At halftime, Virginia trailing 14-0 to Louisville, and not being able to get out of its own way, I began multitasking.
Multitasking, as in switching from the game to a movie I had started earlier Thursday.
And, like I tend to do on occasion, start texting friends about how the UVA football program had gone from bad to sad.
Oh, me of little faith.
OK, I got a hunch I wasn’t alone in channel surfing as the Cavaliers botched, or even tried a late first half field goal.
A field goal that would have made it 14-3 Louisville and put Virginia right back in the game.
Said absolutely no one.
And why would they?
The 11th-ranked Cardinals have looked their sharpest at home this season and entered the game on a two-game win streak, having outscored Duke and Virginia Tech by a combined 59-3 count.
However, Virginia responded from a first-half gut-punch and scored 21 third quarter points to take a 21-14 lead.
The Cavaliers, a 20-point underdog entering the game, made Louisville rally for a 31-24 win in a wild and crazy night that included a special teams touchdown for Louisville and a fumble recovery score for Virginia.
Yes, it goes down as a loss for UVA, but the fight and desire to compete with a good Louisville team needs noting.
Eventually my multitasking ended, I still have not finished my movie, but Virginia’s second-half performance, some of which I did not see, taught me a lesson.
The lesson: what this program has been through now a year, you just can’t quit on them. They haven’t quit on us.
Despite falling to 1-5 in one-possession games this season, I do feel as though the team has improved as the season progresses.
Last week’s blowout loss to Georgia Tech was discouraging and downright ugly, but those things happen on every level of football.
Here’s some observations on tonight’s game.
Perris Jones is the most important thing
31-24, win or lose, means nothing.
On everyone’s mind was the terrifying scene on the field when running back Perris Jones took a hard hit to the head on a play that would end up as Virginia’s third score of the third quarter.
Jones lay motionless on the field, before a stunned and silent UL crowd.
Eventually Jones was stretched off the field and taken to a nearby hospital.
Watching the game, I just could not imagine how this could be happening to the Virginia program that has suffered so much since last November.
A text I just received at about 1 a.m. Friday has brought me to tears. “Virginia running back Perris Jones has regained movement in all of his extremities after being injured during Thursday’s football game.”
Thank you, GOD.
Anthony Colandrea is huge
OK, maybe not in height, but in grit and determination.
The true freshman was downright superb tonight. Facing perhaps the ACC’s best defense (sorry, FSU), Colandrea threw for 314 yards, completing 20-of-31 pass attempts.
OK, he made a few mistakes, but the interception in the red zone was more a great play by the Louisville defensive back than a bad pass.
Most of the night, Colandrea was threading the needle on some tight throws, all while in hot pursuit by the Cardinals defense.
He’s going to have some ups and downs, but Colandrea is transitioning into a quarterback the program can build around.
It’s an important two-game season for UVA
Last week’s loss to Georgia Tech ended bowl hopes for Virginia.
Heading to Louisville, on a short week, things could have gotten ugly for the Cavaliers.
Instead, they battled a good team, that’s probably going to end up in Charlotte, to the wire.
After so many close losses this season, some might say that Virginia isn’t as bad as its 2-8 record.
Bill Parcells and I would disagree.
You are what your record says you are.
Virginia closes the 2023 season with back-to-back home games against Duke and Virginia Tech.
If UVA plays with the same effort and grit they displayed tonight, both games are very much winnable.
Colandrea likely will be in control of the offense in both games.
He’s earned it.
If the Cavaliers can win out, with a true freshman running the show, then 4-8 never looked so good.
The next two weeks of Virginia football are critical.
No more multitasking for me.
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