys ready to play.”

To receive Jeff White’s articles by email, click the appropriate box in this link to subscribe.