UVA heartbroken again, Elliott remains positive about November

By Jerry Ratcliffe

After losing to Miami in overtime for the second straight year and emerging from what he described as a “heartbroken locker room,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott didn’t talk like a coach whose team had dropped its sixth game of the season. Not his nature.

Instead, Elliott had already focused ahead. The old coaches will tell you, “they remember November,” and if Virginia is to salvage anything left this season, it has to come in the next four weeks.

Elliott wasn’t talking doom-and-gloom. Instead he was talking about what the Cavaliers have to do in order to become bowl-eligible. He was talking about having three ACC home games over the next four weeks and how UVA hasn’t won an ACC game at Scott Stadium during his regime.

Virginia hosts Georgia Tech, a comeback winner over North Carolina, then travels to Louisville (maybe the second-best team in the league?), hosts Duke and rival Virginia Tech to end Elliott’s second season. While UVA would have to win out to meet the bowl-eligible requirement of six games, some five-win teams make it when the bowls don’t have enough six-win teams to choose from.

Elliott, the first to point out he doesn’t believe in moral victories, admitted that had anyone told him earlier in the week that his 19-point underdog team would be in an overtime battle with Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, he would have taken it.

Virginia lost a 29-26 decision, it’s third straight loss to Miami by 3 points or less (see related story for the blow-by-blow account of the game), in heartbreaking fashion. Miami tied the game on a 48-yard field goal with 1:23 to go in regulation, then forced Virginia to settle for a field goal on its first possession of overtime.

UVA attempted three consecutive passes but failed to gain a first down.

Defensive coordinator John Rudzinski said he expected Miami to go with its strong rushing attack (Hurricanes are No. 22 in the nation in rushing) and because they had used the same method to beat Clemson in double overtime the week before. Coach Rud guessed correctly.

Miami called three straight running plays for Mark Fletcher, who was playing in his first game since Sept. 23 at Temple because of a stress fracture in his foot. Fletcher gained nine yards on his first carry to the 16, five more on the next to the 11, and capped it off with a walk-off touchdown run, all three plays around right end.

Elliott and Rudzinski knew what was coming, but couldn’t stop it.

“When I saw [Miami] come out in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers), I figured they knew what they were playing for,” Elliott said after watching his team fall to 2-6, 1-3 ACC. “We gave up too much on first down, now the second (run) is short and you just had success. Why not run the same play and see if you can split it again, and that’s what they did.

“We had an opportunity to get the ball-carrier on the ground at the end, but in that particular moment on that particular play, [Fletcher] had a little bit more wanting to get in the end zone.”

Fletcher swept right, broke a couple of tackles and ounced off guard Javion Cohen to stay inbounds, then was pushed into the end zone by the big man.

“I just looked at [the replay] and when I had got hit on the side, I was still inbounds,” Fletcher said. “But then I just felt a big weight push me into the end zone. I checked the replay and it was my boy JaVo.”

While Miami kept its hopes alive for a spot in the ACC championship game with a 2-2 league record (6-2 overall), it was another frustrating close loss for the Cavaliers, who have now lost four games by three points or less. This one ended a two-game winning streak that included a stunning upset of 10th-ranked North Carolina on the road last week.

Elliott said that with his team being a 19-point underdog to Miami, playing on the road, experts giving the Cavaliers no chance of winning and questioning if last week’s win at UNC was merely a fluke, he was proud of his team taking the heavily-favored Hurricanes to the wire.

Virginia did a lot of things right to give itself a chance at a second straight road upset.

UVA didn’t commit a penalty, the first time that happened since previous coach Bronco Mendenhall’s debut against Richmond in 2016.

The Cavaliers rushed for 138 yards against the No. 7 run defense in the country (Miami was giving up only 79.6 yards per game on the ground coming in). UVA has made a living off running the split outside zone runs the past three weeks.

Rud’s defense held Miami to a season-low 276 yards of offense. It was the third time in the last five years that UVA held an opponent to less than 300 yards and lost. All three of those losses came against the Hurricanes.

Virginia scored on all six trips to the red zone, converted 8 of 19 third downs and its lone fourth-down attempt, plus easily won time of possession.

But for all the good things, it wasn’t enough.

The Cavaliers struggled to protect quarterback Tony Muskett, who was under duress most of the game. Miami’s physical, athletic and talented defensive front sacked Muskett six times and recorded 10 tackles for loss.

Miami eventually went to more zone coverage and Virginia didn’t adjust well.

UVA’s play-calling became too conservative at the end of the first half.

A pick-six, maybe the difference in the game, helped Miami considerably.

Elliott had reason to be proud of his football team. He sees growth every week. The most he can ask for is to take favored opponents into the fourth quarter with a chance to win.

“At the end of the day, you’re measured by winning and losing,” Elliott said.

He’s tired of the latter, and has four more weeks to do something about it.

They remember November.