Virginia vs. SMU Live Updates | NCAA Football

Matt Newton | Nov 23, 2024

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Virginia (5-6, 3-4 ACC) suffered a 33-7 loss to No. 13 SMU (10-1, 7-0 ACC) on Saturday at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. See a full play-by-play and live analysis for the game in the thread below. Updates are posted in reverse chronological order with the most recent updates at the top of the article.

Stay tuned to Virginia Cavaliers On SI for more postgame coverage.

Read a recap of the game here: Virginia Football Rolled By No. 13 SMU 33-7 in Home Finale

Read five takeaways from the game here: Five Takeaways from Virginia Football's 33-7 Loss to No. 13 SMU

SMU 33, Virginia 7 | FINAL

Virginia picks up a first down with Noah Vaughn, but lets the clock run out after that. SMU defeats UVA 33-7.

UVA attempts an onside kick, but it's unsuccessful. Tony Elliott uses a timeout to stop the clock and SMU scores on the next play, as Jennings finds Matthew Hibner for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 33-7 with less than two minutes to go.

SMU 33, Virginia 7 | 1:42 4Q

Colandrea scrambles to the right side for 10 yards and a first down. Colandrea throws to Noah Vaughn for eight yards and then takes a sack. Vaughn moves the chains on 3rd and 3 with a six-yard run to give Virginia 1st and goal from the 4-yard line. Colandrea is sacked and fumbles the ball, just barely recovering it back at the 22-yard line. Colandrea finds Fields for a 15-yard completion down to the 7. Colandrea scrambles and is brought down at the 4-yard line. On 4th and goal from the 4, SMU brings the blitz and Colandrea retreats several yards before slinging a pass from beyond the 25-yard line that perfectly finds Malachi Fields in the back corner of the end zone. It'll go down as a four-yard touchdown pass, but that ball traveled more than 30 yards through the air. Virginia is finally on the board with 4:16 to go.

SMU 26, Virginia 7 | 4:16 4Q

Billy Koudelka forces a fumble by Kevin Jennings and Chico Bennett jumps on it for the recovery, the second forced turnover of the second half for the Virginia defense. UVA takes over at the SMU 27-yard line looking to get on the board.

SMU 26, Virginia 0 | 8:41 4Q

Colandrea is sacked on back-to-back plays and then he throws a screen pass to Vaughn on 3rd and 18 that goes for six yards. Virginia punts once again.

SMU 26, Virginia 0 | 10:20 4Q

On 3rd and 10, Jennings has plenty of time to throw and finds Roderick Daniels over the middle for 13 yards and a first down to midfield. Jennings connects with Dixon on the sideline for another fresh set of downs. That takes us to the fourth quarter with SMU still leading UVA 20-0. Jennings shows off his escapability again and finds a wide-open LJ Johnson, who runs it down to the UVA one-yard line for a 31-yard gain. Three plays later, Jennings calls his own number and punches it in for the touchdown. SMU goes for two and Jennings completes the pass to Daniels, but he's short of the goal line, so the two-point conversion fails. It's 26-0.

SMU 26, Virginia 0 | 12:21 4Q

Colandrea throws a short pass to Neville for six yards and then Vaughn runs between the tackles for eight yards and a first down. Vaughn is brought down for no gain and then Colandrea throws to Suderian Harrison on back-to-back plays to bring up 4th and 8. UVA keeps its offense on the field on fourth down and Colandrea is sacked by Jared Harrison-Hunte. Virginia fails to capitalize on the Thomas interception and remains scoreless.

SMU 20, Virginia 0 | 4:38 3Q

Kevin Jennings has his pass intercepted by Corey Thomas Jr. The UVA defense makes a massive play and now Virginia takes over at the SMU 34-yard line.

SMU 20, Virginia 0 | 7:45 3Q

Chris Tyree and Kam Courtney both try to field the kickoff and the ball falls to the turf, but Tyree jumps on it at the UVA 11-yard line. Colandrea can't connect with Malachi Fields on the deep ball down the left sideline, but Noah Vaughn finds room between the tackles on the next play and picks up 12 yards and a first down. Colandrea scrambles for 12 yards and another first down. The drive stalls there, though, as Colandrea throws a pair of incompletions and then is brought down for no gain on his 3rd down scramble. Virginia punts for the sixth time today.

SMU 20, Virginia 0 | 8:08 3Q

Jennings throws to Matthew Hibner, who makes a great catch around Jonas Sanker on the left sideline for 20 yards down to the UVA 9-yard line. Brashard Smith gets the pitch and finds room on the sideline for a 13-yard touchdown, but it's called back for a tripping penalty on SMU. Facing 3rd and goal from the 28-yard line, SMU settles for a moderate pickup on 3rd down to set up a 39-yard field goal from Collin Rogers to make it 20-0.

SMU 20, Virginia 0 | 10:12 3Q

Virginia starts the second half with a 12-yard strike from Colandrea to Malachi Fields on the right sideline. A couple of short gains sets up 3rd and 6 and Colandrea takes another sack, so Virginia punts it away. Roderick Daniels has plenty of room on the punt return and rips off a 48-yard return. SMU's drive will start from the UVA 28-yard line.

SMU 17, Virginia 0 | 12:47 3Q

Colandrea scrambles for 13 yards and a first down. On 3rd and 8, Colandrea is sacked by Isaiah Smith for a loss of 12 yards. UVA punts it back to SMU. The Mustangs run the clock out and take their 17-0 lead to the locker room. Virginia will receive the ball to start the second half.

SMU 17, Virginia 0 | Halftime

Jennings finds Daniels for 15 yards to pick up a first down. Jennings is flushed out of the pocket and throws back across his body and somehow finds Key'Shawn Smith for 22 yards into UVA territory. On 3rd and 4, Jennings finds Hudson over the middle of the field and he makes the catch before getting lit up by Corey Thomas, who is subsequently flagged for targeting. The officials review the play and overturn the targeting call. There is no penalty and Thomas remains in the game. Jennings missed a wide-open Matthew Hibner for what would have been an easy SMU touchdown. Instead, the UVA defense gets the stop and and Collin Rogers knocks through the 35-yard field goal to make it 17-0.

SMU 17, Virginia 0 | 1:25 2Q

On 3rd and 5, Colandrea stands in the pocket and eventually tries to escape, but he's tripped up for another SMU sack. It's a three-and-out for the UVA offense, which remains scoreless.

SMU 14, Virginia 0 | 4:04 2Q

Kevin Jennings connects with Jordan Hudson for gains of eight and 11 yards on consecutive passes, picking up first downs both times. LJ Johnson is stood up on second down but he tries again on 3rd and 1 and picks up seven yards to move the chains. Jennings avoids multiple sacks and eventually makes a great throw on the run to find Roderick Daniels for 19 yards and a first down inside the red zone. On the next play, Jennings finds Jordan Hudson over the middle and he rolls over Corey Thomas to get into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. That caps a nine-play, 76-yard drive to give SMU a 14-0 lead.

SMU 14, Virginia 0 | 5:52 2Q

Colandrea misses JR Wilson on 2nd down but then makes up for it with an accurate slant pass to Malachi Fields, who makes the catch and spins for 11 yards and a first down. Kobe Pace does a nice job of keeping his feet and lunging for another first down into SMU territory. Xavier Brown gets the pitch to the left side and is brought down after a gain of four; Brown is injured on the play. He walks off the field and heads into the medical tent.

Pace runs for three yards to bring up 4th and 3 and Virginia again keeps its offense on the field. Colandrea stands his ground in the pocket and eventually makes a nice throw to Tyler Neville, who carries multiple SMU defenders for some extra yards and gets down to the SMU 28-yard line. Noah Vaughn gets the carry on 3rd and 4 and is tackled a yard shy of the marker. Tony Elliott spends a timeout and then goes for it on 4th down, with Pace running up the middle to pick up the first down. The refs wait until after the play to call 12 men in the huddle on Virginia, erasing the first down conversion. UVA sends out Will Bettridge, who misses the 41-yard field goal wide left and the Cavaliers remain scoreless.

SMU 7, Virginia 0 | 9:19 2Q

Jennings finds Key'Shawn Smith over the middle for 16 yards and a first down to the UVA 34-yard line. Another false start backs SMU up and Virginia gets the stop, as Corey Thomas Jr. brings down LJ Johnson after a short gain on 3rd down. SMU will attempt a 48-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter. The attempt from Collin Rogers is wide left and the score remains 7-0.

SMU 7, Virginia 0 | 14:55 2Q

Colandrea scrambles for 11 yards and a first down. On 3rd and 7, Colandrea throws high to Kobe Pace and the pass falls incomplete. He would have been short of the line to gain anyway. Virginia keeps its offense on the field on 4th and 7 and SMU brings the blitz, sacking Colandrea out near midfield. SMU takes over on downs.

SMU 7, Virginia 0 | 2:29 1Q

On 3rd and 4, Brashard Smith is tackled just shy of the first down, so the Mustangs go three-and-out and will punt out of their own end zone. Ethan Davies returns the punt and makes a move down the right sideline before getting laid out. He hangs onto the ball and Virginia will have good starting field position at the 46-yard line.

SMU 7, Virginia 0 | 4:13 1Q

Colandrea shovels a pass to Tyler Neville, who carries a defender for 12 yards and a first down on the first play of the drive. The Cavaliers try a couple more short passes to either side of the field, but both plays are covered well by SMU. A false start on Blake Steen pushes UVA back to 3rd and 16 and Colandrea can't find an open man so he scrambles for nine yards but is forced out of bounds well short of the line to gain. Virginia will punt again. Sparks sends a towering boom of a punt and Daniels retreats to his own goal line to make the catch. UVA immediately tackles Daniels and the refs rule that the ball will be spotted at the 3-yard line. The UVA fans are incensed, as it looked like Daniels might have taken himself into the end zone before he was hit and subsequently tackled, which would have resulted in a safety. As it stands, it's a 56-yard punt from Sparks and the SMU drive will start at its own 3-yard line.

SMU 7, Virginia 0 | 5:33 1Q

Jahmeer Carter and Kam Butler apply pressure on Jennings to force an incompletion on first down. Jennings steps up in the pocket and finds Roderick Daniels Jr. for 12 yards on 3rd and 7 to move the chains. SMU is twice penalized for false starts, but then Jennings throws a short pass to Moochie Dixon, who gets loose down the left sideline and is finally chased down by Jonas Sanker at the UVA 15-yard line after a pickup of 52 yards. Brashard Smith gets the carry on the next two plays and goes for 11 yards and then four yards into the end zone to put the Mustangs on the board. It's a seven-play, 78-yard drive taking less than two minutes.

SMU 7, Virginia 0 | 7:58 1Q

Anthony Colandrea tries to scramble on the first play of the drive and is brought down for a loss of one. On 3rd and 7, Colandrea scrambles for first-down yardage but Sackett Wood is called for a hold on the outside. On the do-over 3rd and 11, Malachi Fields draws a pass interference to give the Hoos a fresh set of downs. On 3rd and 4, Kobe Pace gets the carry and is brought down one yard shy of the line to gain. Tony Elliott sends out Daniel Sparks to punt it away on 4th and 1 from around the UVA 40-yard line.

SMU 0, Virginia 0 | 9:50 1Q

Kevin Jennings finds Moochie Dixon on the right sideline for 19 yards near midfield. A couple of short runs sets up 3rd and 5 and Jennings has plenty of time to throw and tries a deep ball to Key'Shawn Smith, but Kempton Shine is right there with great coverage to break up the deep ball. SMU is forced to punt.

SMU 0, Virginia 0 | 13:08 1Q

UVA wins the coin toss and defers to the second half. SMU will receive the ball to start the game.

Virginia's captains for today's game are Chico Bennett Jr., Brian Stevens, Jahmeer Carter, and Sackett Wood.

As we await our 12pm kickoff for Virginia vs. SMU on ESPN2, read a full preview of the game here: Virginia Football vs. SMU Game Preview, Score Prediction

Some pregame personnel notes for Virginia:
- Anthony Colandrea will get the start at quarterback for Virginia.
- Kam Robinson warmed up before the game today, but Trey McDonald and Dorian Jones were announced as the starters at linebacker
- Ben Smiley III will not be available for the game.

Virginia vs. SMU Pregame Notes

• This will be the first-ever meeting between Virginia and SMU, though these two programs were supposed to face each other in the Fenway Bowl in 2021, but it was canceled due to COVID-19 complications.
• UVA is facing its third-consecutive ranked opponent, which marks the seventh time in program history that Virginia has played three-straight games against ranked teams.
• Virginia is 2-5 against ranked teams in the Tony Elliott era, but both wins have come away from Charlottesville. UVA's last home victory against a ranked team came in the 2020 season, when the Cavaliers knocked off then-No. 15 North Carolina 44-41.
• SMU, who has still yet to lose an ACC game since joining the conference this summer, can clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game with a victory over Virginia on Saturday.
• The Mustangs have won each of their last 15 conference games, a streak that extends back to the 2022 season in the American Athletic Conference.
• Virginia can clinch bowl eligibility for the first time under Tony Elliott with a win over SMU.

For more preview content for Virginia vs. SMU, including players to watch, statistical comparisons, depth charts, and injury reports, see the links below:

UVA Football: Players to Watch in Virginia vs. SMU

Stat Comparison: How Virginia Football Stacks Up Against SMU on Paper

VIDEO: Virginia Football Players Preview SMU, Senior Day

Tony Elliott Updates the Virginia Football Quarterback Situation

UVA Football Week 13 Injury Report: Kam Robinson, James Jackson, Corey Thomas

Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. SMU | Takeaways, Analysis