Virginia Football Defeats Richmond 34-17 | Live Updates

Score updates and live analysis for the Virginia football game against Richmond

Follow along with score updates and live analysis for the Virginia Cavaliers vs. Richmond Spiders football game on Saturday at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Read a brief recap of the game here: Quick Recap: Virginia Beats Richmond 34-17 in Season-Opener

This article will be updated after each drive. Updates are in chronological order top-to-bottom.

First Quarter

Virginia sends out Aaron Faumui, Perris Jones, Nick Jackson, and Brennan Armstrong for the coin toss. UVA wins the coin toss and elects to defer to the second half. 

Richmond Drive - 15:00 1Q

The first pass from Richmond quarterback Reece Udinski sails over the head of his intended target. The Spiders go up-tempo on their first drive and run the ball up the gut for a short gain by Aaron Dykes. On third and 8, Udinski tries to scramble for the yardage himself, but he is stopped short by James Jackson and Virginia forces a Richmond three-and-out on the first drive. 

Virginia Drive - 13:30 1Q

Virginia goes play action on its first play and Armstrong finds Dontayvion Wicks, who makes a sliding catch for a first down and pickup of 13 yards. Armstrong goes to Wicks again on the next play for a short gain. Perris Jones gets the handoff and tries to get to the right edge but he is stopped after no gain. On 3rd and 5, Armstrong scrambles but is forced out of bounds four yards shy of the marker. On comes the punting unit. Daniel Sparks' punt bounces inside the five but goes into the end zone before Nick Jackson can get to it. 

Richmond Drive - 11:07 1Q

Udinski throws to Jasiah Williams on the sideline and Antonio Clary makes the tackle after Williams gains five yards. Darrius Bratton and Aaron Faumui sack Udinski on second down to set up third and long. Udinski makes a great throw to Jasiah Williams on the sideline to convert on third down. Continuing to work quickly, Udinski throws three-straight short passes to move the chains again. Jakob Herres is left open and Udinski finds him for another first down. Then, Aaron Dykes finds a hole and bolts up the middle for a gain of 20 yards to get the Spiders into the red zone. Savon Smith runs for 9 yards to set up first and goal and then Richmond goes right back to him on the next play and he runs untouched into the end-zone for an eight-yard touchdown. 

What seemed like another three-and-out at the start of the drive turned into a brilliant scoring drive for Richmond as Udinski was extremely effective on short passes to his receivers. The up-tempo offense seemed to wear the UVA defense down quite a bit by the time the ball reached the red zone.

Scoring drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 4:40

Richmond 7, Virginia 0

Virginia Drive - 6:22 1Q

John Paul Flores is whistled for a false start before the first play. Armstrong finds Wicks for a 10-yard gain and Richmond is flagged for a face mask to move the ball to the UVA 44-yard line. 

And Lavel Davis Jr. is back, ladies and gentleman. 

Brennan Armstrong throws up the middle to Lavel Davis Jr., who breaks a tackle and takes it 56 yards for his first touchdown since the 2020 season and the first TD of the Tony Elliott era. Welcome back Lavel. 

Scoring drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:31

Richmond 7, Virginia 7

Richmond Drive - 5:56 1Q

After the quick scoring drive for the Cavaliers, the UVA defense returns to the field. Richmond's Savon Smith takes the handoff up the middle for a gain of 17 yards. The Spiders go back to Smith on the next two plays and UVA defends him better, tackling Smith after gains of 4 yards and 0 yards to set up 3rd and 6. Udinski looks to go deep to Jakob Herres, but he was well defended by Antonio Clary and the ball goes out of bounds. After a shaky second possession, the Virginia defense gets a big stop and forces the punt.

Virginia Drive - 4:32 1Q

Mike Hollins runs for a short gain, then Brennan Armstrong scrambles wildly, reversing field for a 9 yard pickup and a first down. Armstrong then throws to Lavel Davis Jr., who makes a tough contested catch for 12 yards and a first down. Virginia goes back to Mike Hollins on the ground and he picks up one yard. Armstrong calls his own number on a read-option and is stopped after no gain. On 3rd and 9, Armstrong throws over the middle to Keytaon Thompson for 14 yards to move the chains. UVA's John Paul Flores is called for an illegal hands to the face penalty, which moves the Cavaliers back 15 yards. After an incomplete pass to Dontayvion Wicks, Armstrong throws to Luke Wentz, who makes his first career catch, and Richmond is also called for another face mask penalty to move the chains. Perris Jones finds a hole and runs for a 14-yard gain. Jones gets the ball again on the next play and muscles his way for five yards. After an incompletion, Armstrong targets Dontayvion Wicks on the left sideline on third down and Wicks makes a great catch at his shoes to pick up the first down. On the next play, Perris Jones breaks three tackles and dives into the end zone for his first-career touchdown. 

Jones certainly showed why he won the starting running back job on that possession. That was some really impressive running by the former walk-on.

Scoring drive: 14 plays, 83 yards, 4:27

Richmond 7, Virginia 14

Second Quarter

Richmond Drive - 0:05 1Q

Aaron Dykes is tackled by Anthony Johnson after a gain of two to end the first quarter. Dykes gains four on the next play to set up third and 4. Udinski's pass intended for Dante Black is broken up by Fentrell Cypress II and the Virginia defense forces another three-and-out. 

Virginia Drive - 14:18 2Q

UVA goes right back to Perris Jones on the ground on the first play and he makes a great move to pickup 9 yards. Jones gets the call again and powers through some contact for two yards and a first down. Armstrong throws deep to a well-covered Dontayvion Wicks and it falls incomplete. Armstrong keeps it and finds a huge hole, outrunning the Richmond defense down the right sideline for a 64-yard touchdown. 

Brennan Armstrong is now Virginia's all-time leader in total offense, passing Shawn Bryce Perkins.

Scoring drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:18

Richmond 7, Virginia 21

Richmond Drive - 13:00 2Q

Bratton nearly jumps in front of Udinski's pass, but it barely makes it through to Jakob Herres for a 6-yard gain. Leroy Henley catches Udinski's throw and runs five yards for a first down. Richmond continues to work an up-tempo offense and the check-downs continue to be open. On third and 7, Udinski makes a great play to throw on the run and finds Jasiah Williams for another first down. Kam Butler makes a nice tackle of Aaron Dykes after a gain of one yard to setup third down. On 3rd and 3, Udinski targets Herres again but they cannot connect. Jake Larson comes on a makes a 45-yard field goal to stop Virginia's 21-0 scoring run. 

Scoring drive: 11 plays, 47 yards, 3:23

Richmond 10, Virginia 21

Virginia Drive - 9:36 2Q

Armstrong pitches it ahead to Billy Kemp on an end-around and he runs 10 yards for a first down. Perris Jones rushes right and gains 17 yards with some help from Lavel Davis Jr. who helped to keep him up during the run. Armstrong calls his own number again and gets out wide to the left for a 14-yard run. Armstrong throws a receiver screen to Wicks, but the throw is off-target and Wicks only picks up two yards before he is tackled. On 3rd and 8, Armstrong scrambles and is tackled short of the line to gain, but Richmond is called for holding and UVA gets a fresh set of downs. Hollins runs behind a row of blockers to the right and moves the ball down to the 10-yard line. Hollins gets the handoff again and powers through for a gain of four yards. On 3rd and 2, Virginia runs to the right side again but this time the handoff goes to Perris Jones who picks up the first down to set up first and goal from the three-yard line. Hollins runs it up the middle and fumbles the ball as he crosses the goal line, but he is able to jump on it for the touchdown. 

Scoring drive: 12 plays, 69 yards, 5:26

Richmond 10, Virginia 28

Richmond Drive - 4:10 2Q

The Spiders continue to have success running between the tackles, as Savon Smith runs up the middle for 15 yards. Smith gets the carry again and bounces it outside for a gain of 9. Udinski throws in the flat to Williams and he picks up the first down before getting blasted out of bounds by Jonas Sanker. Nick Jackson makes a nice tackle to stop Savon Smith after a gain of 1. Udinski throws a slant to Williams and then another short slant to Henley to set up fourth and 2. Richmond goes for it and Udinski throws deep down the sideline to Henley, but Cypress was all over him and breaks the pass up. Richmond turns the ball over on downs. 

Virginia Drive - 1:22 2Q

With 1:22 left and all three timeouts still to use, Virginia elects to run the ball three times. The Cavaliers pick up the first down after three rushes by Perris Jones but they don't use any of their timeouts which leaves just 15 seconds on the clock. Armstrong throws deep to Lavel Davis but the pass is broken up. UVA goes back on the ground to kill the rest of the clock to send the game to halftime.

Halftime. Richmond 10, Virginia 28

Third Quarter

Virginia Drive - 15:00 3Q

Armstrong throws in the flat to Billy Kemp who makes a move and gains 7 yards. Perris Jones rushes right for seven yards, but the play comes back for a holding call on John Paul Flores. Armstrong throws to Dontayvion Wicks on the left sideline and Wicks spins out of a tackle, but he is then hit from the side and fumbles the ball and Richmond recovers it at the UVA 34-yard line. 

Richmond Drive - 13:58 3Q

With a golden opportunity starting a drive with a short field, the Spiders go right back to what was working well for them in the first half: short passes and running plays. A run from Aaron Dykes picks up a first down and moves the Spiders to the 10-yard line. On third and goal from the five, Udinski throws a slant to Savon Smith, who takes a big hit from Jonas Sanker but he holds onto the ball and falls across the goal line for the touchdown. Richmond cashes in on the takeaway from the Wicks' fumble.

Scoring drive: 8 plays, 34 yards, 3:07

Richmond 17, Virginia 28

Virginia Drive - 10:46 3Q

After an incompletion and a short run by Perris Jones, Brennan Armstrong is hit as he attempted his third-down pass, which was intercepted by Richmond's Aaron Banks. Virginia's second-straight turnover gives the ball back to the Spiders, who take over with another short field and a great opportunity to take another big bite out of the UVA lead.

Richmond Drive - 10:07 3Q

This time, the UVA defense holds. Udinski's third-down pass to Nick DeGennaro took him out of bounds short of the line to gain to bring up fourth down. Jake Larson pushed his 48-yard field goal attempt wide to the left and the Spiders come up empty-handed as the lead remains 28-17 for the Cavaliers. 

Virginia Drive - 9:03 3Q

Virginia's offense continues to look a little sloppy coming out of halftime. Armstrong is off target with a short pass to a wide open Keytaon Thompson resulting in an incompletion. Armstrong then bobbles the next snap but recovers and throws to Thompson over the middle for a first down. Armstrong throws to Davis on the next play but Davis can't hang on. Richmond takes a timeout.

Virginia runs it with Mike Hollins to the left but McKale Boley is flagged for a hold. Armstrong drops back to pass, but then scrambles ahead for 15 yards to bring up a manageable third and 5. Armstrong faces some pressure on third down and scrambles again, but is stopped well short of the line to gain. UVA is forced to punt. Daniel Sparks' punt bounces inside the ten and rolls to the one-yard line, where it is downed by Dontayvion Wicks. Excellent special teams execution by the Cavaliers. 

Richmond Drive - 6:22 3Q

The Richmond offense returns to the field working in the shadow of its own goalpost. Savon Smith rushes ahead for three yards to give the Spiders some breathing room. Udinski then passes to Jakob Herres, who makes a man miss and picks up a first down. On the field for the first time after sitting out the first half due to a targeting penalty from last season, Josh Ahern makes a nice tackle on the sideline to bring up third down. On the next play, Ahern intercepts Udinski's pass but the Cavaliers are flagged for an illegal substitution, which wipes out the UVA takeaway. Richmond presses on and Savon Smith rushes up the middle for 14 yards and a first down. UVA is called for another illegal substitution and the sloppiness seems to be infecting the Cavaliers on both sides of the ball now. Virginia is not able to plug up the gaps at the line of scrimmage and Dykes runs for a first down. Nick Jackson comes on a blitz but Udinski gets his pass off to Leroy Henley to set up third and short. Richmond gives to Dykes, but Ahern makes the stop to bring up fourth down. The Spiders go for it and hand off to Dykes again but he is met in the backfield by Jack Camper and Josh Ahern and the UVA defense comes up with a huge stop to end the Richmond drive. 

Fourth Quarter

Virginia Drive - 0:46 3Q

Mike Hollins lowers his shoulder and gains six yards on the final play of the third quarter. Armstrong throws to Thompson, who makes a man miss and picks up the first down. On the next play, Armstrong goes right back to Thompson on a crossing route for 25 yards to move the ball down to the Richmond 29. Armstrong goes for it all on the next play on a deep ball to Wicks in the back corner of the end zone but it was broken up by Richmond's Bryson Parker. Armstrong keeps it and rushes for five yards to set up 3rd and 5. Billy Kemp gets himself open just beyond the marker and Armstrong finds him to move the chains. Perris Jones gets the handoff and finds a hole for a 9-yard gain to the Richmond 7. UVA goes back to Jones on the next play but he is tackled in the backfield for a loss of 4. Richmond comes with some pressure on third down but Armstrong lofts a pass to a wide-open Perris Jones on a wheel route. Jones bobbles it for a moment but makes the catch for his second touchdown of the game and UVA's first points of the second half. Brendan Farrell's extra point is no good. 

Scoring drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 3:55

Richmond 17, Virginia 34

Richmond Drive - 11:51 4Q

The Spiders continue to have success running the ball, as Aaron Dykes bounces it outside for a 10-yard gain. The UVA pass rush puts some pressure on Udinski, who is forced to throw the ball out of bounds. On third and 7, Udinski is flushed out of the pocket again by Chico Bennett and Ben Smiley and he throws it away to bring up fourth down. 

Virginia Drive - 10:50 4Q

Armstrong throws deep to Lavel Davis Jr. and the pass is incomplete but Richmond's Aamir Hall is called for pass interference. Armstrong throws to tight end Grant Misch for 11 yards and a first down. Two rushes from Mike Hollins sets up 3rd and 3, which UVA converts with a completion from Armstrong to Davis. The Richmond pass rush gets to Armstrong and he is forced to throw the ball away. On the next play, the snap goes between Armstrong and Mike Hollins and Armstrong barely holds onto it before he is hit by multiple Richmond tacklers for a loss of four years. Armstrong also comes up limping and holding his left shoulder... not ideal. 

On third and 14, Armstrong throws a screen pass to Perris Jones, who is tackled after a short gain to bring up fourth down. After a false start, Sparks' punt bounces inside the five again but it goes into the end zone for a touchback. 

Richmond Drive - 6:46 4Q

Udinski throws over the middle to Savon Smith for a gain of 12 and a first down. Josh Ahern gets to Udinski and brings him down for a sack and a loss of 3 yards. After an incompletion, Udinski does well to extend the play, but his completion to Williams comes up five yards short of the marker to bring up fourth down. 

Virginia Drive - 4:55 4Q

Armstrong completes a pass to Lavel Davis. Jr. for a 14-yard pickup. Perris Jones gets the handoff and runs up the middle for eight yards. Jones is over 100 yards rushing for the game. True freshman Xavier Brown gets his first carry and finds a hole for a gain of nine yards and a first down. Brown runs for a short gain, then gets the call again and shows a burst of speed for a 12-yard pickup. Brennan Armstrong checks out of the game and is replaced by Jay Woolfolk. Most of the UVA starters have left the game by now. Woolfolk runs right for a short gain and the clock runs out. 

Tony Elliott picks up his first win as a head coach as Virginia wins the season-opener against Richmond 34-17. 

FINAL. Virginia 34, Richmond 17

---

Follow CavaliersNow on Twitter
Follow CavaliersNow on Facebook

---

See more Virginia football news and content: Virginia Football on Sports Illustrated

See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated