Virginia Football vs. Pittsburgh | Scores and Updates
In this story:
The Virginia Cavaliers (3-7, 1-6 ACC) fell to the Pittsburgh Panthers (6-4, 3-3 ACC) 37-7 at Scott Stadium on Saturday. Read a full play-by-play and live analysis for the game below. Most recent updates are at the top of the page.
Read a full recap of the game here: Horrid Start Dooms Virginia in 37-7 Blowout Loss to Pitt
Final Score: Pittsburgh 37, Virginia 7
Scoring Summary
14:55 1Q - 29-yard interception return for a touchdown by M.J. Devonshire. Pitt leads 7-0.
14:44 1Q - 39-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marquis Williams. Pitt leads 14-0.
8:04 1Q - 1-yard touchdown run by Israel Abanikanda. Pitt leads 21-0.
2:33 1Q - 31-yard touchdown reception by Bub Means. Pitt leads 28-0.
7:21 3Q - 25-yard field goal by Ben Sauls. Pitt leads 31-0.
3:48 3Q - 9-yard touchdown reception by Malachi Fields. Pitt leads 31-7.
8:21 4Q - 27-yard field goal by Ben Sauls. Pitt leads 34-7.
2:23 4Q - 39-yard field goal by Ben Sauls. Pitt leads 37-7.
Pitt Drive - 1:56 4Q
Pitt gets one first down and then kneels out the game. Pitt defeats Virginia 37-7.
Virginia Drive - 2:23 4Q
Armstrong throws three-consecutive incompletions to Kemp, Dillon Tennyson, and Sean Wilson. UVA punts it away and that should just about do it.
Pitt Drive - 6:43 4Q
Pitt keeps the ball on the ground on five-consecutive plays, but the Virginia defense is able to make the stop and hold the Panthers to a field goal. Ben Sauls knocks through the 39-yarder to extend Pitt's lead to 37-7.
Scoring Drive: 7 plays, 20 yards, 4:20 | 39-yard field goal by Ben Sauls
Virginia Drive - 8:21 4Q
After a short completion to Billy Kemp IV, Mike Hollins rushes for nine yards to pick up a first down. Armstrong's 3rd down pass to Kemp falls incomplete. UVA stays out on the field for 4th down but Armstrong is pressured and flutters a pass for Sackett Wood Jr. that falls incomplete. Virginia turns it over on downs.
Pitt Drive - 14:09 4Q
Abanikanda runs for five yards and then six yards to move the chains. A big run from Abanikanda is wiped away for a holding penalty. On the next play, Slovis finds Isaiah Stewart for 14 yards and a first down to the UVA 35-yard line. On 3rd and long, Slovis passes to Mumpfield and Cypress punches the ball out and it goes out of bounds. The officials rule that it's a completed catch and fumble, giving Mumpfield 8 yards and setting up 4th and 1. Abanikanda is able to rush ahead for the first down. Pitt keeps it on the ground with Abanikanda for the next three plays and he moves the chains again. Abanikanda is tackled for 2-yard gains on 1st and 2nd down, setting up 3rd and 6. Anthony Johnson comes on a corner blitz and forces Slovis to throw the ball away and the UVA defense makes a stand inside its own 10-yard line. Ben Sauls knocks through the 27-yard field goal and Pitt leads 34-7.
Scoring Drive: 14 plays, 54 yards, 5:48 | Result: 27-yard field goal by Ben Sauls
Virginia Drive - 1:39 3Q
Armstrong goes right back to Malachi Fields on the first play of the drive, connecting with the sophomore wide receiver for 15 yards. Mike Hollins gets open on a wheel route and Armstrong finds him for 12 yards and another first down. UVA tries to get tricky with a flea flicker but the Pitt defense is all over it and sacks Armstrong for a loss of 15 yards and that's how the 4th quarter ends. Armstrong is sacked again on the next play to set up 3rd and 30. Armstrong's screen pass to Demick Starling falls incomplete and Virginia punts it away.
Pitt Drive - 3:48 3Q
The Virginia defense makes another stop, holding Pitt to a three-and-out. Antonio Clary, Nick Jackson, and Aaron Faumui come up with nice tackles on Pitt's three running plays to get the ball back in the hands of the UVA offense.
Virginia Drive - 7:21 3Q
Armstrong throws a long pass to the left sideline and Billy Kemp IV makes a great catch for 20 yards. Armstrong connects with Sean Wilson for six yards. Mike Hollins rushes for four yards to move the chains. Armstrong gets loose out of the pocket and scrambles down the left sideline for 12 yards and another first down. Ty Furnish and John Morgan III get into a dead-ball fist fight and both are ejected from the game. Jestus Johnson III will take over at center for Virginia. Armstrong passes to Billy Kemp IV for eight yards. Ronnie Walker Jr. is tackled short on 3rd and 2, but UVA goes for it on 4th down and Walker picks up the first down with a six-yard run and Pitt is flagged for a facemask. On the next play, Armstrong throws a fade to the back left corner of the end zone and Malachi Fields makes a great catch for a nine-yard score, his first career touchdown. Welcome back, Mr. Fields. UVA is finally on the board.
Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:33 | Result: 9-yard touchdown reception by Malachi Fields
Pitt Drive - 11:20 3Q
On 3rd and 9, Slovis finds an open Bub Means over the middle for 22 yards and a first down into UVA territory. Slovis connects with Jared Wayne on the right sideline for 23 yards into the Virginia red zone. UVA makes a stand there, stopping Rodney Hammond short of the line to gain at the UVA 7-yard line. Ben Sauls sends his 25-yard field goal attempt through the uprights to score the first points since the first quarter.
Scoring Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 3:59 | Result: 25-yard field goal by Ben Sauls
Virginia Drive - 13:08 3Q
Mike Hollins catches a short pass from Armstrong and spins for a six yard gain. That progress is undone on the next play, as Armstrong is sacked by Calijah Kancey for a loss of 7. On 3rd and 11, Pitt immediately gets pressure on Armstrong and sacks him again as UVA goes three-and-out very quickly.
Pitt Drive - 15:00 3Q
The Panthers keep the ball on the ground, as they should for the remainder of the game, as Abanikanda runs for 12 yards on first down. Abanikanda rushes for nine yards and then six yards to move the chains. Fentrell Cypress II breaks up Slovis' deep pass. Abanikanda is tackled by Paul Akere and Nick Jackson after a gain of just 1, and then Slovis' third down pass is too low and UVA gets a stop to force a Pitt punt.
Virginia Drive - 4:01 2Q
Armstrong slings a pass over the middle and Malachi Fields makes a great leaping grab for 14 yards and a first down. Armstrong is sacked by John Morgan III for a loss of 8 yards on the next play. UVA gets that back as Armstrong finds Sean Wilson for 9 yards. On 3rd and 9, Armstrong connects with Fields on the left sideline for 15 yards to move the chains. Finally some signs of life from the UVA offense. On the next play, Armstrong tries a deep ball for Fields, who is held on the play to give UVA another 10 yards down to the Pitt 24-yard line. Armstrong finds Sean Wilson on the right sideline for 10 more yards and a first down, as Virginia enters the Pitt red zone for the first time today. An incompletion and a 2-yard run from Ronnie Walker Jr. sets up 3rd and 8. Armstrong evades a couple of tackles and scrambles around the backfield, but he is eventually brought down for a loss of 13 yards out to the Pitt 25. Will Bettridge comes on and misses his 43-yard field goal attempt wide left. UVA remains scoreless heading into halftime.
Pitt Drive - 6:50 2Q
Slovis connects with Mumpfield for a 12-yard pickup. On the next play, Abanikanda muscles his way for 12 more yards and another first down. Pitt commits another holding penalty and the UVA defense once again takes advantage, as Slovis' 3rd down pass falls incomplete as Jared Wayne slipped and fell right as the ball was arriving. Ben Sauls attempts a 54-yard field goal and his kick had the distance, but it hits the left upright. UVA gets off the field without allowing points for the third-consecutive drive.
Virginia Drive - 7:47 2Q
Armstrong's first down pass goes off the hands of Demick Starling. Armstrong connects with Billy Kemp for 7 yards to set up 3rd and 3. Armstrong is pressured and his pass is too tall for Billy Kemp. Virginia goes three-and-out for the third-straight drive. Daniel Spark punts another bomb that goes 60 yards and M.J. Devonshire fields it at his own five-yard line, but he is able to find a lane on the left side and return it 31 yards out to the Pitt 36-yard line.
Pitt Drive - 11:17 2Q
Mumpfield hauls in an 8-yard catch. Two plays later, C'Bo Flemister moves the chains on 3rd and 1 with a 9-yard gain. Pitt is flagged for holding and the Virginia defense is able to parlay that penalty into another stop. On 3rd and 7, Slovis targets Jared Wayne but Anthony Johnson breaks up the pass to force the Pitt punt.
Virginia Drive - 13:06 2Q
Armstrong pitches the ball to Xavier Brown for a 4-yard gain to the left side. Brown runs to the left again and picks up five yards. On 3rd and 1, Brown gets the carry again but is tripped up for no gain by Tylar Wiltz and UVA goes three-and-out. On the bright side, Daniel Sparks sets a career-long with a 61-yard punt that goes into the end zone for a touchback.
Pitt Drive - 0:45 1Q
Abanikanda goes in the wildcat on first down but the snap is low and he is forced to jump on the ball for a loss of 7 yards. The first quarter ends with Virginia's best play of the game so far, a Pitt fumble for a 7-yard loss. Pitt is called for holding on a screen pass and Olasunkonmi Agunloye is injured on the play. Thanks to that penalty, Pitt is stuck behind the chains and Slovis is forced to check down to Abanikanda on 3rd and 21 and he is tackled well short of the marker. Nice response from the UVA defense to force Pitt to three-and-out.
Virginia Drive - 2:33 1Q
Hollins rushes twice for a total of just one yard on 1st and 2nd down and then Armstrong is sacked by Judson Tallandier II. Virginia with a quick three-and-out.
Pitt Drive - 5:17 1Q
Jared Wayne broke free down the field on a post route but Fentrell Cypress II recovered and was able to break up the pass attempt from Slovis at the last moment to prevent the big play. On 3rd and 7, Slovis targets Wayne again and this time, they connect on the left sideline for a gain of 17 yards. After a 5-yard completion from Slovis to Konata Mumpfield, Rodney Hammond rushes for five yards to pick up another first down. A 1-yard run from Hammond and an incompletion sets up 3rd and 9. Slovis rolls out to his right and throws a deep ball to the end zone. Bub Means had Jonas Sanker in front of him in the end zone, but was able to step in front of him at the last moment to complete the catch for a 31-yard touchdown. That's a backbreaking play to give up for the UVA defense.
Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 2:44 | Result: 31-yard touchdown reception by Bub Means
Virginia Drive - 8:04 1Q
Mike Hollins gets the carry on first and second down and picks up a combined 6 yards. On 3rd and 4, Armstrong targets Malachi Fields, who makes his first catch of the season in his return from injury and moves the chains. Armstrong goes back to Fields on the next play but overthrows him. After a 1-yard run from Ronnie Walker Jr., Armstrong is sacked on 3rd and 9 by John Morgan III for a loss of 9 yards. UVA punts again.
Pitt Drive - 12:00 1Q
The Pitt offense takes the field for the first time, already leading 14-0. After missing last week's game with an injury, star running back Israel Abanikanda is back against Virginia. He gets the carry on each of the first two plays, rushing for five yards each time to move the chains. Kedon Slovis drops back to pass and finds an open Bub Means down the field for a 28-yard pickup to the UVA 16-yard line. Pitt takes only three plays to get into the red zone. Abanikanda runs for four yards, then three yards, and then eight yards on 3rd down to set up 1st and goal from the UVA 1-yard line. Abanikanda is denied on first and second down, but Paul Akere is called for offsides on second down. The refs review Abanikanda's 2nd down run and determine that he crossed the goal line for a touchdown. Pitt leads 21-0 at the midway point of the 1st quarter.
Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:56 | Result: 1-yard touchdown run by Israel Abanikanda
Virginia Drive - 14:23 1Q
UVA wisely keeps the ball on the ground to start its third drive of the game and Mike Hollins is tackled for no gain, a play which receives sarcastic, but loud applause from the crowd. Armstrong drops back to pass on second down but scrambles ahead 11 yards for a first down. A false start backs UVA up five yards, which is followed by rushes of 3 yards and 5 yards by Hollins and Armstrong, respectively. On 3rd and 7, Armstrong tries to target Sean Wilson down the field, but he is well covered and the pass falls incomplete. UVA gets one first down, but is then forced to punt. Pitt's M.J. Devonshire returns the punt 20 yards out to the Pitt 37-yard line.
Virginia Drive - 14:44 1Q
It's almost unbelievable to write what just happened. Armstrong throws a pick-six on each of the first two plays of the game. He floats his second pass intended for Billy Kemp IV into a well-covered area and is easily intercepted by Marquis Williams, who returns it 39 yards for a touchdown. Pitt now leads 14-0 16 seconds into the game.
Virginia Drive - 15:00 1Q
The UVA offense takes the field without starting receivers Keytaon Thompson, Dontayvion Wicks, and Keytaon Thompson for the second week in a row due to injury. On the first play from scrimmage, Brennan Armstrong targets Sackett Wood Jr., but M.J. Devonshire steps in front of the pass, intercepting it and returning it 29 yards for a touchdown. Pitt takes a 7-0 lead just five seconds into the ball game.
Pittsburgh won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Virginia will have the ball first.
