Relying on a determined defensive effort and a newfound ability within the Virginia Cavaliers program to make the right play at the right time, the ’Hoos pulled out a 30-27 overtime victory on the road Saturday afternoon against one of the ACC’s best in the Louisville Cardinals.
Now 5-1 (3-0 ACC), and up to No. 19 in this week’s AP Poll, Tony Elliott’s ’Hoos have something special brewing in Charlottesville for the first time in a long time. Inside L&N Stadium on Saturday, Virginia was outgained 383-287
in total yards and managed just one offensive touchdown in regulation; yet somehow, someway, the ’Hoos found a way to win.
“There’s truly no ugly wins,” Elliott said after the game. “We came up here with the objective to win, and the young men, super proud of them for their effort to just find a way.”
Virginia entered Saturday boasting one of the nation’s top offenses, averaging 45.6 points and 539.6 yards through their first five games. But with Chandler Morris and company struggling to get rolling, it was the Cavaliers’ defense that earned a game ball for its heroics on the road, scoring two game-changing touchdowns and getting key stops when the ’Hoos needed them most.
“You can’t put a price on finding a way to win a football game on the road versus a very good opponent when you don’t have your best stuff,” Elliott said.
The defense got its first big play of the afternoon midway through the first quarter. On a key fourth-and-one play in Cavalier territory, Louisville made the strange decision to run a toss play, trying to catch the ’Hoos sleeping on the outside — but Virginia was ready for it.
Safety Devin Neal sprang through the line, ready to blow the play up for a turnover-on-downs. But the pitch was mishandled by running back Isaac Brown, and Donavon Platt scooped up the Cardinal fumble and took it 61 yards to the house to give Virginia an early 7-0 lead.
Later, with the score tied at 14 in the third quarter, the Virginia defense hit its second home run of the afternoon. After a delayed Cavalier blitz swarmed the backfield, Cardinals quarterback Miller Moss launched an ill-advised desperation throw straight into the arms of Virginia linebacker Kam Robinson, who rumbled his way into the end zone for a 47-yard pick-six.
“Huge, big, athletic play to pick that ball off and take it back for a touchdown,” Elliott said of Robinson’s impact on Saturday. “And he’s going to get even better as he gets going the rest of the season. But I think the guys have a lot of confidence in him and his ability to make a play. Our job as coaches now is to keep progressing him from the total ability to control the defense and help guys get lined up and take his game to the next level.”
The touchdowns are what will be remembered, but the defense as a whole took a giant step forward in the second half to deliver its — considering the opponent — best performance of the season.
After struggling in the first half to contain the Cardinals, especially wide receiver Chris Bell, the ’Hoos tightened up in the second half. Leaning on consistent pressure from edge rushers Mitchell Melton and Daniel Rickert, Virginia limited Louisville to just 129 passing yards and 1.1 yards per carry after halftime while generating five second-half sacks.
And with the game on the line in OT, the Virginia pass-rush was able to flush Miller Moss out of the pocket on a key third-and-two. The pressure forced a difficult sideline throw intended for Isaac Brown that would ultimately be ruled incomplete after review, forcing the Cardinals to settle for a field goal.
“It’s huge,” Elliott said on the effort of Melton and Rickert. “You see we had five sacks. Mitchell had two of them [and] had some other pressures. And then also, what it does is it allows space for the interior guys to have some more one-on-ones. So, not only are they being productive on their own with their numbers, but they’re creating more one-on-one opportunities for the guys inside.”
On the other side of the ball, though the offense turned in its least-efficient performance to date, the ’Hoos came up clutch when it mattered most. Drawing experience from the double-OT victory against Florida State eight days prior, Chandler Morris and the offense engineered a surgical, four-play, game-winning touchdown drive to finalize Virginia’s second-straight upset victory.
“I hate that we made it as close as we did, but we found a way to win,” Elliott said. “And so that gives us some great momentum going into the open week to really be able to coach and teach and learn all the way around.”
After consecutive overtime thrillers, Virginia will get some much-needed time to recuperate with a bye week before hosting a struggling Washington State squad on October 18th to kick off the second half of the season. It should be a fun home stretch as the ACC-leading ’Hoos — with their ‘find a way to win’ mentality — suddenly have a whole lot to play for.
