PITTSBURGH – Xavier Brown caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score as Virginia upset No. 23 Pittsburgh 24-19 on Saturday night.
Anthony Colandrea passed for 143 yards and ran for 40 more as the Cavaliers (5-4, 3-3 ACC) snapped a three-game losing streak to put a serious dent in Pitt’s hopes of crashing the ACC title game.
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The Panthers (7-2, 3-2) have dropped two straight following their best start since 1982. Pitt lost quarterback Eli Holstein to an injury in the third quarter when Virginia’s Mike Diatta hit the redshirt freshman high and late while Holstein was trying to slide. Diatta was ejected for targeting. Holstein went to the locker room to be evaluated and did not return.
Nate Yarnell, who lost a training camp battle for the starting job to Holstein, struggled in relief. Yarnell completed just 4 of 12 passes for 44 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions.
The first pick, by Virginia safety Jonas Sanker, set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Kobe Pace that put the Cavaliers up 21-13. The second, a heave down the middle of the field with less than two minutes to go, landed in the arms of Virginia’s Corey Thomas. The Cavaliers then ran out the clock to seal it.
Pitt was undone by 11 penalties for 75 yards — including a holding penalty on left tackle Ryan Baer that wiped out a successful two-point conversion following Gavin Barthlomew’s 4-yard touchdown catch that would have tied the game — and received no help late from the officiating crew.
The Cavaliers had the ball on fourth-and-1 at the Pitt 24 with just more than five minutes to go nursing a two-point lead. Virginia opted to go for it and Pitt appeared to stuff a sneak by Grady Brosterhous. But referee Nate Black called off the play, saying officials were not in proper position at the snap.
Virginia took advantage of the reprieve by converting on the next play, leading to a 32-yard field goal by Will Bettridge that boosted its cushion to five.
The Takeaway
Virginia: Coach Tony Elliott challenged his players to hit the reset button during their bye week and the Cavaliers responded with a vastly improved defensive effort to move within a win of bowl eligibility.
Pitt: The offense seems to be regressing the deeper the Panthers get into conference play. The unit was out of sync all night thanks to a mishmash of procedure penalties, dropped passes and poor protection.
Poll implications
Expect Pitt to drop out of the rankings when the poll is released on Sunday.
Up next
Virginia: Visits No. 10 Notre Dame next Saturday.
Pittsburgh: Hosts No. 19 Clemson next Saturday.