NCAAF

Virginia Cavaliers at Pittsburgh Panthers

· NCAA - Football
5-4, 3-1 Away
Final
24 - 19
7-2, 5-1 Home

Virginia sends No. 23 Pittsburgh to second straight loss with 24-19 upset

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Pittsburgh Panthers: Full Highlights

Elliott's players were listening.

Xavier Brown caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score, and Virginia snapped a three-game losing streak with a 24-19 victory over No. 23 Pittsburgh on Saturday night that likely ended any chance the Panthers had of crashing the ACC Championship.

“Just super proud of how everyone responded in the program over the last two weeks,” Elliott said after the Cavaliers beat the Panthers for just the third time in 10 meetings since Pitt joined the ACC in 2013. “Lot of reflecting and looking in the mirror.”

And a fair amount of grit, too.

Virginia (5-4, 3-3 ACC) ran for 170 yards and its defense kept the Panthers (7-2, 3-2) in check, limiting Pitt to 292 yards, nearly 120 below what the Cavaliers had been giving up coming in.

“We believe we can win any game that we play,” Elliott said. “It’s good for these guys to come out and play well.”

Anthony Colandrea passed for 143 yards and ran for 40 more for Virginia. He threw a pair of interceptions but also connected with Brown for a perfectly executed 24-yard touchdown in the third quarter that put the Cavaliers up to stay.

The victory put Virginia within one win of becoming bowl-eligible. The Cavaliers haven't attended a bowl game since making the Orange Bowl following the 2019 season.

Pitt lost quarterback Eli Holstein to an injury in the third quarter when Virginia’s Mike Diatta hit the redshirt freshman high and late while Holstein was trying to slide. Diatta was ejected for targeting.

Holstein — who completed just 10 of 23 passes for 121 yards — went to the locker room to be evaluated and did not return. Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi said Holstein appeared “fine” in the locker room after the game but did not elaborate.

The hit marked the second time in three games Holstein has left early following a blow to the head.

Nate Yarnell, who lost a training camp battle for the starting job to Holstein, struggled in relief. Yarnell completed only 4 of 12 passes for 44 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions.

The first pick, by Virginia safety Jonas Sanker, set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Kobe Pace that put the Cavaliers up 21-13. The second, a heave down the middle of the field with less than two minutes to go, landed in the arms of Virginia's Corey Thomas. The Cavaliers then ran out the clock to seal it.

Pitt was undone by 11 penalties for 75 yards, including a holding penalty on left tackle Ryan Baer that wiped out a successful two-point conversion following Gavin Barthlomew's 4-yard touchdown catch that would have tied the game with 10:32 to go.

“It starts with me," Narduzzi said. “I’ve got to do a better job getting our guys prepared.”

Fifth down? An odd sequence late left Narduzzi and most of the crowd at Acrisure Stadium incensed.

The Cavaliers had the ball on fourth-and-1 at the Pitt 24 with just more than five minutes to go nursing a two-point lead. Virginia opted to go for it and Pitt appeared to stuff a sneak by Grady Brosterhous. But referee Nate Black called off the play, saying officials were not in proper position at the snap.

Virginia took advantage of the reprieve by converting on a play that actually counted, letting the Cavaliers bleed the clock some more before a 32-yard field goal by Will Bettridge that boosted their cushion to five.

“At the end, they got five downs,” Narduzzi said. “And haven’t seen that many times in my career.”

Asked if he was given an explanation, Narduzzi — whose criticism of the officials earlier in the season led to the program getting fined — shrugged.

“To be honest, I have no idea. It’s a great question,” he said. “I’m sure (the ACC) will answer that for us on Monday or Tuesday.”

The Takeaway Virginia: The Cavaliers showed a physicality they've lacked at times, even running the ball effectively in the red zone, which had been an issue earlier in the season.

Pitt: The offense seems to be regressing the deeper the Panthers get into conference play. The unit was out of sync all night thanks to a mishmash of procedure penalties, dropped passes and poor protection.

Poll implications Expect Pitt to drop out of the rankings when the poll is released on Sunday.

Up next Virginia: Visits No. 10 Notre Dame next Saturday.

Pittsburgh: Hosts No. 19 Clemson next Saturday.

How To Watch

How can I watch Virginia Cavaliers vs. Pittsburgh Panthers?
  • TV Channel: Cavaliers at Panthers 2021 College Football, week 11, is broadcasted on ACC Network.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Panthers: 75.7%
Cavaliers: 24.3%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

UVA TD 2nd Period 14:17 Xavier Brown 1 Yd Run (Will Bettridge Kick)
PITT TD 2nd Period 4:48 Daniel Carter 1 Yd Run (Ben Sauls Kick)
PITT FG 2nd Period 1:59 Ben Sauls 44 Yd Field Goal
PITT FG 2nd Period 0:08 Ben Sauls 48 Yd Field Goal
UVA TD 3rd Period 5:39 Xavier Brown 24 Yd pass from Anthony Colandrea (Will Bettridge Kick)
UVA TD 3rd Period 3:34 Kobe Pace 3 Yd Run (Will Bettridge Kick)
PITT TD 4th Period 10:32 Gavin Bartholomew 4 Yd pass from Nate Yarnell (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
UVA FG 4th Period 2:06 Will Bettridge 32 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/258.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUVA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/221.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPITT
19 1st Downs 17
4-14 3rd down efficiency 4-13
1-1 4th down efficiency 0-0
340 Total Yards 292
170 Passing 165
17/25 Comp/Att 14/35
6.8 Yards per pass 4.7
170 Rushing 127
45 Rushing Attempts 32
3.8 Yards per rush 4.0
6-80 Penalties 11-75
2 Turnovers 2
0 Fumbles lost 0
2 Interceptions thrown 2
35:17 Possession 24:43

Game Information

Acrisure Stadium

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Attendance: 56,693 · Capacity:
Full Standings

College Football News

Can Wisconsin cover the spread against No. 1 Oregon?

Can Wisconsin cover the spread against No. 1 Oregon?

Pamela Maldonado explains why Wisconsin could be a good bet against the spread as an underdog against No. 1 Oregon.

How fans are showing their passion for college football in death

How fans are showing their passion for college football in death

Andrea Adelson joins "The Paul Finebaum Show" and details her recent story on ESPN.com about college football fans having their ashes spread at their favorite stadiums.

No. 7 BYU can take another step toward Big 12 championship game with a victory over Kansas

No. 7 BYU can take another step toward Big 12 championship game with a victory over Kansas

— After suffering several close losses earlier this season, Kansas is finally resembling the team that was expected to be a Big 12 contender after last year’s nine-win campaign.

No. 19 Washington State aims for fifth straight win as Cougars face resurgent New Mexico

No. 19 Washington State aims for fifth straight win as Cougars face resurgent New Mexico

— Washington State would seem to have an enormous advantage over New Mexico on Saturday, especially when it comes to motivation.

Nebraska, USC both making big changes on offense in effort to turn around disappointing seasons

Nebraska, USC both making big changes on offense in effort to turn around disappointing seasons

Nebraska (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) at Southern California (4-5, 2-5), Saturday, 4 p.m. EST (FOX)