“It was a real honor to share the field with Michael (Vick),” Coach Tony Elliott said after the Cavaliers victory Friday night.
Michael Vick entered Scott Stadium for the first time since 1999, this time as a coach for Norfolk State. With hopes of an upset, Virginia turned them upside down, blowing the Spartans out 59-3.
The game started with Norfolk State moving the ball efficiently, gaining 55 yards and getting to the Cavalier 29. A stunning decision on the first possession of the game, Norfolk State elected to go for it on 4th and seven. QB Deljay Bailey threw a pretty bad pass, landing right in the hands of Brandyn Hillman, who returned the pass 50 yards to set the ‘Hoos up at the Spartan 37. Virginia moved further into Spartan territory and was prompted with 4th and two from the six. Coach Elliott decided to go for it, Pribula dropped back to throw and had endless time in the pocket. After what felt like an eternity, Pribula found Jacquan Gibson quarantining in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. Norfolk State began its second drive at its own 25, on 3rd and long, Deljay Bailey threw another interception straight to Brandyn Hillman for pick number two. Beau Pribula then threw a 27 yard dime to Da’Shawn Martin on a beautiful sluggo route against the man coverage. Pribula continued to show his ability to throw the ball, finding Kameron Courtney for 29 yards, and then getting the ball to Jacquan Gibson again for another touchdown, this time for 30 yards. Virginia held a 21-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Punts were exchanged to begin the second quarter before NSU kicker Marco Peery missed a 32 yard field goal. Beau Pribula then threw his first interception of his Cavalier career, as his pass was deflected by a Defensive end, landing in the hands of Josiah Davis, giving the Spartans exceptional field position. Marco Peery then redeemed himself making a 40 yard field goal. Virginia then cruised down the field offensively to get back on the board, the drive ending with Peyton Lewis earning his first Cavalier Touchdown. Norfolk State would not get on the board before the end of the half, keeping the score 28-3 at the break.
Eli Holstein entered the game for the Cavaliers to start the second half, throwing his first passing touchdown as a Wahoo to Ty’Lyric Coleman on an RPO for one yard and a Touchdown. Later in the half, Holstein found Isaiah Robinson for his first Collegiate Touchdown reception.
Second year QB, Cole Geer, entered the game for Virginia late in the third quarter. Geer threw his first college touchdown at the start of the fourth to Hayden Rollinson. Will Bettridge completed the extra point, making him Virginia’s all-time leading points scorer. Bettridge was asked postgame how much he knew and how close he was, Bettridge replied, “I knew it was pretty close like it was coming up, a lot of guys kind of told me the number. I try not to like think about it too much, just wanted to do my job and get a win.” The highlight of the fourth quarter then happened a couple of possessions later – Second year player from Ontario Justin Rowe picked off Tyrone Jackson (NSU backup QB) and returned it 50 yards for the final touchdown of the game. Virginia with an explosive, but expected victory over Norfolk State, 59-3. The win would be Virginia’s largest margin of victory since beating Duke 59-0 in 1990.
Quick Takeaways
Brandyn Hillman – My goodness, this kid is the real deal. Safety transfer from Michigan, Hillman has already made a huge impact in both Cavalier games so far. After forcing a fumble and catching an interception against NC State, he grabbed two interceptions on the first two drives of the game against the Spartans. Playmakers like him are what makes a difference in close games, and Virginia will need it down the stretch. “He plays with such intensity, such passion, love for the game, and he’s a natural playmaker.” Tony Elliott explained, “And what it’s going to do is it’s also going to become contagious to the other guys.”
Beau Pribula – We got another sample size of Beau Pribula’s arm Friday night, as he completed 12 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He completed a couple of 20+ yard passes and showed some IQ. The one interception is not ideal but is avoidable, and an outstanding play from the Spartan defense. Next week against West Virginia will probably be pretty telling with an expanded playbook. One interesting number was Pribula rushing for negative 8 yards, Norfolk State did an excellent job setting a contain and not allowing Pribula to get to the edge. Doing this however, forced the Spartans to sacrifice some pass coverage and rush leading to some of the great passes that were made.
Defensive line – The defensive line got home multiple times again for Virginia. Specifically, Nnanna Anywanu looked really good early pressuring Deljay Bailey, finishing with a tackle and a half. Darion Henry-Young had 5 tackles, and Myles Brown again had a nice day with four tackles and a TFL. Unfortunately, there was one downside that I will get to in my next point.
Jason Hammond – Hammond, Virginia’s lead Defensive Tackle, went down in the first half with an elbow injury. He seemed to be in a lot of pain getting off the field, hopefully we will receive some more updates soon. All Coach Tony Elliott knew postgame was, “It is something on the elbow, so we’ll get tests run.”
Running backs running backs RUNNING BACKS – It is hard to not talk about the running back room every single week, they have been so dominant. Xay Davis was the lead rusher today with 11 carries and 107 yards. This was Davis’s first career game over 100 yards, and he was very grateful postgame. “All glory to God.” Davis proclaimed, “Just feels great. Once again, couldn’t do it without the guys up front.” Noah Vaughn ran 8 times for 81 yards, and 43 yards combined came from Jekail Middlebrook, Xavier Brown, and WR Da’Shawn Martin.
Virginia had no trouble against Norfolk State, but that was what was supposed to happen. The best parts to watch for in situations like this are the backups and who stands out. Players like Justin Rowe, Eli Holstein, and even Jewett Hayes took a step forward. On a side note, you think Michael Vick enjoyed his return to Scott Stadium?