BLACKSBURG -- A campaign that began hopeful and with encouraging promise ended in the same dejecting and embarrassing fashion as the last one.
Football Sources: Virginia football turning to Tony Muskett for Commonwealth Clash tilt vs. Hokies GREG MADIA The Daily Progress
"We've got to play better," Virginia standout safety Jonas Sanker said. "I don't really know how else to say it. We've got to take more pride in what we do."
The Cavaliers were sloppy, slow, and frankly outclassed on Saturday night by hated rival Virginia Tech in a humiliating 37-17 loss at Lane Stadium, where the Hoos made Hokies third-string quarterback Pop Watson look like a veteran, longtime starting signal-caller.
Watson, who only earned the nod because Virginia Tech starter Kyron Drones and backup Collin Schlee were injured, threw for 254 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 48 yards and a score while putting together a stat line similar to the box-score numbers Drones had a year ago when Virginia Tech thumped UVa, 55-17, in Charlottesville behind Drones' three touchdowns.
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"I felt like where I let [the players] down was I didn't have them ready to play with the right discipline and execution," third-year Hoos coach Tony Elliott said.
This year's victory for the Hokies (6-6, 4-4 ACC) earned them bowl eligibility while the Cavaliers' (5-7, 3-5 ACC) loss painfully dashed their goals of gaining a postseason spot for the first time under Elliott.
He spent the early part of this past week emphasizing the importance of being competitive in the battle for the Commonwealth Cup. Instead, a chilly, dark night at the home of Hokies revealed still how far behind them the Cavaliers are.
"We had a better understanding of what rivalry means," Elliott said, "so I think emotionally we were ready to play, because last year we didn't have much emotion in this game. I thought that was there, but execution [wasn't]."
Under Elliott, UVa has lost twice to Virginia Tech by an average margin of 29 points. As a program, the Cavaliers haven't won in Blacksburg since 1998 and they're now 2-23 in the last 25 installments of the rivalry.
His move to elevate backup quarterback Tony Muskett to starter in the regular-season finale didn't matter either. Elliott said he made the decision to go with Muskett this past Sunday. He'd had been sharing first-team reps in practice with Anthony Colandrea over the last few weeks, but the Hoos were in a hole even before Muskett took his first snap on Saturday.
Virginia Tech capped the opening series of the contest with a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Bhayshul Tuten just four snaps after Elliott failed to ask for a challenge after a potentially momentum-swinging play by the Cavaliers' defense.
Linebacker Trey McDonald and defensive end Chico Bennett Jr. combined to tackle Hokies wide receiver Jaylin Lane when he sprinted on a run to the outside. As Lane was coming down toward the ground, the ball popped free and the Cavaliers appeared to recover the fumble. Officials ruled, though, Lane was already down before the ball was fumbled.
But the Hoos never challenged the ruling, and the Hokies continued with little resistance on their scoring drive.
Elliott said he was on the sideline near where the fumble happened and was in the referee's ear asking if they could look at it or if the replay officials were going to review it.
"I was like, 'Are they looking at it up top? Did they see anything?'" Elliott explained. "He told me they looked at it up top and looked at every play, and that they let it go."
Tuten was untouched on his carry into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. He rushed for 124 yards and two scores in the win for the Hokies.
To make issues worse, Muskett's first series was rough. The Cavaliers called for a flea flicker on the first play of their first possession and he was sacked. The next pass he threw was dropped and then on third down, Muskett threw an incomplete pass.
He couldn't get in a rhythm early, and he said not being able to do so hurt the Cavaliers.
"Win the game," Muskett said about what his approach was throughout the week after learning he'd start against the Hokies. "That was my thought process. It was my last [game]. ... And I just wanted to win the game. I don't know if there's anyone who wanted to win more than I did."
Virginia Tech added a field goal from John Love before the first quarter was over, and then the Hokies even had a rapid, devastating response when UVa cut the score to 7-3 following kicker Will Bettridge's 37-yard field goal with 2:45 left to go until halftime.
Watson delivered a perfect throw off a run-pass option on a deep ball to Lane for a 66-yard touchdown. Lane outraced the defense to get free, and no defender was in the vicinity as he hauled in the grab and trotted past the goal line while sending the maroon-wearing faithful into jubilation.
Muskett threw an interception on the next series in an attempt to find wide receiver Suderian Harrison on pass down the seam. The ball was overthrown and Hokies defensive back Jaylen Jones picked it off and managed a return into UVa territory.
An illegal hands-to-the-face penalty on the Cavaliers helped Virginia Tech march forward in time for kicker John Love to boot a 31-yard field goal as the second quarter finished and extend the Hokies' lead to 20-3 at halftime.
Saturday marked the fourth time in UVa's last five games that it was outscored by double digits before halftime. During that stretch, opponents combined to outpace the Hoos 102 to 16 during the first half of games.
UVa got two rushing touchdowns from Muskett in the second half, but by then the outcome was already decided.
The Cavaliers ended their year, having dropped six of their final seven contests.
"The back half [of the schedule] was a gauntlet," tight end Tyler Neville said. "You play a few good football teams and you don't play your best ball. Guys get hurt. You lose your confidence and there's just a mix of things when you're not executing well. It was a mix of things."
They were 4-1 with wins over Richmond, at Wake Forest, at Coastal Carolina and against Boston College. Then, the unraveling occurred through a difficult final seven weeks of the slate, which included games against nationally-ranked Clemson, Notre Dame and SMU, and never stopped on the way to another disappointing performance in the Commonwealth Clash.
Greg Madia
gmadia@dailyprogress.com
@GregMadia on X
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