Two weeks in a row, Scott Stadium has witnessed some unexpected drama in the final minutes.
A week ago, the Virginia football team played then No. 9 Notre Dame down to the wire before the Irish swiped a 34-27 with 12 seconds to go. This Saturday, the Cavaliers faced a similar situation but escaped with a 35-29 win against William & Mary after a defensive stop with 1:27 remaining.
While no one predicted either game would be that close, the Hoos took a grateful but unsatisfied approach after holding off their in-state foe from the Football Championship Subdivision.
“It was a good victory for us,” UVa coach Mike London said. “We hadn’t had that in awhile. We could walk around all sullen and downtrodden, but that’s a good football team we played. There’s lots of things we have to improve upon, but we have an opportunity next week against a very good Boise State team. William & Mary is a well-coached football team and they have good players that made good things happen. I’m proud of our players for the way they performed and allowing us to be in position to win a game today. That’s what important. We got the W.”
“It’s a little of both,” Cavalier quarterback Matt Johns said. “We have a little bit of work to do, but a win is a win. Three weeks from now, we’ll have that win under our column. That’s what’s going to matter and we just have to build on it.”
The victory came in up-and-down fashion in a game that felt strange for much of the afternoon. The Tribe sprinted out to a 17-7 lead after an interception by Matt Johns early in the second quarter, but the Hoos responded with a 28-3 surge that seemed to feature a dominant closing of the upset door in the opening moments of the second half. After Ian Frye sandwiched a pair of kicks off of opposite uprights around a Tribe penalty, however, a potential blowout spiraled all the way to the nervous finish.
In the end, the Hoos survived a fourth down trick play that fell just short of a completion at the goal line, a punt block safety, a near disastrous three-and-out when the offense hoped to milk the clock, a long punt return, and a fourth down holding penalty that restarted a drive in the final 11 minutes. Style points, in other words, were in short supply.
Still, Virginia needed a win in any form after losing seven of its last eight games prior to William & Mary’s visit.
“Honestly man, it’s a win,” Cavalier offensive lineman Ross Burbank said. “It’s a good team out there we played. Taking nothing away from them, we didn’t play our best game by far. They had an open week and prepped for us really well. They had a great scheme coming in. Bottom line, a win’s a win. We’re taking that. No doubt.”
The game proved to be a big play bonanza for both teams. The UVa offense scored on plays of 39, 26, and 80 yards in addition to a 16-play touchdown drive in the first quarter. Running back Jordan Ellis took a 39-yard run to the house on his first career carry to start the Hoos’ 28-3 push in the middle quarters. Later in the second quarter, receiver Canaan Severin flashed his one-handed catching prowess with a 26-yard reception that beat a double team bracket. Then running back Taquan Mizzell burst through a screen pass seam for an 80-yard touchdown sprint early in the third quarter to make it 28-20.
Johns finished with 263 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions (one was a half-ending hail mary attempt); he went 17-of-23 passing for the game. Mizzell posted 123 receiving yards and the long touchdown along with 44 rushing yards on five carries. Severin had three catches for 53 yards and the score, while Ellis had five carries for 50 yards and his touchdown.
After a three-and-out followed Mizzell’s touchdown, Virginia’s special teams got in on the highlight reel act too. Corner Maurice Canady fielded the punt, found an opening, and then took it all the way to a 74-yard touchdown return. It marked the fifth longest punt return for touchdown in program history. The Hoos suddenly had a 35-20 lead and a ton of momentum.
“I saw Divante Walker had a really good block for me so I hit the crease he developed for me,” Canady said. “So it was off to the races.”
W&M had some big plays too, which helped the visitors build their early lead and to mount a rally late. The Tribe opened the scoring with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Steve Cluley to DeVonte Dedmon just 2:03 into the game. At the start of the second quarter, they struck again. This time, Cluley hit wide open tight end Andrew Caskin with a 37-yard opposite sideline throw. UVa has now given up six touchdowns this season of 24 yards or more.
After the Hoos made their run, William & Mary’s next big play came from one of its specialties: a blocked kick. With Virginia kicking out of its own end zone, the Tribe burst through and knocked the kick out of bounds for a safety. They led the nation at the FCS level with 10 blocked kicks in 2014 and they now have 13 blocked kicks in their last 16 games. Dedmon returned the ensuing safety kick 24 yards and 10 plays later, he caught a four-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-29. He later returned a punt 28 yards to set up a final drive, but W&M couldn’t come up with one more touchdown for an upset.
Cluley completed 23 of 36 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns, while Dedmon hauled in seven catches for 80 yards and two of those scores. Mikal Abdul-Saboor posted his seventh straight 100-yard rushing day, a program record, with exactly 100 yards on 22 carries.
“We came to play. We weren’t holding anything back,” Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock. “That is why we did that onside kick to start the second half. We didn’t come up here to play it close. If I could, I was trying to take everything we could. That is why I called timeout at the end of the half. I thought maybe we could get a break on a play there. Anyway, we came up here to try to do our best to win and I thought we came pretty dang close. The days that Cluley and Abdul- Saboor had were pretty special.”
