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Virginia Averts Upset Bid by Old Dominion on Game-Winning Field Goal
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The UVA offense woke up just in the nick of time.
After mustering just 13 points through the first 59 minutes of the game, the Virginia offense was in a do-or-die situation as Old Dominion took its first lead of the game with 1:01 left on the clock. Brennan Armstrong responded to the challenge, leading the Cavaliers down the field on a 6-play 56-yard drive to set up a chip-shot 26-yard field goal from Brendan Farrell.
It was no sure thing however, as Farrell had just missed a 36-yarder just a few minutes earlier. This time, Farrell put the ball between the uprights, giving himself some personal redemption and allowing Virginia to avoid the upset bid by ODU with a nerve-wracking 16-14 victory on Saturday at Scott Stadium.
The offense showed up late and Farrell was the hero at the end, but for nearly the entirety of the game, the Virginia defense carried the Cavaliers forward. ODU's only two touchdowns came in hurry-up situations at the end of the half and at the end of the game. Between those two scoring drives, Virginia forced Old Dominion to punt on five-consecutive drives, including two three-and-outs, and the Cavaliers forced eight ODU punts in the game.
UVA held Old Dominion to only 118 yards of total offense in the second half, more than half of which came on that final drive. Virginia sacked ODU quarterback Hayden Wolff three times in the second half and the Cavaliers did well to shut down the ODU running game, which managed just 89 yards on the ground.
Despite scoring only 16 points, the UVA offense looked much better this week when compared to the unit's 3-point performance at Illinois last Saturday. The Cavaliers put up 513 yards of total offense, almost 300 yards more than they totaled against the Illini. Brennan Armstrong went 20/37 for 284 passing yards and moved past Matt Schaub as UVA's all-time leader in career passing yards. Keytaon Thompson was great with nine receptions for 118 yards and Dontayvion Wicks finally showed flashes of his former self with four catches for 85 yards. Lavel Davis Jr. came up with a huge 30-yard reception on the final drive of the game. UVA also recorded 229 rushing yards with true freshman Xavier Brown leading the pack with 88 yards on nine carries.
The reason those 513 yards of total offense didn't result in more points is because UVA turned the ball over three times, including twice inside the ODU red zone. Virginia scored only one touchdown, a one-yard punch-in from Mike Hollins in the first quarter.
But, the Virginia defense did very well to protect the lead until the final minutes. When UVA's defensive unit finally faltered, the offense put its best foot forward and delivered the game-winning drive, capped off by the Farrell field goal.
There is certainly a lot to improve for Tony Elliott's Cavaliers, but it's always better to learn from a win than a loss.
Up next, Virginia heads back on the road to open up ACC play at Syracuse on Friday at 7pm.
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