Virginia head coach Tony Elliott pushed his team to look at their season with a fresh mindset during the bye week, telling them they still had a chance to turn things around. The players responded well.
Xavier Brown caught one touchdown pass and ran for another, leading Virginia to a 24-19 victory over No. 23 Pittsburgh on Saturday night. This win ended a three-game losing streak for the Cavaliers and likely ended any hopes the Panthers had of making it to the ACC Championship.
“I’m really proud of how everyone has responded over the last two weeks,” Elliott said after the win. “There was a lot of reflection and self-evaluation.” And there was plenty of grit shown on the field too.
Virginia (5-4, 3-3 ACC) rushed for 170 yards, and their defense played well, holding Pitt (7-2, 3-2) to just 292 yards — nearly 120 yards below their average.
“We believe we can win any game we play,” Elliott said. “It’s great for these guys to come out and play well.”
Quarterback Anthony Colandrea threw for 143 yards and ran for 40 yards, despite two interceptions. He connected with Brown for a well-executed 24-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, giving Virginia the lead for good.
The win put Virginia one step closer to becoming bowl-eligible, needing just one more win to secure a bowl game. It would be the Cavaliers’ first bowl appearance since the 2019 Orange Bowl.
Pitt’s quarterback Eli Holstein was injured in the third quarter after a hit from Virginia’s Mike Diatta, who was ejected for targeting. Holstein, who had completed only 10 of 23 passes for 121 yards, was taken to the locker room for evaluation and did not return.
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said Holstein seemed “fine” after the game but didn’t provide more details. This was the second time in three games that Holstein had left early due to a head injury.
Nate Yarnell replaced Holstein but struggled, completing just 4 of 12 passes for 44 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was by Virginia safety Jonas Sanker, which set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Kobe Pace to give Virginia a 21-13 lead.
The second pick came with less than two minutes left in the game, as Yarnell’s pass was intercepted by Virginia’s Corey Thomas, sealing the victory for the Cavaliers.
Pitt also hurt themselves with penalties, committing 11 penalties for 75 yards. One of those penalties, a holding call on left tackle Ryan Baer, wiped out a successful two-point conversion after a touchdown that would have tied the game with 10:32 left.
“It starts with me,” Narduzzi said. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting our guys ready.”
