Second-Half Rally Not Enough for Virginia in 22-20 Loss at Syracuse

UVA erased a 16-point halftime deficit, but Cuse came back to win the game on a late field goal

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The search continues for Brennan Armstrong and the Cavalier offense to rediscover their dynamic ways from a season ago. After a scoreless first half, UVA woke up offensively in the second half and scored 20 points to take the lead, which was only possible due to a stellar effort from the Virginia defense to keep them in the game. But a game is four quarters long and UVA did not get enough from its offense from the start to win the game. 

The Orange kicked a field goal to retake the lead with just over a minute remaining and then the Cavaliers turned the ball over on downs near midfield to end the game as Syracuse (4-0, 2-0 ACC) remained perfect on the season with a 22-20 victory over Virginia (2-2, 0-1 ACC) on Friday night at the JMA Wireless Dome. 

This game could have easily been a blowout if not for another solid performance by the (so far) much-improved Virginia defense. The Cavaliers held All-American running back Sean Tucker to just 60 rushing yards on 21 carries, with his longest run being for only nine yards. Syracuse scored one touchdown and that came on the first drive of the game after a Trebor Pena kickoff return gave the Orange starting field position inside the UVA 40-yard line. A 17-yard scamper by quarterback Garrett Shrader was Syracuse's only touchdown of the game. 

Shrader continued his strong start to the season, completing 22 of 33 passes for 277 yards, with much of that production going to receiver Oronde Gadsden II, who had seven receptions for 113 yards. But the UVA defense stood its ground and kept Virginia in the game despite its offense not scoring a single point in the first half. 

Syracuse entered the game having not turned the ball over even once all season, but the Cavaliers turned the Orange over four times in the game. Even when Cuse managed to move the ball down the field, the Virginia defense bent, but did not break, holding Syracuse to field goals on several possessions to keep the deficit manageable. Syracuse kicker Andre Szmyt was a perfect 5/5, including a 31-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining that proved to be the game-winner.

Virginia, on the other hand, pulled Brendan Farrell from the game in the first quarter after he missed field goal attempts of 50 and 48 yards, both of which would have been career-longs. UVA inserted true freshman Will Bettridge, who did not attempt a field goal, but went 2/3 on PATs, as he had one blocked. 

The Virginia offense was dormant in the first half, amassing only 109 yards of total offense and just six total first downs. The Cavaliers did not crack the red zone a single time despite starting two drives inside the Cuse 40-yard line due to turnovers. 

Facing only a 16-0 deficit thanks to the Virginia defense, the Cavaliers finally showed signs of life to start the third quarter. Armstrong led UVA on a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Keytaon Thompson, Virginia's first touchdown since the first quarter of the Old Dominion game. 

On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Jonathan Horton delivered a hit on Pena, who fumbled the ball and Donovan Johnson recovered it to give UVA the ball at the Syracuse 13-yard line. Two plays later, Perris Jones found his way into the end zone on a four-yard touchdown run, but Bettridge's PAT was blocked to keep the score at 16-13. 

Syracuse would add a field goal towards the end of the third quarter to make it 19-13, but the Cavalier defense continued to hold up its end of the bargain and give the offense a chance to win the game. 

Virginia finally took advantage of the opening midway through the fourth quarter. A 28-yard run by Perris Jones moved UVA to the Syracuse six-yard line. The Cavaliers failed to punch the ball in on their first three attempts but Brennan Armstrong managed to find Lavel Davis Jr. on a 4-yard slant for Armstrong's first touchdown pass since the season-opener against Richmond. Will Bettridge converted the PAT to give UVA the lead for the first time. 

Four weeks have elapsed and the 2021 version of Brennan Armstrong and his connection with UVA's receiving corps is still nowhere to be found. Armstrong went 19 of 38 for only 138 passing yards and he also had two bad turnovers. Virginia found success with its running game in the second half with Perris Jones leading the way with 87 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. 

But, UVA's resurgence in the second half ended up being too little, too late. The Virginia defense finally faltered, as Syracuse put together a long scoring drive that took all but a minute and 14 seconds off the clock and gave the Orange the lead back on a Szmyt field goal. 

Virginia had no timeouts, but needed only a field goal to win. The Cavaliers moved the ball up towards midfield, but could get no further due to a pair of questionable decisions by Brennan Armstrong. He tried to force a ball to tight end Grant Misch on third down when he probably could have scrambled ahead for several yards to move the chains and get into Syracuse territory. His pass was nearly intercepted and brought up fourth and four. With the game on the line, Keytaon Thompson was left wide open in the flat but Armstrong did not even look his way and instead tried to force a ball to Lavel Davis Jr. and the pass was easily batted down by Eric Coley to end the game. 

The loss drops Virginia to 2-2 overall and 0-1 to start ACC play. There were more encouraging signs from the UVA defense, but the Cavalier offense is still significantly lagging behind and the clock is ticking with more tough ACC competition on the horizon. 

Virginia will travel to take on a currently-undefeated Duke team in Durham next Saturday at 7:30pm. 

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