Virginia Football Rolled By No. 13 SMU 33-7 in Home Finale

Matt Newton | Nov 23, 2024

Aaron Snyde

Virginia (5-6, 3-4 ACC) suffered a 33-7 defeat to No. 13 SMU (10-1, 7-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium. The Mustangs, who are now bound for the ACC title game with the win, dominated from start to finish and the Cavaliers scored a late touchdown to just barely avoid getting shut out for the first time in seven years.

SMU got on the board on its second drive of the game, as Moochie Dixon caught a short pass and got loose down the left sideline for a 52-yard pickup before getting chased down by Jonas Sanker at the UVA 15-yard line. Brashard Smith did the rest, running for gains of 11 and four yards into the end zone to put the Mustangs up 7-0.

Both teams punted and then Virginia moved the ball into SMU territory, but turned the ball over on downs, as Anthony Colandrea was sacked on 4th and 7. The Mustangs looked to capitalize on the plus field position and add to their lead, but the UVA defense made a stop and then Collin Rogers missed a 48-yard field goal wide left on the first play of the second quarter.

Virginia had its best offensive possession of the first half after that, converting on 4th down with a pass from Colandrea to Tyler Neville for 12 yards down to the SMU 28-yard line. UVA went for it on fourth down again and appeared to pick it up with a run from Kobe Pace, but the refs called a late flag for the Cavaliers having 12 men in their huddle. Will Bettridge tried to salvage the drive, but he missed his 41-yard field goal wide left.

Kevin Jennings showed off his passing prowess on SMU's next drive, completing consecutive first down passes to Jordan Hudson and then shaking off multiple sack attempts by Virginia before making a great throw on the run to Roderick Daniels Jr. for 19 yards down inside the UVA red zone. Jennings then went back to Hudson over the middle and Hudson rolled over Corey Thomas Jr. to get into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.

Virginia's offense went three-and-out again and SMU drove down the field before settling for a 35-yard field goal from Collin Rogers to extend the Mustang lead to 17-0.

UVA continued to struggle to get its offense going, particularly failing to effectively throw the ball down the field. Colandrea was sacked for the third time, forcing the Cavaliers to punt for the fourth time and go into the locker room with a zero on the board at halftime for the second week in a row.

At the half, SMU was outgaining Virginia 283-97, including a 222-53 advantage in passing yards. UVA was 1/8 on third downs in the first half and averaged just 2.8 yards per play.

The second half began with much of the same for the Virginia offense, as Colandrea took another sack and the Cavaliers punted it away to Roderick Daniels, who ripped off a 48-yard return to set up the SMU offense with great field position. The UVA defense did well to hold the Mustangs to a 39-yard field goal by Collin Rogers to make it 20-0.

Virginia punted again, but then Corey Thomas Jr. intercepted a pass from Kevin Jennings to give the ball back to the Cavaliers at the SMU 34-yard line. UVA picked up a first down on a Noah Vaughn run, but conservative play-calling followed as Vaughn ran for no gain, Colandrea passed to Suderian Harrison for three yards, then to Harrison again for a one-yard loss. The Cavaliers kept their offense on the field for fourth down instead of taking the points and Jared Harrison-Hunte got to Colandrea for SMU's fifth sack of the game, forcing a turnover on downs.

SMU got the ball back and proceeded to deliver the nail in the coffin, a 14-play, 74-yard drive that took seven minutes and 17 seconds off the clock and capped by a one-yard quarterback keeper from Kevin Jennings. The Mustangs went for two, but didn't convert, so the score was 26-0.

UVA went three-and-out and punted the ball back to SMU, but the Mustangs turned it over again, as Billy Koudelka delivered a hit on Jennings, who fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Chico Bennett Jr. at the SMU 27-yard line.

The ensuing Virginia possession was an adventure, but the Cavaliers ultimately got on the board at long last on a 4th and goal play in which Colandrea retreated to escape the blitz and eventually threw a dime more than 30 yards through the air that was caught in the back right corner of the end zone by Malachi Fields for a four-yard touchdown, finally putting points on the board for UVA with 4:16 left in the game.

That prevented Virginia from getting shut out for the first time since November 24th, 2017, when the Cavaliers lost to Virginia Tech 10-0 in Charlottesville.

SMU recovered an onside kick and scored another touchdown, a 16-yard strike from Jennings to Matthew Hibner, to put the finishing touches on SMU's 33-7 win.

Jennings finished with 323 passing yards and three total touchdowns to lead the SMU offense, which ultimately outgained Virginia 434-173. Anthony Colandrea completed 67% of his passes, but only totaled 108 passing yards for the game and took nine sacks. Virginia was 3/15 on third downs and averaged a mind-boggling 2.6 yards per play.

With the loss, UVA falls to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in ACC play and will conclude the 2024 season with a 2-4 record in home games at Scott Stadium. SMU, meanwhile, improves to 10-1 overall and is still unbeaten in conference play at 7-0, securing a trip to the ACC Championship Game in the Mustangs' inaugural season in the league.

Up next, Virginia heads to Blacksburg for the Commonwealth Clash against Virginia Tech next Saturday. Kickoff from Lane Stadium is set for 8pm ET on the ACC Network.