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.”
"There's only one way to get it and that's the hard way!"#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/HmguBoai2L
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 10, 2024
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.”