For almost three quarters Saturday night, Virginia looked stuck in mud. The offense sputtered, the rain kept coming, and Syracuse - working with its third-string quarterback - had the Cavaliers staring at a damaging home loss.
Then Beau Pribula found Da’Shawn Martin for a 43-yard touchdown, and everything flipped.
Virginia used that spark to claw its way to a 28-25 win over Syracuse inside a soggy Scott Stadium, a result that lifted the Cavaliers to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Syracuse dropped to 2-3, 0-3 in league play. It wasn’t pretty, but Virginia escaped after trailing 17-7 at halftime and sitting in trouble deep into the third quarter.
The night started with exactly the kind of burst Virginia wanted. The Cavaliers went 75 yards in eight plays on the opening drive, finishing with a 14-yard touchdown run from Xay Davis for a 7-0 lead.
Syracuse answered immediately. The Orange strung together a fast scoring march of their own, leaning on eight runs before Ahmad Miller powered in from a yard out to tie it at 7.
From there, Virginia’s early rhythm vanished. The Cavaliers punted on six straight possessions, including three three-and-outs, and managed only 66 total yards during that stretch. The offense looked a lot like it had the week before in Tallahassee, and Syracuse took advantage.
Malachi Nelson connected with Umari Hatcher for a 13-yard touchdown on the Orange’s second possession, and Hatcher finished with eight catches for 126 yards and a score. Syracuse also added a chip-shot field goal late in the second quarter, with the drive helped along by three Virginia penalties, all on seniors and all on third-down plays that would have ended the possession.
Virginia still had no real traction after halftime. The Cavaliers opened the third quarter with two more flat drives, and the game felt like it was drifting away until Christian Ellis nearly picked off a pass deep in Syracuse territory. That moment jolted the stadium and set up the play that changed the night.
Pribula’s deep strike to Martin cut into the deficit and gave Virginia life. From there, the Cavaliers finally looked like a team that could finish.
Jekail Middlebrook did the heavy lifting. He carried 17 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns, and he powered Virginia’s best drive of the night with runs of nine and 29 yards, plus a 17-yard completion from Pribula to Kam Courtney. Middlebrook capped that march with a three-yard score to put the Cavaliers in front.
After a turnover on downs gave Virginia the ball at the Syracuse 34, Middlebrook struck again, this time on another touchdown run that stretched the lead to 28-17.
Syracuse still had one last punch. Fourth-string quarterback Danny Lauter, who entered after Nelson left with an injury in the fourth quarter, hit Daunte Bacheyie for a 46-yard touchdown to make it 28-25. Virginia answered with one final defensive stop, coming close to interceptions twice and keeping the Orange from getting any further.
“I’m proud of how they came out and responded after halftime,” said head coach Tony Elliott on the field after the win. “We’re not going to apologize for any wins.
Winning a game against ACC competition is extremely tough. They were down two scores, and they found a way to just play complementary football.
I challenged them, ‘Don’t worry about the scheme, just go play from the heart,’ and that’s what they did.”
Virginia didn’t get the clean performance it wanted, but it did enough to avoid a collapse on its own field. Next up is a trip to No.
24 SMU, with kickoff set for 12:00 PM ET next Saturday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
In Other News...
Virginia Finally Got The Win It Desperately Needed
Virginia football badly needed a stabilizing win, and it found one in a 28-25 escape over Syracuse that showed why close games have felt so difficult for this team. Virginia trailed at halftime but stayed in it with strong special teams and a defense that kept giving the offense a chance, even as the Cavaliers were outgained and had to navigate penalties and a steady dose of in-game adversity.
Jekail Middlebrook gave Virginia the kind of running game presence it had been searching for, helping the Cavaliers finish the job when the margin was tight. The result offers a measure of relief and a chance to reset, but it also leaves the bigger question hanging over the next stretch of the season: whether this was a true turning point or just a much-needed survival act. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Women's Soccer Sends A Strong ACC Message On The Road
Virginias womens soccer team kept its strong early-season form rolling with a lopsided road win over SMU, a result that should travel well as ACC play gets tighter and the margin for error shrinks. The No. 14 Cavaliers spread the scoring around and showed the kind of balance that can make a team dangerous over the long haul, with Olivia Rademaker, Sophia Bradley, Jordyn Hardeman, Aniyah Collier and Mackenzie Mize all finding the net in the victory.
For a Virginia group trying to make a statement beyond just one result, the bigger takeaway is how complete it looked away from home. Multiple scorers, steady pressure and a comfortable finish all point in the same direction, even if the full measure of what this performance means in the conference race will become clearer as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia's Win Came With New Concerns That Could Shape The ACC Race
Virginias 28-25 win over Syracuse gave the Cavaliers a much-needed boost in the ACC race, moving them to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in league play, but the margin of victory did not hide the uneven feel of the afternoon. There were encouraging signs, especially from the veteran core Tony Elliott has leaned on, and defensive tackle Britton turned in a career-high tackle total as Virginia found just enough late to finish off a game it needed.
Still, the bigger takeaway may be what the win cost and what it exposed. Virginia had trouble consistently handling Syracuse through the air and on the ground, and the injury list only added to the concern as the Cavaliers head into a stretch that could shape how far this season can go. Elliott has praised several older players for their leadership, but with more ACC games ahead, Virginia will need that experience to steady a team that looked as vulnerable as it did resilient. [Read more 🡒]