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Virginia Upsets No. 8 Florida State in Double Overtime Thriller

There will be very little sleep in Charlottesville on Friday night after the 'Hoos earned their first signature win of the Tony Elliott era.

Mike McDaniel

Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris fueled a home upset of No. 8 Florida State on Friday night in Charlottesville.
Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris fueled a home upset of No. 8 Florida State on Friday night in Charlottesville. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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The Virginia Cavaliers have earned their first signature win of the Tony Elliott era.

Fueled by 440 yards of offense and timely defensive stops, the ‘Hoos found a way, upsetting No. 8 Florida State 46–38 in double overtime on Friday night in Charlottesville.

Two early Florida State turnovers dug the Seminoles into a 14–0 hole. But after Seminoles running back Gavin Sawchuk put the first points on the board for Florida State with a two-yard touchdown run with 6:52 to go in the second quarter, the ‘Noles forced an interception from UVA quarterback Chandler Morris and turned the short field into seven more points to tie the game at 14.

On the next possession, Morris turned it over again, leading to another Seminoles touchdown. In the blink of an eye, Florida State put up 21 straight points to take the lead late in the second quarter. But Virginia would respond with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 26-yard J’Mari Taylor touchdown scamper to tie the game back up at 21 apiece.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter. Virginia held a 35–28 lead with less than three minutes to play. Florida State was faced with fourth-and-1 at the Virginia 22-yard line and elected to go for it. But Virginia’s defense brought the house on a blitz and flushed Seminoles quarterback Tommy Castellanos from the pocket, and his pass fell incomplete.

Virginia controlled possession, but went three-and-out and had to punt back to Florida State. With 36 seconds remaining, the Seminoles offense faced fourth-and-goal from the Cavaliers 11-yard line. Under immense pressure, Castellanos made the throw of his life, hitting Randy Pittman Jr. by the front left pylon for a touchdown.

The extra point was converted and the game was sent to overtime. After trading field goals in the opening frame, Virginia's offense retained possession to start the second overtime.

On second-and-goal from inside the five, Morris rolled to his right and beat Florida State's defense to the pylon for the go-ahead score, which sent the fans at Scott Stadium into a frenzy.

By rule, the Cavaliers had to go for two in the second overtime, and Morris hit receiver Trell Harris sprinting across the back left boundary in the end zone. Virginia led 46-38.

On the following possession, Virginia’s secondary momentarily lost Seminoles receiver Duce Robinson on a go route. Robinson appeared to haul in a Castellanos pass in the end zone, just past a host of Virginia defenders, but he bobbled the ball and the touchdown on the field was overturned.

The ‘Noles were faced with fourth-and-long after a false start, and Castellanos’s final pass of the night fell incomplete, leading to an instantaneous field storming from the lawn beyond the end zone, capping off the first signature win of the Elliott era.

Virginia improved to 4–1 and 2–0 in ACC play, while Florida State fell to 3–1 and 0–1 in the league.

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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.

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