With Gator Bowl Win, Virginia Football Completes a Comeback Season for the Ages
It took 136 years, but the University of Virginia’s football team finally discovered what law firms have known all along: any problem can be solved by throwing money at enough twenty-somethings. The 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (11-3, 8-2 ACC) defeated the Missouri Tigers (8-5, 4-4 SEC) in the TaxSlayer™ Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida to cap off what has become one of the greatest seasons in program history.
Entering the season, the Cavaliers were seen as an afterthought by many. Despite tapping into the University’s vast pool of wealthy alumni with nothing better to do, the sports-industrial complex projected them to finish 14th in the 17-team ACC. Vegas was not significantly more favorable, with an over-under of 5.5 wins that could have cut your student loan debt in half if you had just believed in Chandler Morris earlier. However, Virginia started the season off strong, with a last-minute loss against the third most relevant school in the Research Triangle being the only blemish on the Hoos’ record entering a Friday primetime matchup against then-8th ranked Florida State on September 26. That night, under the Scott Stadium lights, Virginia forced itself into the national spotlight with a thrilling double-overtime win and a field-storming powered by the unstoppable force of contributory negligence. After the game, Coach Tony Elliot shared the team’s illuminating secret to success: “outscore the opponent.”
Entering the bulk of the conference slate, Elliott’s Cavaliers, likely in a secret partnership with UVA’s Heart & Vascular Center, proceeded to accomplish this goal in the most stress-inducing way possible. Virginia escaped with an overtime victory at Louisville on a direct-snap touchdown punched in by J’Mari Taylor, scored the first game-winning safety in UVA history against Washington State, and stopped an overtime 2-point conversion attempt with mere inches to spare against a Jordon Hudson’s boyfriend-coached UNC squad. After a Kam Robinson pick-six dispatched Cal with enough ruthless efficiency to make a Darden MBA proud, UVA stumbled in Charlottesville with a loss to Wake Forest propelled by both a game-ending injury to Chandler Morris and karmic justice for allowing the score to reach 6-7.
Needing a win to stay alive in the ACC and CFP races, the Hoos rebounded with their most complete game of the season, a 34-17 victory in Durham against the Duke Blue Devils and their inferior law school. And after holding noted Hula Bowl participant Kyron Drones to 4 completed passes and 2 interceptions in a 27-7 drubbing of Virginia Tech, UVA’s Cinderella season would culminate with a journey to Charlotte for the ACC Championship, a berth in the CFP, and Virginia football immortality. The final obstacle? A 7-5 Duke squad whose very presence in the game called into question the entire football format of the ACC.
On paper, it seemed as though Virginia would be able to complete the storybook narrative: they had beaten Duke handily two weeks earlier and were coming off of a stunning rivalry victory in the Commonwealth Clash for only the third time this century. However, it was not meant to be. Despite a furious comeback effort in front of an electric crowd at Bank of America Stadium, a Jeremiah Hasley touchdown on fourth down in overtime would be the final difference-maker, leaving the Cavaliers to grapple with a lifetime of what-ifs and the author to grapple with the fact that he procrastinated studying for Torts in order to watch Des Kitchings start off overtime with a trick-play pass into double coverage.
Despite falling short of the ultimate prize, Virginia’s incredible season earned them a berth at the TaxSlayer™ Gator Bowl against the SEC’s Missouri Tigers. Mizzou’s offense began the game with a swift punch to Virginia with consensus All-American and Doak Walker Award finalist Ahmad Hardy breaking off a 43-yard run to set up a Jamal Roberts touchdown before four minutes of game time had even elapsed. However, after this, the most exciting performance Mizzou put up was the marching band’s 10th anniversary Hamilton medley rendition.
Virginia clamped down on defense, forcing Mizzou to go 3/12 on third downs, 0/3 on fourth downs, and limiting the SEC’s third-best team with a tiger mascot to 260 total yards. On offense, Virginia mixed masterful clock control with a healthy dose of trickery. From ending a 10:07 drive (the second-longest in school history) with a go-ahead touchdown to a trick quarterback punt that ended at the Missouri 2-yard line, Virginia was able to manipulate the game’s pace to keep the Hoos on top. And despite the Tigers’ best efforts in the final minutes, a fourth-down endzone pass breakup by Virginia’s Devin Neal as the last seconds ticked down sealed the victory for the Hoos and cemented the first eleven-win season in University of Virginia history.
It is easy to think of this season as one of what-ifs. Virginia played in eight one-score games, including each of the Cavaliers’ three losses. Backbreaking interceptions, fourth-down stops, and miraculous comebacks became a staple of the “Cardiac Cavaliers” brand, and a national audience took notice. But this campaign was beyond the wildest expectations of Virginia fans, and the amazing on-field performance of this year is hopefully just a bellwether of successful seasons to come.
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Benvin Lozada’28
benvin@virginia.edu