UVA Football coach Tony Elliott has been hearing it from some for talking publicly about his team’s chance to be playing in Charlotte in December, which makes me feel good – because I had a freelance writer (read: paid by the story, and not a lot) tell me to my face last week, before the FSU game, that I needed to slow my roll on that.
I’ll slow my roll when I’m dead, pal.
“We’re not satisfied with just being 3-0. These young men, really, man, believe that they got an opportunity to go, you know, stake their claim for a spot in Charlotte come December. I know that’s people have given me slack for that, but if you don’t believe it, you can’t achieve it, right?” Elliott told reporters after his team’s second straight OT win, this one a 30-27 walk-off at Louisville on Saturday.
ICYMI
- UVA Football | #24 ‘Hoos will their way to 30-27 win at Louisville
- Live Coverage: #24 UVA vs. Louisville | ‘Hoos gut their way to 30-27 OT win
Virginia (5-1, 3-0 ACC) had no business winning this one.
Louisville outgained the injury-depleted ‘Hoos 383-237.
Miller Moss passed for 329 yards and two TDs.
Wideout Chris Bell had 12 catches on 14 targets for 170 yards, and it felt like a million.
UVA was opportunistic. Defensive back Donavon Platt returned a fumble 61 yards for a first-quarter TD, and Kam Robinson returned an INT 47 yards for a TD in the third quarter.
Both were the result of just plain stupid mistakes by Louisville.
The fumble was the result of confusion over the play call on a fourth-and-short – just call a timeout, right?
The INT was Moss, a fifth-year senior, who was the starter at Southern Cal last year – so, not his first rodeo – flinging the ball to whoever while trying to evade a third-and-10 sack.
Eat the sack, punt, UVA doesn’t get the easy six.
Credit to the UVA coaching staff for piecing things together. Defensive coordinator John Rudzinski played pretty vanilla in the first half, and Louisville took advantage, putting up 235 yards, but he adjusted, sending more rushers at Moss to get him out of his rhythm – and forcing the picksix, while also sacking him five times.
O line coach Terry Heffernan had the toughest task. Already without starting center Brady Wilson, UVA lost left tackle McKale Boley in the second quarter.
“So, now we got Ben York, you know, redshirt freshman tackle, out there. But hey, buckle up, bud, time to go. And they found a way,” Elliott said.
The game was tied at 14-14 at the half, and Virginia led 24-14 going into the fourth after the Robinson picksix and a 46-yard Will Bettridge field goal.
Louisville rallied to tie the game on a 50-yard Cooper Ranvier field goal with 1:08 to go, sending the game to OT.
The D bowed up and forced a short Ranvier field goal, giving the offense a chance to get the walk-off win with a TD.
On second-and-8 from the Louisville 9, Chandler Morris was flushed out of the pocket to his left, saw a lane, hit it hard, and fought his way to the 2, where he was met, hard, by defensive backs Jabari Mack and D’Angelo Hutchinson.
Morris was on the turf for several minutes before getting back to his feet.
“I’ve said he’s a warrior. He’s a warrior, and he’s a winner,” said Elliott, who told reporters that Morris will be “OK” with the bye week coming.
“He took a tough hit, but he bounced up after a few minutes on the ground. That’s just who he is. He’s a warrior, and he’s gonna lay it on the line. He knows that’s what it takes. That’s why, you know, everybody in that locker room and in our building has complete confidence in him and follows him wherever he wants to lead us.”
With backup Daniel Kaelin in at QB for the third-and-1 snap, the play-call was direct snap to tailback J’Mari Taylor, who went in untouched for the game-winning score.
Elliott’s first three teams finished 3-7, 3-9 and 5-7, and the media pegged the ‘Hoos to finish 14th in the 17-team ACC in the preseason.
The computers are now saying: 58 percent chance to play in Charlotte.
Slow my roll.
A f***ing freelancer.
I’ve been the one telling you since December and January that the money people gave Elliott a big budget to use to go out and build a roster capable of doing what they’re doing now.
They still have to go out and win the games, which they’re doing.
I was the prophet, telling you what was coming; now you’re seeing it for yourselves.
Elliott acknowledged the obvious, that there’s still a lot of football left to be played.
It’s not a sin to also acknowledge out loud that this team has bigger goals than a cornfed freelancer from Hampton Roads thinks is possible for this team.
“I believe this team has, you know, bigger aspirations,” Elliott said, and for that matter, you reading this, you should, too.
If UVA Football can go from laughingstock to contender, seriously, anything is possible.
OK, the money helped, but still.
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Chris Graham
