Rivalry Takes Top Priority for Cavaliers

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

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The approach Tony Elliott took ahead of his first Commonwealth Cup clash failed to produce the desired result for his University of Virginia football team. On a dispiriting day for the program, UVA closed the 2023 regular season with a 55-17 loss to Virginia Tech at Scott Stadium.

Elliott said Tuesday that he’s framing this year’s game differently for his players, drawing on his experience with the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry. Elliott, who played and coached at Clemson, said he wants his players to understand “the big picture, what it means. It’s not just a game that you play because it’s the last one on the schedule. It’s one that’s a season of itself. It lasts for 365 days. It means a lot to a lot of people … We don’t have a choice. We’ve got a responsibility.”

In the regular-season finale for both teams, UVA (5-6 overall, 3-4 ACC) meets Virginia Tech (5-6, 3-4) on Saturday night at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg. ACC Network will air the 8 o’clock game, whose winner will hoist the Commonwealth Cup afterward.

That trophy has been in the Hokies’ possession for most of the past quarter-century. Since winning at Lane Stadium in 1998, Virginia has defeated Tech only twice: in 2003 and 2019, both times at Scott Stadium.

Elliott is well aware of the Hokies’ recent dominance in a series they lead 61-38-5, and there are “a lot of things that we have to change collectively in order to get it back to being a rivalry where it’s competitive,” he said. “I’m challenging this football team to be different, to be the ones that start the change to make it more competitive.”

That Tech attaches special significance to this annual game has never been questioned. Even in seasons when the Hokies otherwise have struggled, they’ve generally raised their level of play against the Wahoos.

“And that’s where we have to take a step as a program, as a staff, players, everybody,” Elliott said. “It’s rivalry week. That’s been the message to everybody. Nothing else matters. It really doesn’t. Nothing else matters but what you do this week. I think that’s the difference, when you have that intensity, that focus, you have that passion, and you can block out the distractions.”

All-ACC safety Jonas Sanker said the 2023 loss to the Hokies has been a topic of discussion among UVA players. The Cavaliers remember “how much we felt disrespected last year and how much we let [the Hokies] do it their way and just kind of dominate on the field,” Sanker said.

“Props to them. They played a great game. I’m not taking anything away from them, but we’ve got to play our brand of football. We’ve got to come out there, start fast, do what we’ve been doing all year. We’ve played a lot of good teams this year. At the end of the day, if we’re able to focus on ourselves and do what we do, we’ll be fine.”

With a victory Saturday night, the Hoos would become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2021. But there will be more on the line at Lane Stadium than a trip to a postseason game.

“Bowl-eligibility is what we’re after,” Elliott said, “but I’m really after having all the folks that support Virginia have the upper hand for 365 days. That’s just how I was bred in rivalries. I think that’s the difference, the way you look at it, the perspective you have. You are playing for something bigger than yourself. That’s the message that I’m working on getting the guys to understand, the intensity that it takes and the way it should feel, the way you should approach it.

“I know I talk a lot about [how] every game is the most important game on the schedule and that’s true, but a rivalry game is different. It’s just different. Has to be different. For everybody that’s involved it has to be different.”

UVA teams are unbeaten against their Tech counterparts this fall, having defeated the Hokies in men’s soccer, women’s soccer, volleyball (twice), men’s cross country and women’s cross country.

“Every sport is a rivalry, but football drives the overall rivalry for bragging rights,” Elliott said. “[Fans] want to brag about every sport, but they really want to brag about football. Records don’t matter. Bowl-eligibility on the line doesn’t matter. What matters is you win the rivalry game.”

This is Elliott’s third season at UVA. The Hoos were scheduled to play at Lane Stadium in the 2022 regular-season finale, but that game was canceled after the shooting that took the lives of three Virginia players.

NUMBERS GAME: The Cavaliers came into the season with multiple options at tailback, including Kobe Pace, Xavier Brown, Jack Griese, Noah Vaughn and Donté Hawthorne. Of that group, Vaughn and Hawthorne might be the only ones available Saturday night.

Brown and Griese are sidelined with season-ending injuries. Pace hurt his knee this past weekend against SMU at Scott Stadium and will be more of “end-of-the-week type of decision,” Elliott said. “We’ll see how much he heals up before we know for sure.”

Another option might be wide receiver Chris Tyree, a graduate transfer who had a productive career as a tailback at Notre Dame.

“We will consider Chris,” Elliott said, “but that’s a tough ask in one week for a guy that’s been playing receiver all year just to make the switch. But all hands on deck. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

Vaughn has rushed eight times for 61 yards this season. Hawthorne has carried once, for a two-yard gain.

Against SMU, Vaughn took over as the main ballcarrier after Brown and Pace left the game with injuries. He finished with 44 yards on 10 carries.

“I feel like he’s got a ton of upside and a lot of potential,” Elliott said. “I think once he gets going in the rhythm, in a groove, I think that’s when you really start to see the quick feet he has, and the vision. But he has to grow up in pass protection … That’s always the biggest transition for young backs, especially when you’re in there on third down. You see in the NFL, they have third-down backs because they specialize in the ability to protect because of all the exotic looks they end up seeing.

“So the areas I want to see growth and improvement and hopefully quickly [from Vaughn] will be in pass protection, and then I think as he has more reps and more touches you’re going to see more of the things we see on the practice field.”

A 5-foot-8, 199-pound sophomore, Vaughn might well be the Cavaliers’ most versatile tailback, Elliott said. “He can do a little bit of everything. He needs some experience, reps, and contact in a game to get him going.”

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: In each of Elliott’s first two seasons, the Cavaliers won only three games, and few outside the Hardie Center saw significant progress coming this fall. In a preseason poll of 170 media members, UVA was picked to finish 16^th out of the ACC’s 17 teams.

With one game to play, Virginia is tied for eighth in the league.

“Coming into preseason, I let those [voters] determine that,” Elliott said. “I felt like we had a better team than where we were picked, but we had to go out and earn it and prove it.  Actually, we let a couple opportunities get away, but it’s all part of the growth process. We’re not satisfied. The focus is taking care of business this week and then hopefully earn another game, which will give us more practices to help us develop more of our roster and then propel us into the offseason.”

END OF AN ERA: North Carolina announced Tuesday that Mack Brown would not return as its head coach in 2025. Brown has had two stints as the Tar Heels’ leader.

When he saw the news, Elliott said, he texted Brown and told “him I love him. He’s one of the best, on and off the field.”

Elliott said he’ll miss Brown “at the ACC meetings, because I usually sit right next to him. I’m going to miss competing against his teams. At the same time, I think he’s earned the right to say that he’s had an unbelievable career. Hate that it ended this way for him, but excited for his family and what’s next for him. I know he’s not done.”

MEDICAL REPORT: Noah Josey, Virginia’s starter at left offensive guard, left the SMU game with a shoulder injury but “should be good to go” in Blacksburg, Elliott said.

Defensive end Ben Smiley III, who missed the SMU game with a concussion, is “day to day,” Elliott said. “Hopefully he’ll be back with us. I know he’s out at practice, he’s moving around, he is doing some things. Just has to clear the protocol.”

Linebacker Kam Robinson, UVA’s most dynamic defender, has been playing with a shoulder injury that will require offseason surgery. He didn’t practice much last week and wasn’t on the field for every defensive series, but against Tech “he will be turned loose and ready to roll,” Elliott said.

Robinson, a sophomore, leads the Cavaliers with four sacks, and he also has an interception and a fumble recovery.

WELCOME BACK: Wideout Trell Harris has missed the past eight games with a knee injury that required surgery, but he returned to practice on a limited basis last week and should be available against Virginia Tech.

A transfer from Kent State, Harris has caught 13 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns as a Cavalier. Despite having played in only three games, he’s third on the team in receiving yards, behind wideout Malachi Fields (53 catches for 788 yards and five TDs) and tight end Tyler Neville (35 passes for 387 yards and two TDs).

Harris’ return “gives us more balance,” Elliott said. “Gives us another option, another body. I think he is a little bit different than the guys out there in terms of his play speed and ability to go over the top … Hopefully it will free up [opportunities] a little bit for Mal and the other guys.”

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