Virginia
What Went Wrong: Dissecting Virginia’s Frustrating Defeat to Maryland
The momentum Virginia had generated in its comeback victory at Wake Forest must have dissipated at some point during halftime of the game against Maryland on Saturday night. Anthony Colandrea had just scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown run with one second remaining to put the Cavaliers ahead of the Terrapins 13-7 at halftime.
Sure, UVA had missed some opportunities to build a bigger lead, but the defense was playing well, the offense was having some success moving the ball, and the Cavaliers’ outlook was generally pretty good considering they were set to receive the ball to start the second half.
Instead, Virginia went three-and-out to start the third quarter, beginning a chart of second-half possessions for the Virginia offense that looked like this: three-and-out, interception, three-and-out, three-and-out, fumble, turnover on downs.
30 frustrating minutes later, Virginia’s 13-7 halftime lead turned into a disappointing 27-13 defeat, the first loss of the 2024 season.
So, what went wrong?
It begins, as it so often does in college football, in the trenches. Virginia’s offensive line is in pretty bad shape right now. If you looked behind the south end zone during Saturday’s game, you would have seen a long line of inactive UVA football players sporting sweatpants, boots, crutches, casts, and slings. Many of those injured Cavaliers are offensive linemen.
Ethan Sipe and Drake Metcalf are the big ones, two transfers who were expected to provide important depth snaps, but who are now lost for the season. But there are others like Charlie Patterson and Noah Hartsoe whose absences are also notable. Most significantly, starting left tackle McKale Boley has yet to play this season as he continues to deal with an ankle injury. Terry Heffernan just doesn’t have as many pieces to work with as he was supposed to.
Anthony Colandrea was only sacked once on Saturday night, but he was hurried seven times and frequently had to throw the ball away. Though Virginia’s ground game wasn’t bad – 123 total rushing yards and 4.1 yards per carry – it wasn’t good enough to be leaned on consistently.
Virginia’s playcalling did not take the lack of protection into account nearly enough. With Colandrea having almost no time to scan the field, the Cavaliers needed shorter routes for their best playmakers, namely Malachi Fields, who had just four catches for only 36 yards. UVA hit on a few big plays – the 45-yard bomb from Colandrea to Trell Harris comes to mind – but Colandrea’s opportunities to give his receivers time to run long-developing routes like that were few and far between.
Even in the first half, when Virginia managed to drive the ball deep into Maryland territory, the red zone playcalling left much to be desired. The 45-yard pass to Trell Harris gave the Cavaliers first and goal from the 6-yard line. Kobe Pace ran the ball down for four yards to the 2 and then the Cavaliers attempted two passes, both falling incomplete, before settling for a 19-yard chip shot from Will Bettridge.
On their next drive, the Cavaliers again reached the red zone, but more immediate pressure on Colandrea forced a throwaway and another short field goal. It’s still early, but Virginia has scored touchdowns on only five of its 12 trips to the red zone this season. That’s not nearly good enough execution at the most important part of the field.
And then there’s Anthony Colandrea. One of the biggest keys we mentioned in the lead-up to Saturday’s game was Colandrea taking care of the football. His worst game from a turnover standpoint came against Maryland last year, when he threw three picks on consecutive possessions in the second half, turning that game into a blowout. This time around it was, unfortunately for Colandrea and the Hoos, not that much different. The Anthony Colandrea experience necessitates taking the bad with the good in terms of high-risk, high-reward plays, but when you combine his willingness to put the ball in jeopardy with the fact that he was consistently under pressure, the outcome is a three-turnover game for Colandrea, four turnovers for Virginia as a team, and a shutout in the second half.
Also contributing to that scoreless outcome was the fact that the Cavaliers converted on just three of their 15 third down attempts, while Maryland went 8/19. The disparity in third down conversions and turnover margin led to a significant advantage in time of possession for the Terrapins, who possessed the ball for 35:36 of gametime.
As for the Virginia defense, this was far from a bad game and it was really the turnovers/time of possession factor that was primarily responsible for Maryland putting up 27 points. The UVA offense was unable to sustain drives in the second half and turned the ball over four times. The Cavalier defense held the Terps to only seven points in the first half and did not allow any points off of the first three turnovers by the Virginia offense. It should also be mentioned that two of Maryland’s three touchdown drives started around midfield.
With that said, there are three things that are concerning for the UVA defense moving forward:
- Despite knowing that Maryland’s offensive game plan was going to involve frequently putting the ball in the hands of Tai Felton, the nation’s leading receiver, the Cavaliers were unable to stop Felton, who had nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
- After breaking through for six sacks against Wake Forest last week, the UVA pass rush reverted to being relatively unimpactful, sacking Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. only once.
- Injuries. Namely, linebacker Kam Robinson missed the game after spraining his knee in the game against Wake Forest. We’ll see if Tony Elliott has positive news about a timetable for Robinson’s return at this week’s press conference.
This loss is by no means the end of the world for Virginia. But it does represent a massive missed opportunity to make a statement by defeating a rival and improving to 3-0 for the first time since the legendary 2019 season. It especially feels like a missed opportunity given the fact that UVA went to the red zone twice before Maryland had scored a point and came away with just six points and given that the Terrapins committed eight penalties for 66 yards.
What this frustrating defeat does mean, however, is that next week’s game at Coastal Carolina now becomes even more important than it already was. The Cavaliers cannot miss this opportunity to get to 3-1 and it might just be a must-win game with regards to Virginia’s aspirations to become bowl eligible this season.
By the Numbers: Breaking Down Virginia’s 27-13 Loss to Maryland
Virginia Shut Out in 2nd Half, Suffers First Loss of Season to Maryland
Virginia vs. Maryland Live Score Updates | NCAA Football
Virginia
Pregame availability report for Iowa State women, Addy Brown is out
Iowa State’s Addy Brown and Arianna Jackson will miss Sunday’s women’s basketball game against West Virginia at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, according to the Big 12-mandated pregame availability report released 90 minutes before tip-off.
Jackson is expected to miss a significant portion of the season with a leg injury. Brown has a lower body injury and was listed as questionable on the Saturday night availability report.
Brown is averaging 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game for Iowa State. The Kansas native is also shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and 42.2 percent from 3-point range.
Iowa State vs. West Virginia is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ESPN+).
Iowa State players listed as out
- #2 Arianna Jackson
- #24 Addy Brown
Iowa State players listed as questionable
West Virginia players listed as out
West Virginia players listed as probable
Virginia
Everything From Virginia Tech HC Mike Young After California Win
Virginia Tech men’s basketball head coach Mike Young spoke to the media after the Hokies’ 78-75 victory over California. Here’s the entirety of what Young had to say Saturday.
Opening statement:
“Night in, night out. That’s just the way it’s going to be. I was texting with coach [Jim] Boeheim, who I admire tremendously. Eric Devendorf, one of his former many great players, was on the call today for the ACC Network and I was texting back and forth with Coach about a couple of things. And he said [that] it’s such a balanced league and such a good league. Again, there are a lot of opportunities to compile good wins. Got to take care of home. You got to go on the road. You got to find ways to win and we’ve got a haul on the road. But a quality win for the Hokes and to Dallas we go on Tuesday to compete against the [SMU] Mustangs on Wednesday.”
On the final play, where Justin Pippen got a good shot:
“I think the rules are so new now, okay? And they’re going to rip that thing up the floor. The continuation rule has really disrupted a lot of people’s thinking. He turns and you are a split-second late and he throws that thing at the rim and that’s called. The official’s going to come to me every time in that situation. Are you going to foul? And I have done it more often than not. I have fouled just to negate that three from going in. The only way you lose is that thing to go in the basket and you also foul. All right. Heaven forbid. I’ve never had that one happen. But the continuation, you get turned and Dai Dai Ames is really smart, been around a long time. Pippen’s been around a long time. That kid catches that ball maybe with his back to his basket and turns real quick and shoves it, knowing that you’re going to hit him. That’s a disaster. Uh he got a pretty good shot. I thought it was pretty well contested. I’ll see it several times tonight on film. Caught a break.”
On Tech’s 23-10 advantage on points from turnovers:
“Well, we flipped that on the glass in the first half. We got our ass handed to us on the glass and that is that’s hard to stomach. They don’t have a very big front line other than [Lee] Dort and we thought that that was a real advantage for our team and I think it was 19-8 or something like that in the first half [Editor’s note: It was.]. Second half, we did a much better job. But the turnover part, they had seven more shots in the first half. That’s a big deal. They have seven more shots on goal than your team has. It’s going to come back to your rebounds. It’s going to come back to your turnovers. We’d handled the ball. So, obviously, we didn’t rebound it well enough. I hope I answered your question.”
On Cal’s 14-0 run, which was subsequently countered by an 11-point run from Virginia Tech:
“We were in good shape and I remember it going up 11. We had a media timeout in there. I thought we were fine. “Certainly, no time to panic. But right back, we come offensively. Had a really nice flurry, and I think, tied it up pretty quickly. I guess it was tied at the half. We’re 17 games in. Now, this thing comes at you fast. We’ve seen a lot of situations. Next best action. What’s next? Not too high when you have a 10-0 run, not too low, when you have a 10-0 run the other way. Just the next play, just move on to the next play. And this team has been pretty good with that.”
On what lessons Young learned from the Stanford game, a one-point loss for Virginia Tech:
“You better have a short memory in college athletics. You better have a short memory in any athletic endeavor. It was a kick in the pants. Now you can pout, all right, and feel sorry for yourself or you can suck it up and come back the next day in practice and prepare for Cal. That game today was every bit as important as the Wednesday game. That one [against Stanford] hurt. There’s no getting around that. But you’ve got a choice to make and we got high character people in that locker room. And right back they come. Cal was desperate. We were desperate and feel great about winning.”
[Editor’s note: Viriginia Tech On SI staff writer Josh Poslusny started off his question with: “You talked a little bit about rebounding-” after which Young said, “Josh, I can’t see your eyes.” Poslusny then took off his hat.]
Q: There was a stretch you guys were out rebounded 18 to three and y’all shot five for 23 for three. I mean, what do you have to do to overcome that adversity?
“We’ve got a good rebounding team, Zach. Right. Zach? [Editor’s note: Poslusny corrected him by saying “Josh.”]. I was close. We have a good rebounding team, Josh. We have a good rebounding team. [Amani] Hansberry is awesome. Tobi [Lawal] being back in the lineup obviously really helps us. Our guards have to rebound better. Where we’re getting in trouble, and I’m going to get way into it, Duffy Bear has no idea what I’m talking about. But when there’s dribble penetration and a post player has to step over, that takes him out of where he’s supposed to be on the glass. The shot gets up on the rim. You’ve got to have a guard cracking down on his matchup who’s a post player, who’s a big person, Dort or 17 [Mantas Kocanas] or eight [Milos Ilic]. And we did a poor job with that. Much, much better in the second half. Guarded the ball better in the second half.”
On Virginia Tech’s play down the stretch after taking the lead for good with slightly less than four minutes remaining:
“Well, again, 17 games in and I think back to the Providence game, that game had some moments where it didn’t look real good for the Hokes. South Carolina, on the road. Virginia, here in triple overtime. You click them off. Those experiences are invaluable for moments like that and I thought they had a good look about them and I thought the response was quite encouraging.”
Q: Going back to that overtime Elon game… you’ve had five straight close games, and you’ve won three of them. Is that a learned skill to win those close games?
“You’ve got to be able to play in pressure moments, all right? And that’s why that non-conference schedule [matters]. Those moments, who’s going to respond, who may not respond? You got to step up and make foul shots. [Jailen] Bedford missed one. [Jaden Schutt] missed one that we walk out of here comfortably if we get those down. But we shot our fouls great today. Again, I said it earlier, we’re going to have a lot of these [tight games] and I wish it weren’t so. But it’s a really good league. Good, good teams, and we’re going to have to respond time in and time out. So, we look forward to it.”
On how pleased Young was with his team’s physicality:
“We haven’t gotten to the line as much as I’d like for us to, but we’ve got a physical team. David Jackson does a remarkable job with them. They’re men. They’re men and one of our toughest kids, Tyler Johnson, obviously is out of the lineup for the time being. We’ll have him back soon. But very, very encouraged. I really am.”
On the team’s defense down the stretch:
“We did [step up]. [We went] 5-for-23. We are second or third in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense, And you got all the damn numbers, so if I’m wrong, correct me. It’s our rebounding, David. It’s our rebounding. We’re getting the stop. But that second one typically finds the bottom of the barrel. You’ve got to rebound the ball. You got to rebound that first carom. much, much better in the second half. But that’ll of critical importance on Wednesday in Dallas against the Mustangs.”
More Virginia Tech Basketball News:
Virginia
Virginia Tech gains commitment from ACC transfer QB
North Carolina QB transfer Bryce Baker has committed to Virginia Tech out of the NCAA transfer portal. Baker was a freshman at UNC this past season and didn’t see any action for the Tar Heels.
Before arriving in Chapel Hill, Baker played high school football at East Forsyth (NC), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 87 overall player and No. 9 QB in the 2025 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
During his senior season in high school, Baker threw for 3,523 yards and 40 touchdowns, while only throwing five interceptions. Moreover, he logged 303 yards and six scores in the ground game.
North Carolina finished at No. 8 in On3’s 2025 Team Transfer Portal Rankings after losing 41 players to it while adding 42. The team will look to have another successful offseason in the upcoming year, but hope for a better outcome on the field.
Meanwhile, Baker will transfer across the ACC to play for James Franklin at Virginia Tech. Franklin arrived in Blacksburg after a successful stint at Penn State, where he’s one year removed from leading the Nittany Lions to a national semifinal.
Franklin now replaces Brent Pry, who worked under Franklin with the Nittany Lions from 2016-21 as the defensive coordinator. Pry was 16-24 as Virginia Tech’s head coach, but was fired after an 0-3 start this season. Pry now works under Franklin and will be the team’s defensive coordinator for the 2026 season.
Franklin will look to turn the program around in short order, and doing well in the NCAA transfer portal is the first step. Could they have possibly found their QB1 in Bryce Baker? For now, that remains to be seen.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
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