Lost in an ocean of Virginia fans of all ages, Tony Elliott was asked how his team was able to pull off the upset over No. 8 Florida State in light of a mountain of adversity.
“Just believe,” Elliott said.
While the ESPN camera never quite found Elliott among the masses, his message resonated with much of his now four years at UVA.
Throughout Virginia’s 46-38 double overtime thriller of a win over Florida State, the belief was self evident. The victory was the program’s first top 10 win at Scott Stadium since 2005, when UVA upset then No. 4 ranked Florida State.
“How fun was that?” Elliott asked after finally taking the podium for his postgame press conference. “That’s what Scott Stadium is supposed to be like and that’s what I had envisioned when I decided to take the job here. The potential.”
In front of a crowd of 50,107, the largest crowd at Scott Stadium since the 2023 home opener against JMU, Elliott delivered the program a signature win four years in the making. Elliott now becomes only the second coach in UVA program history with two top 10 victories, the other at No. 10 UNC in 2023, joining legendary coach George Welsh.
Elliott’s sentiment of belief was echoed not only in postgame words, but in how the game was coached and played. Trailing 21-14 in the first half after a 21-0 run by Florida State, Trell Harris broke free on a big pass to move the ball down the field and J’Mari Taylor bounced off a hit that reverberated throughout the stadium to score the tying 26-yard touchdown. Late in the second half, Elliott chose not once, but twice to go for it on 4th-and-1 in a tied ballgame, eventually leading to the go-ahead touchdown.
UVA defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter has been part of the program for six years without a single winning record or field storm of his own to enjoy. The difference to him in this program after all his years falls right in line with Elliott’s message.
“I think belief,” Carter said. “More guys are bought in to what Coach Elliott has been trying to get established for so long.”
As the clock wound down, the crowd of students bunched up closer and closer towards the bottom of The Hill. As soon as Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos’ pass fell into the arms of Ja’Son Prevard in the end zone for the game-sealing interception, just the second crowd of 50,000 in the Elliott era quickly engulfed the field.
“I got trampled by a couple of my classmates,” Prevard said. “It was a great experience, but I got out of there after a little while.”
Fellow defensive back Devin Neal Jr. had a better vantage point and saw the celebration about to ensue, which would lead to students attempting to tear down a stubborn goal post.
“That last play, I had faith that we had won,” Neal said. “Everything was prepped and ready. I already know they’re rushing the field. I see everybody hanging off the bleachers, so when they rushed I’m just enjoying the moment, taking pictures with people, dapping up fans. This is what it’s all for right here.”
Belief wasn’t just a buzzword, it was everything the Cavaliers have been building coming to fruition on Friday night from the players to the fans.
“There’s something different about that group and hopefully, tonight just gets people’s attention,” Elliott said postgame. “If we wanna be a premier program, it’s gonna take all of us.”
Here are three takeaways from a memorable night in Charlottesville.
“Patchwork” Offensive Line Paves The Way
One of the biggest storylines heading into Friday night was the health status of center Brady Wilson. Those questions, or fears, were quickly answered via the ACC Availability Report and the fact Wilson wore a boot on his right leg. The Cavaliers needed to figure out how to play without one of their top offensive linemen.
Drake Metcalf slid over to center, while Kevin Wigenton II filled in the vacated right guard spot. Many took Wilson’s absence as a sign of defeat before kickoff, but by the end of the night few actually noticed.
“That’s how you exact your will on a team, and I feel like that’s what we did,” Virginia running back Xavier Brown said. “Our offense line was having a great push all night. The quarterback was getting a great play fake off the handoff, and the backs were just running hard.”
The Cavaliers rushed for 211 yards against a defense that had only allowed 235 rushing yards on the season through three games. J’Mari Taylor rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, while Brown finished with 60 yards on 9 carries. Quarterback Chandler Morris scored 3 rushing touchdowns.
“At the end of the day, it’s all belief,” Elliott said. “Doesn’t mean you’re perfect, right, but you just believe. You believe beyond your circumstances. You believe beyond what you see in front of you. And that group, man, I could tell by the way they practiced this week. I could tell by how they showed up for pregame that they believed.”
There was no better example than Virginia’s 12-play, 74-yard drive in the third quarter to take the lead. Morris injured his throwing hand on the second play of the drive and offensive coordinator quickly shifted to a ground-heavy attack calling 10 straight run plays. UVA gained 66 yards on 11 rushes on the drive and made a stout Florida State defense look overmatched.
“If you want to beat a team and empower your will, you run the football,” Morris said. “To see our guys up front, we had some new faces up front, too, go out there and just stick their nose in it, and just get after it, and play tough football, it was awesome to see.”
It speaks to the hurdles the offensive line has had to overcome throughout the season. Major transfer portal additions like Monroe Mills and Makilan Thomas are lost for the season, while others like Wilson are currently held out with injury. Elliott credited offensive line coach Terry Heffernan for keeping the group moving forward.
“We went into the portal and we brought in seven offensive linemen, and right now five of them are unavailable,” Elliott said. “And to still be able to do that versus very quality opponents. But at the end of the day, it’s belief.”
Defense Makes The Plays That Count
Early in the season there have been plenty of question marks surrounding defensive coordinator John Rudzinski and his unit. Entering a matchup against the nation’s top-ranked offense in Florida State, who gave Alabama more than they could handle, it was reasonable to ponder if Virginia could hold up enough defensively.
Throughout the game though, it was the defense swinging momentum back for the Cavaliers.
The Seminoles’ first three drives of the game ended with a punt, an Anthony Britton forced fumble recovered by Fisher Camac, and the wildest interception from Ja’Son Prevard you will ever see in the red zone.
“As a defensive unit, I feel like we needed a night like tonight,” Prevard said, who finished the night with 2 interceptions. “I tell the DBs every week, we’ve got to play with confidence and swagger.”
Florida State would find plenty of success behind stars like quarterback Tommy Castellanos and wide receiver Duce Robinson, who had 9 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. But every time Virginia needed a stop, the defense found a way.
“When we needed stops, they got us a stop so that we can find a way to score more points than the opponent,” Elliott said.
The best example came in the second overtime period. While the defense would only rack up 2 sacks total on the night, they were credited with 5 quarterback hurries in the official box score and were in the face of Castellanos down the stretch. This led to several desperation throws by the Florida State star and eventually the game-sealing interception by Prevard.
Devin Neal led the team with 12 tackles, while Kam Robinson showed up throughout the game with 10 tackles and a sack. Defensive linemen Mitchell Melton, Fisher Camac, Dan Rickert, and Hunter Osborne also made several plays in the backfield to slow down the Florida State playmakers. While the 514 total yards and 38 points are the most given up this season, for a unit facing one of the more dynamic offenses in the country, they’ll take it.
“At the end of the day our number one objective on our plan to win is outscoring the opponent,” Elliott said. “I think they're gonna get some confidence from this.”
In The Driver’s Seat
What cannot be underestimated is the bigger picture from Friday night’s win over No. 8 Florida State. With a national audience on ESPN, relatively little competition for viewership on a Friday night and a top 10 ranked opponent in town, Virginia was at the circle of the college football universe for a night. During the buildup to the game, tight end Sage Ennis said this was an opportunity to show fans and others this team was “real”.
Virginia showed on Friday night they are very real.
“It puts the world on notice,” Cavalier running back Xavier Brown said. “It’s nothing that we didn’t think we could do. I mean, coming into this week, there was no doubt in our mind that we’d come in and win this game.”
Normally, this time of year Virginia fans are waiting for a reason to move on to basketball season. Now, not only were thousands completely absorbed into the scene on the field at Scott Stadium and wondering what having a relevant football program again means, but nationally people noticed UVA too.
“Just understanding how hungry this university is,” Morris said. “We’ve got a great team. The staff went out and got great players, great people too.”
Hunger doesn’t usually stop after one bite though. The Cavaliers now sit at 4-1 and 2-0 in the ACC and now have a fair chance at being ranked next week, depending on this weekend’s action, for the first time since 2019. More lofty goals are also attainable, which it seemed Elliott and most player’s attention was pointed at instead of simply reveling in one win.
“We wanted to be in the driver’s seat, and that’s all we did was just keep ourselves in the driver’s seat,” Elliott said of the ACC race. “We gotta keep two hands on the wheel, put the seatbelt on. Make sure that we check the rear view mirror, make sure we’re awake. So that we don’t hit a pothole along the way.”
On a night UVA celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1995 team’s historic upset of Florida State, it’s a reminder that players from that team are etched in program history for more than just one game. This year’s Cavaliers want their upset of Florida State to be a footnote in a greater overall season.
“It’s special for sure,” Virginia defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter said. “I think we’re a motivated group. We got so many pieces, but were still motivated around one cause and that’s to win the conference. Just one step on the road.”
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