Turnovers prove costly in UVA’s 35-14 loss at No. 8 Notre Dame

By Scott Ratcliffe

Facing its toughest opponent of the season, the Virginia football team didn’t help itself out on the road at eighth-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday, as self-inflicted wounds led to a 35-14 loss.

The Cavaliers (5-5) committed five costly first-half turnovers — three Anthony Colandrea interceptions and a pair of fumbles — in the non-conference finale, with the Fighting Irish (9-1) scoring 28 points as a result. With the loss, UVA fell to 0-5 all-time against Notre Dame.

Former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard threw three touchdown passes in less than six minutes just before halftime to blow the contest open.

The Irish have now won eight in a row as they continue to battle for an at-large bid for next month’s College Football Playoffs.

Chris Tyree, a Notre Dame transfer, had an unfortunate return to South Bend, as the game’s opening kickoff bounced off of his leg and into the hands of an Irish player, and just like that, the home team took over at Virginia’s 25-yard line. 

Notre Dame’s star running back Jeremiyah Love scored a few plays later, and before the Wahoos could blink, they trailed 7-0 with still 13:02 left on the first-quarter clock.

The UVA defense actually appeared to have come away with a huge third-down stop to force a field-goal try, but Kam Robinson was flagged for roughing the passer to keep the drive going.

Love has scored a rushing touchdown in every game this season on his way to his third-career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with a game-high 137 — and he wasn’t done.

The Irish offense sputtered over its next four possessions, as the Cavaliers held them to three-and-outs on each of those drives.

Virginia benefited from the lone Notre Dame lost fumble of the day, as Daniel Sparks’ punt early in the second quarter bounced off of Max Hurleman and into the hands of Jonas Sanker, and the Hoos took over from the Irish 42-yard line with over 11 minutes left in the half.

A few plays later, Kobe Pace advanced the ball down to the 12, but coughed it up for another crucial UVA giveaway, as the Irish offense came alive on the ensuing possession.

Leonard, known more for his running ability, connected with Jayden Harrison for an 8-yard touchdown toss to double the lead with 6:34 on the clock.

After another Virginia punt, Notre Dame found the end zone twice on its next drive, but a 78-yard pass and 73-yard, fake-punt fumblerooski were both called back for penalties, and the home fans were not happy.

When UVA got it back, Colandrea threw his first interception of the game, as Adon Shuler took it inside the 5-yard line, and Leonard connected with a wide-open Cooper Flanagan on a 2-yard play-action floater to stretch the Irish lead to 21-0 with 2:23 until the break.

The Cavaliers gave it right back soon thereafter, as Colandrea’s pass was deflected and intercepted by Leonard Moore at the UVA 32.

Three plays later, Leonard found Mitchell Evans for a 16-yard score, and the Hoos went into the locker room — after yet another Colandrea INT — trailing by a 28-0 count.

Leonard finished with 214 passing yards and the 3 TDs, and also rushed for 32 yards on 8 carries.

The Hoos couldn’t take advantage of a Trey McDonald interception on the first drive of the third quarter, punting away for the sixth time.

Tony Muskett played the entire second half, completing 9 of his 14 attempts for 103 yards, adding a pair of rushing touchdowns to make it somewhat respectable after Love scored on a 76-yard scamper to begin the second half.

Colandrea had a forgettable day, completing 8 of 21 for just 69 yards against the tough Irish defense. He rushed 4 times for 23 yards.

Notre Dame outgained the Cavaliers, 448-300, rushing for 234 and passing for 214. The Irish went 1 for 12 on third-down tries, but converted 3 of 4 on fourth downs.

Malachi Fields led all receivers with 81 yards on 4 catches, while Xavier Brown led the rushing effort with 52 yards on 11 carries. Defensively, Sanker posted a game-high 13 tackles (8 solo) and a pair of tackles for loss, one of which counted as the team’s only sack.

UVA Offensive Stats

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia fell to 0-5 in the all-time series with Notre Dame, including 0-2 at Notre Dame Stadium.
• UVA is 2-5 against ranked opponents under head coach Tony Elliott.
• UVA is 3-2 on the road this season. The three road wins are the most by Virginia since 2011.
• Virginia is 3-3 this season when trailing at the half.
• The Cavaliers finished Saturday’s game with five turnovers, all of which occurred in the first half. The last time UVA committed five turnovers in a single game was against Notre Dame in 2019.
• Virginia finished its non-conference slate 2-2.
• Notre Dame extended its win streak to eight games. The Fighting Irish came into the game with the sixth-longest win streak in FBS.
• Up next, the Cavaliers host No. 14 SMU (9-1, 6-0) for Senior Day. The Mustangs defeated Boston College, 38-28.
• UVA will face its third ranked opponent next week, a first since 2021 and for only the sixth time in program history (1949, 1996, 2.002, 2005, 2019, 2021, 2024).
• Virginia held Notre Dame to only one third-down conversion on 12 attempts. The last time the Irish only converted one third down was against New Mexico on Sept. 14, 2019.
• Notre Dame’s average distance to-go on third downs was 10.5 yards.

Player Notes

• With a 27-yard catch in the first quarter, Malachi Fields tallied his 25th consecutive game with at least one reception. The last time Fields did not haul in a reception was in the Cavaliers’ 2021 matchup against Notre Dame.
• With four catches for 81 yards, Fields moved into ninth place on UVA’s career receiving yards list (1,787) and now has 123 career receptions, tied with Terrell Jana (2017-20) for the 13th-most in program history.
• Jonas Sanker finished with a career-high 13 tackles including eight solo efforts and two tackles for loss. It was his fourth double-digit tackle effort of the season and 11th of his career. Sanker matched his career high of two tackles for-loss, which he also achieved in last week’s road win over Pitt (11/9).
• Sanker also recovered a muffed punt in the second quarter. It marked his fifth career fumble recovery and second of the season. He has had a hand in an opponent turnover in back-to-back weeks with an interception at Pitt (11/9) last week and a fumble recovery on Saturday at Notre Dame.
• In his collegiate debut, true freshman cornerback Kevon Gray recovered a fumble amid a UVA punt return.
• Trey McDonald intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard in the third quarter, it was the first interception of McDonald’s career. The interception was Leonard’s fourth of the season and first in the last three games. McDonald is the eighth different Cavalier to record an interception this season.
• Muskett’s pair of rushing touchdowns tied his career high, which he achieved at Monmouth in 2021 against North Carolina A&T. His pair of rushing TDs is also his UVA career high. Muskett is the third Virginia quarterback with a rushing touchdown this season.
• Kempton Shine made his 35th consecutive career start dating back to his tenure at Eastern Michigan. Entering Saturday’s contest against the Panthers, Shine was one of only seven FBS defensive backs with at least 30 consecutive starts.
• With two made PATs, Will Bettridge moved into a tie for 14th with Terry Kirby (1989-92) on UVA’s career scoring list with 192 points. In 29 career games, Bettridge has made 42 field goals and 66 PATs.

UP NEXT

Virginia will welcome new conference opponent SMU in the final home game of the season next Saturday at noon (ESPN2).