Evan Massauro – C-VILLE Weekly

The University of Virginia football season came to an ignominious end November 30, when the team lost 17-37 in the Commonwealth Cup game against Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium. UVA has now ceded the cup to Virginia Tech in 19 of the last 20 matchups (UVA’s victory came in 2019 at home in Scott Stadium).

But the bigger storyline is that both teams entered the night in line to become bowl eligible. Over the last few years the NCAA has become more lax with bowl eligibility requirements in reaction to the growth and popularity of college football, meaning far more “bowl” games have come into existence. Still, the achievement of bowl eligibility is seen as a milestone.

Bowl eligibility not only means the obvious—a potential invitation to a postseason matchup—but also brings a higher expected standard of play and a new level of respect to a program as a whole. Recruits who may have previously been out of reach may now be a possibility, and a team also has a chance to show its stuff (so to speak) to the nation, helping to draw additional recruiting interest. Despite the disappointing end to their season, the Hoos have made strides from the previous two seasons under Head Coach Tony Elliott. However, without maintaining a winning (or at least even) record, and eventually achieving bowl eligibility, any progress the program has begun to enjoy may stagnate.

Speaking of stagnation (and not to be totally doom and gloom here), some important things are happening this off-season for the Hoos. First, second-year quarterback Anthony Colandrea has officially announced that he will enter the transfer portal on December 9, as many had already suspected. Additionally, Tony Muskett, who started at QB in 2023 before being replaced by Colandrea for much of the 2024 season, will become ineligible to play for the team after finishing the season as a fifth-year senior. His absence leaves UVA with no quarterback on the roster with many college snaps under his belt (backup QB Gavin Frakes started five games for New Mexico State in 2022 before transferring to UVA). That’s a big problem, one that will likely need to be addressed via the transfer portal in the offseason.

Another issue: A large number of current UVA football players are either seniors or grad students. This includes standouts like wide receiver Malachi Fields, who led the team in receptions and receiving yards, the excellent safety duo of Jonas Sanker (whose praises I’ve been singing all season long) and Corey Thomas Jr., as well as much of the current offensive and defensive lines. In addition to the losses from graduation, I also expect a handful of underclassmen to opt into the transfer portal in the coming week. This leaves Elliott with a potential turnover of 40 to 50 players going into the 2025-2026 season.

On the bright side, Fields, Sanker, Thomas Jr., and others made their way to UVA and improved it over the past few years. And they did it in a program that was in far worse shape than it is now. Who’s to say that there aren’t a few new gems coming the Hoos’ way this offseason? No matter what happens, Elliott, Offensive Coordinator Des Kitchings, and Defensive Coordinator John Rudzinski will need to put the new pieces together and keep things moving in the right direction.

The University of Virginia football team suffered a tough loss to Louisville Saturday, on an otherwise perfect fall afternoon at Scott Stadium. The Cavs, whose October 12 defeat was their first in the ACC this season, had a couple of memorable special teams miscues and questionable play calls in the red zone that sank what were otherwise solid performances from many Hoos on both sides of the ball.

The highs

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea was once again solid in the passing attack with 279 yards, one touchdown pass, and no interceptions on the day. But it was his legs that kept things moving for UVA. With a season high 15 carries for 89 yards he looked dynamic scrambling out of the pocket when necessary, and picked up multiple key first downs to extend drives.

On offense, fourth-year wide receiver (and Monticello High School standout) Malachi Fields (nine receptions for 129 yards) and Harvard tight-end transfer Tyler Neville (seven receptions for 64 yards), have clearly become two of Colandrea’s preferred targets as the season has progressed. Expect to see more of Neville, especially in the offensive game plan from here on out. He has great rapport on the field with Colandrea and has been an invaluable asset in mid-range third-down situations. Just about the only thing neither Fields nor Neville managed to do Saturday was find the end zone, as UVA stalled out on multiple drives in Louisville territory.

On the defensive side, safety Jonas Sanker, a Covenant School grad, continued to impress. With 11 tackles, eight of which were unassisted, Sanker seemed to somehow be everywhere all at once. He brings an explosive energy to a UVA secondary that, to be fair, was overall pretty solid given its tall task on Saturday. It limited a strong Louisville receiving core (which includes former four-star recruit and recent Alabama transfer Ja’Corey Brooks) to just one TD and 231 receiving yards.

The lows

UVA’s control of the Louisville run game was abysmal. Louisville running back Isaac Brown ran wild all game long, picking up two TDs on 20 carries for 146 yards from scrimmage. This is something the coaching staff must address before the team’s next matchup, on October 19 at noon against No. 10 Clemson, whose fourth-year running back Phil Mafah has consistently shown he’s more than capable of doing similar damage against a porous defensive line.

Some of Saturday’s play-calling, particularly on short-yardage downs and in the red zone, was a bit suspect. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one scratching my head about a fourth-down passing attempt instead of kicking an easy field goal before the half. Perhaps the result of an aggressive coaching philosophy, or potentially a lack of conviction in the run game (or some other aspect of the offense), but there’s certainly something to be said for having the lead going into the locker room at halftime. Even if it’s only by three points instead of seven.