Cavaliers fight back but can’t complete rally in 24-20 loss to Cardinals

By Scott Ratcliffe

Virginia erased a double-digit, second-half deficit and held a fourth-quarter lead against visiting Louisville Saturday, but couldn’t complete the comeback in a 24-20 loss.

The Cavaliers (4-2, 2-1 ACC) grabbed a 20-17 lead with 10:03 to play on a beautifully executed pass from Anthony Colandrea to Xavier Brown, who hustled 46 yards for his first career receiving touchdown.

The Scott Stadium crowd was rocking and the Wahoos had all the momentum, having scored 13 unanswered points on their previous three possessions. First-year safety Ethan Minter kept it rolling, intercepting UL quarterback Tyler Shough on the ensuing possession deep in Cavalier territory with 8:25 remaining.

The Cardinals (4-2, 2-1) benefited from a crucial UVA illegal-man-downfield penalty on a third-and-3 from the Virginia 10-yard line, eventually forcing Daniel Sparks to punt from his own end zone.

Sparks booted the ball to around midfield, where Louisville returner Ahmari Huggins-Bruce bobbled it and was quickly gobbled up by Jonas Sanker, and the Hoos were poised to get a stop, with the visitors starting the all-important drive from their own 33 with 6:33 left on the clock.

The Cardinals had other ideas, however, as Shough put together an 11-play scoring march, highlighted by a third-down completion to Caullin Lacy, who made a game-changing cut to elude a would-be UVA tackler and keep the chains moving.

A few plays later, Shough found Jamari Johnson for another critical first-down catch inside the 10 just before the two-minute timeout, and then connected with Johnson for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown — a 5-yard toss to the back of the end zone — with 1:55 to go.

Needing 75 yards for a TD of his own, Colandrea quickly matriculated the Virginia offense into Louisville territory, completing four-straight passes for a first down at the Cardinals’ 39-yard line with still over a minute remaining.

The Louisville defense stepped up, knocking away all four of Colandrea’s ensuing attempts, all of which were intended for Malachi Fields, who had another stellar performance (9 catches for a game-high 129 yards) but couldn’t come away with a reception to keep the drive alive.

UVA struck first on the game’s opening drive, capped off by a Grady Brosterhous plunge from a yard out with 9:39 left in the first quarter. The Cardinals knotted it up on a 7-yard Isaiah Brown TD scamper early in the second quarter and the teams went into halftime tied at 7-apiece.

Virginia failed to come away with points on an 18-play possession that spanned 8:33 and culminated in an incomplete pass to Kameron Courtney on fourth-and-goal from the UL 3 with 2:24 left in the half.

Louisville received the second-half kick and took its first lead, 10-7, on a 31-yard Brock Travelstead field goal, then added to the advantage after a Sparks punt deflected off of a teammate and wound up at the UVA 14-yard line. Brown needed just one snap to make it a 17-7 ballgame with his second touchdown of the day at the 10:40 mark of the third quarter.

UVA fought back, getting a pair of Will Bettridge field goals to trim it to 17-13 by the end of the period, and Travelstead missed a field goal from 41 yards out with 11:47 to play, setting the stage for Brown’s go-ahead touchdown catch and everything thereafter.

The Hoos posted 449 total yards (301 passing, 148 rushing) on the evening, outgaining the Cardinals by 41 yards, but once again struggled in the red zone, converting just one touchdown in their four trips inside the 20.

Colandrea completed 26 of his 45 attempts for 279 yards, while also leading the team in rushing with 84 yards on 15 carries. Sanker racked up 11 tackles (8 solo) to lead the defensive effort.

Louisville’s Brown led all rushers with 146 yards on 20 carries and the two scores, while Ja’Corey Brooks — the ACC’s leading receiver entering the week — led the Cardinals with 5 catches for 83 yards.

UVA Offensive Stats

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Louisville won its third-straight meeting against Virginia and improved to 8-5 all-time against the Cavaliers.  

• Four of the last six matchups between UVA and Louisville have been decided by one score.  

• Louisville’s go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 remaining in the game was the first points by a UVA opponent in the fourth quarter since Coastal Carolina on Sept. 21, a span of 37:10.  

• The 24 points scored by Louisville matched a season low. Coming into the game, Louisville ranked 21st in the nation in offensive scoring (38.6 ppg). 

• Virginia held Louisville to a season-low 231 yards passing. The Cardinals entered Saturday’s contest as the nation’s No. 13 team in passing offense (303.4 ypg). 

• For the first time since 2019 (North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Liberty), Virginia tallied its third straight game with no turnovers. 

• UVA is outscoring opponents 45-27 in the fourth quarter this season. 

• Virginia trailed by as many as 10 points and took the lead 20-17 with 10:03 remaining in the game. It marked the third double-digit deficit UVA has overcome this season (14 points vs. Wake Forest & 14 points vs. Boston College).  

• UVA’s first touchdown (1-yard rush by Grady Brosterhous) with 9:39 left in the first quarter marked its first opening-drive score in ACC play this season. It was also the Cavaliers’ first since opening-drive touchdown since their season opener against Richmond. 

• The last time UVA recorded a touchdown on its first drive was against Miami in 2023. 

• The Hoos have won 2 of their last 3 games when scoring on the opening drive. 

• Virginia opened the game with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a Grady Brosterhous 1-yard plunge. It was the longest (by time, 5:21) touchdown drive by UVA to open a game since 2018 (vs. North Carolina). It was also the ninth time this season UVA has put together a scoring drive of 75 or more yards. 

• Virginia outgained Louisville 449-408 in total offense and 301-231 in passing yards, which marks the second-straight season UVA outgained the Cardinals in total offense and passing. 

• The Cavaliers have had more passing yards in each of the last three meetings against Louisville. 

Player Notes

• Wideout Malachi Fields finished with nine catches for 129 receiving yards, his third 100-yard game of the season, and third of his career. Fields surpassed 1,500 receiving yards for his career and has now caught a pass in 21 consecutive games. 

• Tight end Tyler Neville eclipsed a career high with seven catches and added 64 receiving yards, three shy of matching a season best. 

• Quarterback Anthony Colandrea was 26-for-45 passing with 279 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 84 yards, only five yards short of his career high, which he set against Louisville in last season.  

• Colandrea’s 279 yards passing are his third-highest output of the season. He now has 11, 200-yard passing games in his career, including four this season.  

• Linebacker Kam Robinson has a sack in three of his last four games and leads the team with three on the season. His sack came on third down with 11:47 remaining and forced Louisville to kick a 41-yard field goal which missed wide to right. Robinson finished with eight tackles (six solo) and a career-high two tackles for loss. 

• Running back Xavier Brown caught a 47-yard touchdown pass, his first TD reception of his career and longest reception of his career. It was UVA’s fourth-longest play from scrimmage this season. 

• Kam Butler tallied his 50th career start. He also served as a game captain.  

• Quarterback Grady Brosterhous recorded his team-leading fourth rushing touchdown of the season. He has four touchdowns on nine attempts this season. 

• True freshman Ethan Minter recorded his first career interception. It marks the second straight season a UVA true freshman recorded a pick (Kam Robinson – vs. Louisville & Miami). 

UP NEXT

UVA travels to Death Valley to face No. 10 Clemson next Saturday at noon on ACC Network.