Virginia got a TD and two-point conversion to begin the second OT, then picked off a fourth-down pass from Tommy Castellanos to seal a 46-38 win over #8 Florida State.
This is what spending $35 million on a team looks like, folks.
And you can bet the money people are ready to open their checkbooks again.
Virginia put on a show for its fans, and with a sizeable contingent of Seminole fans on hand among the announced crowd of 50,107, the stadium was electric.
UVA QB Chandler Morris completed 26 of 35 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns, and scored three TDs on the ground – overcoming a three-INT night, including two on back-to-back drives in the second quarter.
This was a statement win for Virginia and fourth-year head coach Tony Elliott, whose team jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, only to see the Seminoles score three straight touchdowns to take a 21-14 lead just before half, fueled by those two INTs.
Virginia, however, refused to blink and responded with a potentially game-saving scoring drive just before the half expired to make it a 21-all game at the break.
This game was a slugfest from there.
The Cavaliers fought back and had a 35-28 lead with less than a minute remaining in the game.
The kids amassed on The Hill were ready to unleash their fury.
Then FSU responded when Castellanos found Randy Pittman for an 11-yard score on fourth-and-goal to tie the game and force overtime.
The Hill, momentarily, was silenced.
The teams traded field goals in the first OT, and Morris scored on a 4-yard run – and connected with Trell Harris for the two-point conversion – to put the game pressure back on the ‘Noles.
Castellanos, who passed for 254 yards and a TD, and had 78 yards and a TD on the ground, was pressured on a fourth-and-12 from the UVA 27, and his pass, thrown off his back foot, was picked off by Ja’Son Prevard, sealing the win for the ‘Hoos.
The instantaneous field-storming that followed will come at a cost, however, as the ACC announced in the offseason that it would be assessing fines to schools whose fans storm the field or court – the first offense costing $50,000.
The biggest problem UVA will have in paying this fine is which donor gets the first opportunity to mail the $50,000 check to Charlotte.
If Friday night under the lights in Scott Stadium is any indication, then the program is headed in the right direction.
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