Virginia Football Outmatched by Virginia Tech Again in 37-17 Loss

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Once again, Virginia (5-7, 3-5 ACC) was outmatched by its in-state rival, building a massive first-half deficit that was impossible to overcome in the second half as the Cavaliers ultimately suffered a 37-17 loss at Virginia Tech (6-6, 4-4 ACC) in the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday night at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg.

The dominant storyline entering the 105th edition of the Commonwealth Clash, besides Virginia Tech's recent dominance in the series, was the quarterback situations of these two teams. UVA benched Anthony Colandrea, who had started each of the first 11 games of the season, in favor of Tony Muskett, while Virginia Tech rolled with third-stringer Pop Watson due to injuries to starter Kyron Drones and backup Collin Schlee.

It was a brilliant first-career start for Watson, but the same can't be said for Muskett in his return to the starting quarterback spot for the first time in over a year.

The Hokies started their first drive from their own 10-yard line, but that didn't matter, as Watson led Virginia Tech on an 11-play, 90-yard drive. Watson found Da'Quan Felton wide open in the middle of the field for 42 yards and then Bhayshul Tuten reached the end zone untouched on a six-yard touchdown run. Virginia went three-and-out on its first possession and then the Hokies put another scoring drive together, eventually getting a 44-yard field goal from John Love.

The Virginia defense settled in after that, holding Virginia Tech to back-to-back three-and-outs. UVA got advantageous field position on the second punt and Muskett got the Cavaliers into Virginia Tech territory with a 24-yard completion to Suderian Harrison on the right sideline. The drive ultimately stalled after that, though, and UVA settled for a 37-yard field goal from Will Bettridge.

Virginia Tech fired back right away as Pop Watson threw a perfect deep ball to Jaylin Lane, who caught the pass in stride and strolled untouched 66 yards for a touchdown to stretch the Hokie lead to 17-3.

On UVA's ensuing possession, Muskett attempted to connect with Harrison down the field, but overthrew the pass and was intercepted by Jaylen Jones. Thanks to a hands to the face penalty on Virginia that stopped the clock, the Hokies were able to capitalize on the takeaway with a 31-yard field goal from Love as time expired to take a 20-3 lead into halftime.

Virginia's already slim chances of pulling off a comeback were dashed early in the second half, as UVA turned the ball over on downs on its first possession of the third quarter and Virginia Tech cashed in on the good field position. Pop Watson completed multiple 14-yard passes around a Bhayshul Tuten 12-yard run and then Watson kept it himself for an easy five-yard touchdown run to make it a 27-3 game.

Virginia finally found the end zone for the first time on its next drive, partially due to an unfortunate break. Muskett was hit as he threw and fumbled the ball, but the Cavaliers somehow managed to recover the fumble and Virginia Tech was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Muskett then finished the drive with his legs, running for 15 yards down the left sideline to the two-yard line, then punching it on the next play. He then found Tyler Neville for a two-point conversion to make it a two-possession game at 27-11.

It didn't take long for the Hokies to answer, as Watson connected with Ali Jennings for completions of 11 and 40 yards before finding Ayden Greene for 15 more into the Virginia red zone. UVA's defense made a nice stand after that, as Kempton Shine broke up a would-be touchdown catch for Stephen Gosnell, forcing Virginia Tech to settle for a chip-shot field goal to make it 30-11.

Virginia put together another scoring drive, with Muskett alternating using his arm and his legs to move the ball down the field. He completed a 19-yard pass to Kam Courtney on an 18-yard strike to Suderian Harrison and eventually capped the 11-play, 75-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run. The ensuing two-point conversion failed, so the score remained 30-17.

The Cavalier defense came up with their first sack of the game to help force a three-and-out, giving the ball back to Virginia down 13 points with a little less than 10 minutes to go. A small window remained for a possible comeback, but that closed quickly as UVA went three-and-out and then Bhayshul Tuten escaped a third down tackle attempt by Kam Robinson and broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run to effectively end the game.

That final score held as Virginia Tech went on to win 37-17.

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The Hokies ultimately outgained the Cavaliers 456-274. Virginia played much better in the second half, but the hole the Cavaliers dug themselves in the first half was simply too much to overcome.

Tony Muskett completed 19 of his 36 passing attempts (53%) for 178 yards and two interceptions and also rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns in the final game of his college football career.

Suderian Harrison had a career night, catching five passes for 54 yards, but Malachi Fields was completely held in check in what could be his final game as a Cavalier, totaling just two receptions for 20 yards on five targets.

The 2024 Virginia football season comes to an end with the loss, as the Cavaliers fall one win shy of bowl eligibility. UVA lost its last three games and six of its last seven to finish at 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC.

As for this lopsided in-state rivalry, Virginia Tech has now won 19 of the last 20 meetings with Virginia and the last 12 games against the Cavaliers in Blacksburg.

The victory gives the Hokies a point in the 2024-2025 Commonwealth Clash, which UVA now leads 5-1.