Virginia Suffers Heartbreaking 36-35 Loss to JMU

A storybook victory on UVA Strong Day eluded the Cavaliers in heartbreaking fashion, as Virginia (0-2) saw its 11-point fourth quarter lead vanish following an hour-long weather delay as James Madison (2-0) scored two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 55 seconds left, to come from behind and defeat UVA 36-35 on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium. 

Game Summary

First quarter

JMU got the ball first and struck right away, converting multiple times on third down and then quarterback Jordan McCloud connected with Taji Hudson for a 32-yard completion inside the UVA 10-yard line. Three plays later, the Dukes used some trickery to find the end zone as McCloud throwed back to Hudson, who then passed to a wide open Phoenix Sproles in the end zone for a touchdown. 

On Virginia's first play from scrimmage, Perris Jones burst free for a 74-yard gain and was forced out just shy of the goal line, but UVA's elation was only temporary, as the play was called back on a holding penalty. Another holding penalty marched Virginia even further back and then JMU blocked the punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown, making it 14-0 midway through a nightmarish opening quarter for the Cavaliers. 

Virginia responded in a big way, with Anthony Colandrea, who made his first career start at quarterback for the injured Tony Muskett, hitting Malik Washington in stride on the left sideline and Washington made a man miss and streaked into the end zone for a 63-yard touchdown. 

A 40-yard pass from McCloud to Reggie Brown had JMU rolling again, but the UVA defense came up with a stop and the Dukes settled for a 38-yard field goal from Camden Wise to make it 17-7. 

Second Quarter

After some early offensive fireworks, both teams' defenses asserted themselves in the second quarter and the game turned into a punting contest, with each team punting on three consecutive drives. Late in the half, Virginia put together a solid possession with Colandrea sparking the drive by converting on 3rd and 15 with a completion to Malachi Fields on the sideline. Colandrea followed that up with a 32-yard strike over the middle to JR Wilson and then continued to dice up the JMU secondary with short throws until Mike Hollins powered through for a four-yard touchdown. That was a great moment for Hollins and the entire team and the best possible thing that could have happened on UVA Strong Day. 

That score swung momentum in the direction of Virginia right at the end of the first half and put the Cavaliers in great position, knowing they would start the second half with the ball. 

That UVA trailed by just three points at halftime was largely thanks to the Cavalier defense, which bounced back after giving up the early touchdown and field goal and forced three-straight punts from the Dukes. Offensively, Virginia's ground game left a lot to be desired with the Cavaliers rushing for just seven yards on 16 carries in the first half. Anthony Colandrea, however, was a revelation, completing 11 of his 12 passing attempts for 172 yards and a touchdown. 

Third Quarter

The momentum indeed carried into the second half for Virginia as, on the first play from scrimmage, Colandrea stepped up and delivered an off-balance throw that was on the money to Kobe Pace over the middle of the field. Pace caught the ball in stride and took it to the house untouched for a 75-yard touchdown, giving the Cavaliers their first lead of the season. 

The good times continued to roll for UVA on the defensive side of the ball, as JMU head coach Curt Cignetti opted to go for it on 4th and 1 from his own 27-yard line and Virginia blew it up, as Sproles was gang-tackled by James Jackson and Antonio Clary for a loss of four yards. The turnover on downs gave Virginia the ball at the JMU 23 and the Cavaliers cashed in on the good field position, cruising through the red zone in five plays, capped by Kobe Pace's second-straight touchdown. Pace got the pitch from Colandrea to the left side and dove for the pylon, making it 28-14. 

Virginia forced another JMU punt, but then Colandrea made his first big mistake of the game, as he was intercepted by Francis Meehan on the left sideline. JMU punted again on its next drive, but played the position game well and pinned the Cavaliers at their own seven-yard line. Unable to get any traction with the run game, UVA failed to create breathing room and actually went backwards as Daniel Sparks had to punt from the 1-yard line. Sparks got his punt off, but JMU took over at the Virginia 45-yard line. The Dukes drove down the field behind a strong rushing attack, as Ty Son Lawton broke a tackle and ran for 24 yards to the UVA 4-yard line and then scored on the next play to snap Virginia's 21-0 scoring run. 

With the lead back down to 28-24, the Virginia offense came up with a big-time answer. On the second play of the drive, Colandrea scrambled to his right and made the JMU defense think he was keeping it before firing a short pass to Perris Jones, who made a man miss and then cut back to the middle of the field, streaking 60 yards before getting forced out on the opposite sideline. Two plays later, Mike Hollins muscled his way into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game, pushing the Virginia lead back to 35-24 and grabbing the momentum of the game back from the Dukes. 

4th quarter

Both teams punted to start the fourth quarter and then play was suspended for severe weather, which delayed the game for over an hour. When play resumed, the Dukes capitalized on the opportunity to seize momentum and put together an 80-yard drive to get back in the game. A couple of big throws from Jordan McCloud got the drive started and then JMU ran the ball at will and Virginia couldn't stop it. Ty Son Lawton capped the drive with his second touchdown, finding a big gap on the right side for a 27-yard score. JMU went for two, but did not convert, so the score remained 35-30. 

Virginia moved the ball a little bit on its next drive, but eventually punted it back to JMU with a little less than three and a half minutes remaining. The Dukes continued to play with an edge that the Cavaliers couldn't quite match and drove down the field again. McCloud found Elijah Sarratt for 24 yards and then a personal foul gave JMU another 15-yard chunk into UVA territory. Jonas Sanker was flagged for pass interference while defending a deep ball, moving the ball down to the UVA 15-yard line. A couple of plays later, a blown coverage left JMU running back Kaelon Black unchecked running across the field and McCloud made the easy pass to Black, who strolled into the end zone to make it 36-35 JMU with 55 seconds left. 

Even after the Dukes scored the go-ahead touchdown, there were two plays that very nearly gave the Cavaliers the window they needed to win the game. JMU attempted a two-point conversion and Dave Herard very nearly came up with an interception that he could have taken to the other end zone to give Virginia two points. Instead, the ball fell to the turf and the score remained 36-35. 

When Virginia got the ball back, Colandrea took a 10-yard sack on first down, further raising the difficulty level of Virginia's task of getting into field goal range. Colandrea threw a pair of incompletions to bring up 4th and 20 and then came the second play that nearly won UVA the game. Colandrea dropped back and fired a Hail Mary down the right sideline intended for Demick Starling, who had a couple of steps on the nearest defender and could have possibly scored on the play had the ball fallen into his hands. Instead, Colandrea's pass was overthrown and landed a couple of yards in front of Starling and Virginia turned the ball over on downs to end the game.

Key Stats

• Total yards were even at 395 yards for both teams, but Virginia had just 18 rushing yards on 35 attempts as compared to JMU's 167. 
• Virginia was penalized eight times for 80 yards, while JMU committed seven penalties for 56 yards.
• UVA was 3 for 3 on its red zone chances and scored touchdowns each time. 
• Anthony Colandrea was sacked four times and hurried three times, while the UVA defensive line recorded just one sack and two QB hurries.
• JMU was 6/14 on 3rd down, while UVA was 4/13 on third downs.

Standout Performers - Virginia

• Anthony Colandrea: 20/26, 377 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 77% completion, one interception
• Mike Hollins: 12 carries, 28 yards, 2 touchdowns
• Malik Washington: 5 catches, 119 yards, 1 touchdown
• Malachi Fields: 8 catches, 74 yards
• Coen King: 6 tackles, 2 pass breakups
• Kam Butler: 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 tackles for loss
• Jonas Sanker: 12 tackles, 1 pass breakup

Moving Forward

Now 0-2 on the season, Virginia heads back on the road next week and will play at Maryland on Friday at 7pm ET in College Park.

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