Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech was fittingly bizarre for a Halloween game. As if in costume, Virginia did their best impression of the Yellow Jackets (3-6, 1-5 ACC) winning the game behind a prolific rushing attack, possession totals that can only be described as selfish, and a late defensive stand.
“It’s great when you can play a close game against a tough opponent and come out on the winning end,” coach Mike London said.”
An unusually aggressive Virginia (3-5, 2-2 ACC) won the game’s opening coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff, but infractions derailed the Cavaliers’ opening drive. Virginia committed two false starts and moved the ball only 17 yards before punting.
But the defense would get the ball back in relatively short order. On third down and two from the Yellow Jackets’ 28-yard line, sophomore linebacker Micah Kiser stripped freshman Mikell Lands-Davis, and junior Wilfred Wahee returned the fumble all the way to the 19.
The Cavaliers would not make the most of this early scoring opportunity and were forced to settle for a field goal after junior Albert Reid was stuffed at the goal line on consecutive plays.
Saturday’s game continued a trend of red zone frustration for Virginia. Against Georgia Tech, the Cavaliers were three-for-three in red zone conversions, but only one score was a touchdown. On the season, Virginia is 20-for-22 in red zone opportunities but have scored touchdowns in only 50 percent of trips inside their opponent’s 20.
On the ensuing drive, Georgia Tech showcased the big-play potential of the triple option by going 77 yards in five plays. Redshirt freshman Clifton Lynch punctuated the drive with a 49-yard touchdown scamper after being fed the ball on a pitch from junior quarterback Justin Thomas.
Virginia regained the lead on the very next drive by going 75 yards on 10 plays. This time, the Cavaliers would not be denied on a goal-to-go opportunity. Sophomore Daniel Hamm punched the ball into the endzone from four yards out for his first rushing touchdown this season.
While Georgia Tech receives the reputation for suffocating opposing teams with long drives, it was the Cavaliers that dominated the ball throughout. Virginia amassed nearly 11 minutes of possession in the first quarter and out-possessed Georgia Tech by 13 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets scored the second quarter’s only points with a touchdown pass inside of two minutes. Georgia Tech’s defense set up the scoring drive with an interception. Junior defensive end Rod Rook-Chungong jumped a screen pass intended for junior Taquan Mizzell and returned it to Virginia’s 44.
“The thing about Matt is that he doesn’t let the highs get him too high or the lows get him too low,” London said. “He responds to the challenge.”
Coach Paul Johnson’s offense methodically moved the ball downfield before Johnson unleashed a 30-yard scoring pass to Lynch. As was the case on his earlier touchdown, Lynch was untouched by the Cavalier defense on his way to the endzone.
One week removed from their second-half flop in Chapel Hill, Virginia exited the tunnel out of the half and delivered a body blow to the Yellow Jackets.
In that decisive third quarter, the Cavalier defense limited Georgia Tech to 45 yards of offense and forced another turnover.
“We knew we had to stop the run” sophomore safety Quin Blanding said. “We had to stop them on the dive and make them push the ball outside. We all just rallied to the ball.”
Virginia was very effective against Georgia Tech’s triple option. The Cavaliers held the offense to 144 yards rushing—their second lowest running output this season.
Moreover, Virginia disrupted the typical machine-like efficiency of the Yellow Jacket’s offense. Georgia Tech faced second or third down and more than 10 yards to go four times in that quarter and were one-for-three on third down. For the game, the Yellow Jackets were only 5-for-13 on third down.
“We were our own worst enemy…just too soft with [the ball]” Johnson said.
The Cavaliers put together a run of 17 unanswered points spanning the third and fourth quarters to pull away from Georgia Tech.
The scoring run began with a field goal by senior Ian Frye with 9:55 on the clock. On that drive, Virginia reached the Yellow Jacket’s goal line, but a holding call on first down stalled out the drive.
On Georgia Tech’s next drive, Thomas turned the ball over on a fumble to give Virginia a very short field. After a rush of no gain by Mizzell, Johns uncorked a 30-yard pass to senior Canaan Severin.
That touchdown pass was Johns’ only score of the game. In all, the Chalfont, Pa. native went 17-for-28 with 175 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Virginia’s final score came less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. Reid took the handoff from the Georgia Tech 24, made one hard cut, and ran downfield for his second rushing touchdown of the season.
Reid’s scoring run exemplified the style of power running that the Cavaliers offense has been aiming for all season. The Cavaliers rushed for 233 yards on the game—beating Georgia Tech at their own game.
“Our line is doing a great job,” Mizzell said.
With their backs against the wall and trailing 27-14, the Yellow Jackets took over on their own five-yard line and 4:12 remaining. A rush for negative yardage and an incomplete pass set up 3rd and 14 from their own goal line. Thomas moved the chains with a 17-yard completion then followed with an 11-yard pass and a 12-yard pass. Georgia Tech continued to move the ball in chunks in the air with two 21-yard completions and a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior Isiah Willis.
Now with less than 1:45 remaining, the Yellow Jackets recovered their onside kick attempt and were 46 yards away from winning the ball game. Georgia Tech got as far as the 34-yard line, but an incompletion on fourth down gave the ball over to Virginia, who killed the clock.
“At the end of the day every offense has to run and every offense has to pass,” Blanding said.
Virginia now enters the final third season needing three wins to reach a bowl game. The Cavaliers play Miami and Louisville on the road before closing out the season with home contests with Duke and Virginia Tech.
“We look at the schedule and you look at the rest of the teams that we have to play and mentally you know that you can win every game,” senior linebacker Mike Moore said.”
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