At Long Last, Virginia Football Experiences the Taste of Victory Again
In the end, 352 days separated the two most recent victories for the Virginia football program. Between October 20th, 2022 and October 7th, 2023, the Cavaliers endured the most of trying of times, including frustrating losses on the field and tragic losses off of it.
There was a simple joy found at the beginning of this season in UVA returning to the field just to play again after the 2022 campaign was cut short. Emotions ran especially high in the home opener in week 2. But that joy wore off as the Cavaliers suffered loss after loss, each one seemingly more painful than the last. Sure, the schedule played a significant part in Virginia's 0-5 start, but even against quality competition, the Cavaliers had a chance in four of their first five games, each of which were one-score games in the fourth quarter, and just couldn't finish.
Any lofty aspirations for season-long success dwindled with every passing loss and the unfathomable outcome of an 0-12 season grew more and more possible. Saturday's game offered a chance to get things back on track at home against an FCS opponent, right at the midway point of the season and right before a bye week. But the Hoos had to get out of their own way if they were going to get past another quality team in William & Mary, ranked in the top 10 of the FCS national rankings and led by former UVA head coach Mike London.
After the Tribe jumped out to a 13-3 lead, the Cavaliers weathered the storm and, for the first time this season, played a complete game, going on a 24-0 scoring run over the final 40 minutes of game time as Virginia finally experienced the taste of victory with a 27-13 win over William & Mary on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium.
"Really proud of those young men in there," said UVA head coach Tony Elliott after the game. "Man, it's been a long time coming. They’ve worked extremely hard. They've had to persevere through a ton of adversity. And I think that most people know what's on the surface. But you know, behind the scenes, just the things that these young men have had to persevere through."
Virginia had to persevere through some more adversity early in Saturday's game, going three-and-out on the first possession and giving the ball to William & Mary on the Cavalier side of the 50-yard line. The Tribe capitalized with a couple of first downs before settling for a 38-yard field goal from Caden Bonoffski.
Virginia responded with a nice drive featuring a 17-yard run from Perris Jones, but the drive sputtered and Will Bettridge converted a field goal from 45 yards out to tie things up. The field goal kicking contest continued as, aided by a UVA personal foul, William & Mary drove into Virginia territory and regained the lead on a 48-yard field goal by Bonoffski.
Tony Muskett and the Cavaliers seemed to be on their way to responding with a scoring drive, but disaster struck early in the second quarter as Muskett was stripped of the ball by John Pius, who scooped up the fumble and ran the other way, nearly taking it to the house if not for the hustle and diving effort of Perris Jones to bring Pius down inside the UVA 5-yard line. That only temporarily staved off William & Mary's first and only touchdown of the game, as the Tribe ultimately punched it in on 4th and goal on a run by Martin Lucas to make it 13-3.
Crucially, Muskett's confidence was not shaken at all by the fumble or the 10-point deficit, leading the Cavaliers on a quick six-play, 66-yard scoring drive. Muskett connected with JR Wilson for 22 yards and then Sackett Wood for 17 yards on the next. Perris Jones ran for 12 yards to get into red zone and then Muskett used his legs to finish the job, spinning out of a sack for a seven-yard gain and then calling his own number again on the next play, shaking an ankle tackle and scampering into the end zone to make it 13-10.
Virginia's defense, which began to enforce its will after giving up some early points largely due to poor field position, held the Tribe at bay and forced a three-and-out. As the Cavaliers looked to score again, their next drive took a perilous turn as a combination of a sack and a penalty put them in a 3rd and 19. Muskett then delivered his most impressive play of the season, scrambling away from pressure and launching a 42-yard bomb to Malik Washington. That explosive play was not rewarded with a touchdown as UVA's drive ended with a sack, but Will Bettridge knocked through a 37-yard field goal to tie things up at 13-13.
The two teams traded three-and-outs and then Hollis Mathis was upended by Coen King and fumbled the ball and Tayvonn Kyle jumped on it, giving possession back to Virginia with 55 seconds left in the half. The Cavaliers proceeded to go 79 yards in 48 seconds, using an 18-yard run from Perris Jones, a 16-yard completion to Jaden Gibson, and a 10-yard scramble from Muskett. On 3rd and 1 from the William & Mary 26-yard line, Muskett lofted a deep ball to the back left corner of the end zone and Malachi Fields, who has made a habit out of buzzer-beating catches in the end zone, made the diving catch to give the Cavaliers their first lead of the game, 20-13 at halftime.
UVA's defense continued to lock down William & Mary's run-heavy offense, forcing another three-and-out to start the second half. Virginia drove into the red zone and looked to supplement its lead, but Muskett tried to fit a ball into too tight of a window and his pass was deflected and intercepted in the end zone. Other than those two turnovers, Tony Muskett had a solid game, competing 17 of 26 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another score. He did all that while playing with a shoulder injury that, according to Tony Elliott, will likely require surgery at the end of the season.
"Winning is everything. We felt like the past five weeks, we were 0-5, we wanted to win. But this week, [Coach Elliott] told us that we need to win," said Muskett after the game. "I think there's different levels of commitment and passion. We truly need to win because, for a lot of guys in the locker room like myself, that need to win just makes you take that one extra step because that extra step makes the difference. I think you saw that today."
Muskett orchestrated an efficient and balanced UVA offensive attack, with the Cavaliers amassing 453 yards of total offense on 232 passing yards and 221 rushing yards. That second stat is especially telling, as UVA's previously nonexistent ground game averaged 4.9 yards per carry and was particularly important as the Cavaliers strung together long drives and killed clock in the second half.
William & Mary drove into the UVA red zone after Muskett's interception, but the Cavaliers got off the field without allowing a point as they made a stand on 4th and 2 at their own 10-yard line. From there, Virginia put together what was essentially the game-winning drive, a 16-play, 90-yard series that took more than seven and a half minutes off the clock and ultimately allowed the Cavaliers to double their lead early in the fourth quarter.
That drive was capped by a wild sequence, as Muskett converted a 4th and 3 by lunging for the first down, but in doing so, appeared to re-injure his left shoulder. Muskett went into the medical tent and Anthony Colandrea warmed up on the field. Had Colandrea appeared in the game, he would have burned his redshirt as it would have been his fifth game appearance of the season. But word came from the medical tent that Muskett was going to be able to come back into the game after one play, so Virginia opted to put third-stringer Grady Brosterhous into the game for that play instead of burning Colandrea's redshirt for only one play. Muskett came back onto the field and on the next play, threw a beautiful ball to the end zone and Malik Washington came down with it for a 27-yard touchdown, giving UVA a 27-13 lead.
Malik Washington continued to play at Biletnikoff level, surpassing the 100-yard receiving mark for the fourth time in six games as he caught seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Virginia came up with another big defensive stand after William & Mary drove deep into UVA territory and then the Cavaliers were able to kill off the remainder of the clock to end the game.
"I'm definitely happy. It's hard to win a football game," Muskett said. "We truly had that need to win this week. It's a lot to build off of because they're a great team and that was a great victory for us."
The significance of getting into the win column for the first time in nearly a full calendar year was not lost on the UVA players or coaches, but they also acknowledged that Saturday's success was only the beginning of the hard work the team needs to do to get the season pointed in the right direction.
"Trust me, nobody in our locker room, in this organization feels excited or feels good about where we are," said Tony Elliott. "You got a group of folks that realize the opportunities we didn't take advantage of and we want to make sure that we capitalize on the ones going forward. But really it's just confirmation for those guys in there because they've worked extremely hard."
Virginia's next opportunity will come in two weeks, as after a bye week, the Cavaliers will travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina on Saturday, October 21st.
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