Virginia rallies for 31-30 victory at Wake Forest

By Scott Ratcliffe

In front of a nationally televised audience, Virginia fought back and erased a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit in Winston-Salem Saturday night. Grady Brosterhous knotted the score on a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 2:07 to play, and Will Bettridge’s point after gave the Cavaliers the lead for good, 31-30, and their first 1-0 ACC start since 2020.

The Wahoos (2-0) were playing from behind for the majority of the contest, but entered the fourth quarter still within striking range, trailing 30-17 after a Wake 25-yard field goal late in the third.

Starting from its own 34-yard line with 13:26 remaining, UVA worked its way down the field behind second-year quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who connected with Kent State transfer receiver Trell Harris on three consecutive completions, the third of which resulted in six points on a 24-yard TD strike, and the Cavaliers cut the Demon Deacons’ lead to 30-24 with 10:37 to play.

Wake (1-1, 0-1) marched it down inside the Virginia 40-yard line on its ensuing drive, but was faced with a crucial fourth-and-9 and the Hoos defense delivered.

After a big stop by Chico Bennett a couple plays earlier, Trey McDonald — filling in for injured starting linebacker Kam Robinson — took down Wake’s Hank Bachmeier with the team’s sixth quarterback sack of the evening to turn the ball over on downs, and the Cavalier offense took control with 7:20 to play at its own 44.

On a huge fourth-and-2 from the other side of the 50, Colandrea found Malachi Fields over the middle for five yards to keep the chains moving and keep UVA’s comeback hopes alive.

A Wake Forest pass-interference penalty on the following snap moved the ball down to the Deacs’ 28-yard line before Kobe Pace hustled 10 more yards down to the 17 two plays later.

On another all-important fourth-down conversion from Wake’s 9-yard line, Colandrea again hooked up with Fields, this time for a 7-yard gain. Colandrea looked to have scored the game-tying touchdown himself on the following play, but was ruled short of the goal line.

Brosterhous was called in for his only carry of the contest, as his “Grady Bunch” version of the “tush push” completed a hard-fought rally.

The Deacs still had plenty of time to retake the lead with a touchdown or field goal, but just as the Wake offense moved into Cavalier territory on its final drive, the Wahoo defense sealed the deal.

Taylor Morin, who hauled in a 19-yard reception on the previous play, caught another pass from Bachmeier and crossed the UVA 35-yard line before Malcolm Greene poked the pigskin loose along the sideline.

Morin’s teammate, Donavon Greene, had the ball in his grasp hoping to retain possession, but graduate safety Antonio Clary wrestled it away, and the Hoos took over from their own 27 with 1:19 to go, and held on for the victory, as Wake’s last-gasp, razzle-dazzle attempt on the game’s final play came up well short.

Wake jumped out to a 17-3 advantage by the 13:01 mark of the second quarter after a pair of Demond Claiborne touchdown runs, but Colandrea and the Hoos got back within three, 20-17, by halftime, as Harvard grad-transfer tight end Tyler Neville registered his first two touchdown grabs in a Cavalier uniform — one from 18 yards out, the next from 24 with 4:26 left in the first half.

Wake put together a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive out of the locker room that took 7:20 off the clock and pushed the lead back to double digits, 27-17, on a 3-yard toss from Bachmeier to Greene, and Matthew Dennis tacked on a 26-yard field goal to make it 30-17 with 2:10 left in the third quarter, after the Deacs came up short on a third-down conversion inside the UVA 10-yard line.

It turned out to be the final points lit up on the home side of the scoreboard, as UVA buckled down and earned the important win on Tobacco Road.

Colandrea threw for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns (2 interceptions), completing 33 of his 43 attempts while carrying the ball 13 times for 23 yards. Fields had another monster night, going for a team-high 148 yards on just 11 catches, while Harris added 7 grabs for 91 yards and a score and Neville reeled in 4 balls for 68 yards and his two end-zone trips.

Xavier Brown led the team in rushing with 35 yards on 9 carries, as the Wake defense limited the Cavaliers to just 73 yards on the ground all evening.

Clary led the Hoos with 11 total tackles (3 solo) and a sack, while Jonas Sanker chipped in with 10 stops (7 solo) and a sack of his own. James Jackson, McDonald, Bennett and Robinson also each came away with a sack.

Wake posted 544 total yards on the night (403 through the air), with Greene leading all receivers with 166 yards on 11 catches and Morin adding 91 yards on 7 receptions. Claiborne had a game-high 86 rushing yards on 21 carries.

UVA Offensive Stats

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• With the win, the Cavaliers snapped a five-game losing skid in the series with Wake Forest and improved to 35-17 in the all-time series, which began in 1889. 
• Virginia collected its first win in Winston-Salem since 2002, when it scored the final three touchdowns to erase a 17-point deficit and win, 38-34. 
• Virginia is off to its first 2-0 start since 2021 and only the third since the 2013 season. 
• UVA trailed for nearly 58 minutes until Will Bettridge’s extra point with 2:07 remaining. Virginia trailed by as many as 14 points, the largest deficit overcome in a victory since 2021 (at Louisville). 
• Wake Forest was the first UVA opponent to score a touchdown on the opening drive since JMU on Sept. 9, 2023, a span of 11 games. 
• UVA had not won a game when an opponent has scored a touchdown on the opening drive since it defeated Georgia Tech on Oct. 23, 2021. 
• The Virginia defense totaled six sacks, the most in a game since recording eight at Georgia Tech on Oct. 20, 2022. 
• The Cavaliers won their first ACC opener on the road since knocking off Pitt in 2019. UVA came into the contest having lost three-straight ACC openers.

Player Notes

• Malachi Fields finished with career high in receptions (11) and receiving yards (148). He recorded his second-straight 100-yard receiving effort. It marks the ninth-straight game a UVA wide receiver has gone over the century mark dating back to last season.
• Fields has 329 yards receiving in his last three games, which includes the 2023 season finale. 
• Trell Harris caught a career-high seven passes for 91 yards, three yards shy of matching his career best. 
• Tyler Neville recorded his first two-touchdown game of his career, catching first half scores of 18 and 24 yards. He now has 10 career touchdown receptions (8 at Harvard, 2 at UVA). He’s the first Cavalier tight end with two touchdown receptions in a game since Tom Santi against Duke on Sept. 8, 2007. Neville finished the night with four catches for 68 yards. 
• Quarterback Anthony Colandrea completed 33 of 43 passes (77 percent) for 357 yards and matched a career-best with three touchdown passes. His 33 completions were a career-high and the most by a UVA quarterback since 2021 (Brennan Armstrong, 36 at Pitt). 
• For the second-straight week, Antonio Clary led the team in tackles with 11 and he added his second career sack. Fellow safety Jonas Sanker finished with 10 tackles including seven solo efforts and his first career sack. 
• In his only rushing attempt of the night, quarterback Grady Brosterhous plunged forward for a one-yard rushing touchdown with 2:07 remaining, which ultimately led to Will Bettridge’s game-winning PAT. It was the first rushing touchdown of Brosterhous’ career. 
• Linebacker Trey McDonald made a career-high nine tackles (four solo) and was credited with his first collegiate sack. 
• With 1:24 remaining, Malcolm Greene forced a fumble after Wake’s Taylor Morin hauled in a 20-yard reception, and Antonio Clary recovered the ball at the UVA 29-yard line. Greene’s forced fumble was the second of his career and first as a Cavalier. 
• Jahmeer Carter made his 25th consecutive start, the longest active streak on the team as a Cavalier. 

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers return to Scott Stadium next Saturday to host former ACC rival Maryland at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.

 

ACC Week 2 Scoreboard

Friday
BYU 18, SMU 15
Duke 26, Northwestern 20 (2OT)

Saturday
Virginia 31, Wake Forest 30
Syracuse 31, No. 23 Georgia Tech 28
Pitt 28, Cincinnati 27
California 21, Auburn 14
Boston College 56, Duquesne 0
No. 22 Louisville 49, Jacksonville State 14
North Carolina 38, Charlotte 20
Virginia Tech 31, Marshall 14
No. 12 Miami 56, Florida A&M 9
Stanford 41, Cal Poly 7
No. 14 Tennessee 51, No. 24 NC State 10
Clemson 66, Appalachian State 20

That sweet feelin’#UVAStrong | #GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/xSE7eRYCLD

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) September 8, 2024