The tension grew and the anticipation built Friday night until finally, at the end of the second overtime, the home fans at Scott Stadium were able to let loose with a celebration for the ages.
On fourth-and-12 from the Virginia 27-yard line, Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos threw a pass to the end zone. UVA cornerback Ja’Son Prevard came down with his second interception of the game.
This one sealed the Cavaliers’ 46-38 victory over the No. 8 Seminoles, and Prevard had barely gotten his hands on the football when a tidal wave of fans began flooding the field.
The victory was the Wahoos’ first over a top-10 opponent at Scott Stadium since 2005, when they knocked off No. 4 Florida State 26-21. It came nearly 30 years after the Hoos handed No. 2 FSU its first conference loss as an ACC member, also at Scott Stadium.
“This is one I’ll remember forever,” said defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter, who’s in his sixth season as a Cavalier.
In front of an ESPN audience and a crowd of 50,107, the largest to see a game at Scott Stadium this season, UVA improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC. Florida State fell to 3-1, 0-1.
The Cavaliers nearly avoided overtime, but Florida State scored a touchdown on a fourth-down pass with 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Jake Weinberg’s extra point made it 35-35.
The Noles got the ball first in overtime and had to settle for Weinberg’s 36-yard field goal. Virginia’s possession stalled, but Will Bettridge extended the game with a 39-yard field goal.
In the second overtime, the Hoos had the ball first, and quarterback Chandler Morris ran 4 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the game. Under the rules of overtime, Virginia then had to attempt a 2-point conversion, and Morris passed to wide receiver Trell Harris in the back of the end zone to make it 46-38.
The Noles got no closer than the 22 on the possession that followed, and Prevard’s pick ended an exhilarating game.
“Man, how fun was that?” UVA head coach Tony Elliott said. “That’s what Scott Stadium is supposed to be like.”
There was no shortage of highlights Friday night. Each team came up with two takeaways in the first half, and the score was 21-21 at intermission.
To the delight of the home fans, UVA scored first, on a 6-yard TD pass from Morris to tight end Sage Ennis, a Tallahassee native, and then added a second TD on Morris’ 11-yard run.
That made it 14-0 with 9:43 to play in the second quarter, but the Seminoles were unfazed. They rallied for two touchdowns in a span of 83 seconds to tie the game. Then, after Morris threw his second interception, FSU took its first lead, covering 45 yards on a drive that ended with Castellanos’ 4-yard touchdown run.
This time it was UVA’s turn to shown resilience. With the game in danger of slipping from the Hoos, they answered with a 75-yard drive that included a 20-yard completion from Morris to Harris and tailback J’Mari Taylor’s 26-yard touchdown run.
In the third quarter, Virginia regained the lead with a 12-play touchdown drive that covered 75 yards. Eleven of the plays were runs; Morris’ only pass on the drive going to Harris for 8 yards and a critical first down.
FSU responded with its fourth touchdown, and the score was 28-28 heading into the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers went ahead on Morris’ 15-yard touchdown pass to tailback Xavier Brown, only to see the Seminoles fight back once again.
Morris finished 26 of 35 passing for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Six players had at least two receptions apiece for the Cavaliers.
Led by Taylor, who carried 27 times for 99 yards and one TD, the Hoos rushed for 2011 yards.
Florida State, which opened the season with a win over Alabama, came in averaging 58.0 points and 628.7 yards per game. Virginia forced three turnovers and recorded five tackles for loss. Safety Devin Neal and linebacker Kam Robinson made 12 and 10 stops, respectively, for UVA.
“That’s the number one offense in the country,” Elliott said. “And so all we wanted to do was find a way to get enough stops to give our offense one or two more possessions than the other team.”
UP NEXT: The Cavaliers’ second road game of the season is Oct. 4 in Louisville, Ky. At 3:30 p.m., UVA (4-1, 2-0) will meet Louisville at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. The game will air on ESPN2 or ACC Network.
Virginia has dropped three straight games to Louisville, which leads the series 8-5. The Hoos’ most recent win over the Cardinals came in 2021 in Louisville. UVA erased a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull out a 34-33 victory.
In the ACC opener for both teams, Louisville (3-0) plays at Pittsburgh (2-1) on Saturday afternoon.
