Virginia Crumbles in 2nd Half, Remains Winless With 27-24 Loss at Boston College

The Eagles outscored the Cavaliers 20-3 in the second half to erase a 14-point halftime deficit and send UVA to 0-5 on the season

Virginia remains winless in 2023. 

An incredible jump-ball touchdown pass from Tony Muskett to Malachi Fields as time expired gave the Cavaliers a 21-7 lead at halftime, but nearly everything that happened in the game after that went the way of the Eagles. Boston College outscored UVA 20-3 in the second half and Virginia (0-5, 0-2 ACC) left Chestnut Hill with a bitter 27-24 loss on Saturday, falling to 0-5 on the season.

It was a tale of two halves, with nearly everything going UVA's way early on. Tony Muskett returned to the lineup as the starting quarterback for the first time since the season opener and didn't have any trouble shaking off the rust, using an 18-yard completion to Malachi Fields and a 23-yard pass to Malik Washington to march the Cavaliers down the field on the first drive of the game. Muskett eventually found Mike Hollins in the flat for a five-yard touchdown to give Virginia an early 7-0 lead. 

UVA's defense was just as good, getting off the field without allowing points on each of Boston College's first five possessions. The Eagles punted on their first drive and then Thomas Castellanos threw an interception to Dre Walker, who became the first UVA true freshman to record an interception since Bryce Hall in 2016. 

Early in the second quarter, Castellanos threw another pick, this time to Josh Ahern, and the Cavaliers were able to turn that takeaway into points. Muskett faced immediate pressure on a 3rd down, but was able to make an accurate throw off his back foot to Malachi Fields to move the chains. Two plays later, Muskett evaded pressure again and threw a dime on the run to Malik Washington in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. 

Virginia looked to be on its way to another scoring drive with three-consecutive first downs, but a pair of penalties from the offensive line derailed the drive and gave the Eagles a window before halftime. Boston College capitalized by driving 65 yards in 45 seconds and scoring on a two-yard touchdown run by Pat Garwo to get on the board. Momentum appeared to swing in favor of the Eagles, who cut the deficit in half with less than a minute left in the half and were set to receive the ball to start the third quarter. But then came a wild sequence that ultimately allowed the Cavaliers to replenish their lead. 

Starting the drive with just 41 seconds left, Muskett completed passes to Fields, Jaden Gibson, and Washington to get into field goal range, but he was then penalized for intentional grounding, a play which would have resulted in a 10-second runoff to drain the rest of the clock, but a player's helmet came off during the play so the clock was stopped by rule. That gave the Cavaliers one more down with three seconds left and, as they were out of field goal range, Muskett attempted a desperation heave into the end zone. Just as he did last week, when he caught Anthony Colandrea's jump ball for a two-point conversion to tie the game against NC State, Malachi Fields went up and got Muskett's pass and brought it down for an unbelievable touchdown. 

Behind a brilliant half of football from Tony Muskett, who was 16/21 for 218 passing yards and three touchdowns, the Cavaliers were in good position to win their first game as long as they played a solid second half of football. 

The team that came out of the locker room was not the same as the one that built a 14-point lead in the first half. 

Boston College proceeded to score on its first three drives of the third quarter, starting with a 42-yard field goal from Liam Connor, followed by a 4-yard touchdown pass from Castellanos to Joe Griffin, and then a 33-yard touchdown on a bubble screen from Castellanos to Lewis Bond. That capped a 17-0 scoring run for the Eagles, who took their first lead of the game at 24-21. 

The Virginia defense recovered and forced fumbles on back-to-back drives and the Cavalier offense took advantage of the second takeaway, getting into field goal range and Will Bettridge converted from 44 yards out to tie the game. 

Boston College bounced back from the consecutive turnovers and drove down the field. UVA came up with the stop to keep the Eagles out of the end zone, but Liam Connor knocked through another 42-yard field goal to put BC back in front 27-24. 

Virginia got the ball back with a little over two minutes remaining, plenty of time to tie things up or even with the game with a touchdown. But by then, UVA's first-half magic had worn off and the Cavaliers couldn't even pick up a first down. Muskett threw two incompletions and then found Jaden Gibson for seven yards to set up 4th and 3. Boston College, which had successfully pressured Muskett throughout the game to the tune of five sacks, put immediate pressure on Muskett, whose pass over the middle of the field was way too high to be caught and fell incomplete to end the game. 

After outgaining Boston College 274-120 in the first half, Muskett and the Cavaliers managed just 39 yards of total offense in the second half. Virginia's defense wasn't great after halftime, but that unit was put at a heavy disadvantage as the Eagles possessed the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the second half. As has been the case all season, Virginia's dedication to running the ball was a detriment to the offense, as the Cavaliers managed just 2.3 yards per rush, but still attempted 29 rushes for just 66 yards. In the second half, Virginia frequently ran the ball unsuccessfully on first and second down, setting up 3rd and long. UVA was just 3/12 on third downs. Additionally, penalties were quite costly for the Cavaliers, who were penalized 11 times for 90 yards. And that's only counting penalties that were accepted. 

Virginia has continued to find new and different ways to lose games, but this one might be the most frustrating for the Cavaliers. This was a very winnable game and based on the way UVA played in the first half, it could have even been a convincing first victory. Instead, the Cavaliers struggled to counter Boston College's adjustments on both sides of the ball and left Chestnut Hill with their eighth-consecutive loss dating back to last year, the program's longest losing streak since 2013. 

Virginia returns home to face William & Mary next Saturday at 12pm at Scott Stadium. 

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