CHARLOTTESVILLE — The ball dropped harmlessly to the grass with 13 seconds remaining, the final knell in Virginia’s 16-9 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday night at Scott Stadium.
The Cavaliers, 14th in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings and 12th in the Associated Press poll, suffered their first Atlantic Coast Conference setback and their first loss at home, and conceded the end of a seven-game win streak, their longest in 18 years.
But they were right there at the end, thanks to a gutsy, although sometimes erratic, effort by backup quarterback Daniel Kaelin, who saw his most extensive action in a Cavaliers uniform after starter Chandler Morris was injured in the second quarter.
Kaelin orchestrated a 10-play drive in the final 2 minutes and 28 seconds to lead UVA to the edge of a potential comeback, but his fourth-down pass to wide receiver Jahmal Edrine was broken up by a pair of defenders in the end zone to squelch the rally.
Once alone on top of the ACC standings, the Cavaliers (8-2, 5-1) dropped into a five-way tie for first place in the loss column with two regular-season games remaining. They visit Duke (5-4, 4-1), also part of that scrum, on Saturday.
The players were optimistic afterward, knowing they were still in the race for the ACC championship and a College Football Playoff berth.
“Obviously, there’s disappointment, but we have a great group, a group that’s worked really hard, and I know we’re going to be able to flush it and refocus on our next week,” Kaelin said. “There’s a lot of stuff ahead of us, and we’ve got to learn from this and improve and get ready.”
Whether Kaelin will be the starter for the next game is still in question.
Morris was injured in the second quarter when he was sandwiched by a pair of defenders while sliding at the end of a run. He appeared to take a hit to the head and stayed down while being tended to by the training staff. He eventually rose to his feet and walked to the locker room on his own while fans chanted his name.
Virginia coach Tony Elliott said they kept him out for the rest of the game as a precaution and that they will monitor him before determining his status for this week’s game.
“He was in street clothes there (on the sideline) and said he was feeling all right,” Elliott said of Morris. “We’ll know more when we get some more tests early in the week. … Anytime you get hit in the head or up above the neck, you’ve got to make sure you take that with a lot of caution. From what I saw out there, he seemed like he was doing OK.”
Virginia’s hopes of making the ACC championship game could rest on the shoulders of the 6-foot-3, 218-pound Kaelin, who transferred to UVA in the offseason after serving as a reserve for Nebraska last year.
“Hey, we’re right there inside the 10 with a chance to tie the ballgame with under a minute to go,” Elliott said. “I’m super-proud of Danny to come in and give us a shot.
“Ultimately, he gave us a chance to win, so all of us have to shoulder the blame, and we will — coaches, players, everybody in the program — and go back to work and get ready to go chance our best four quarters down in North Carolina.”
Kaelin started fast against the Demon Deacons (6-3, 3-3), breaking off a 54-yard run on his third snap, but his performance was mostly what would be expected from a quarterback who had attempted all of 24 passes through the first nine games.
He connected on 18 of 28 passes for 145 yards, rushed for 49 yards on six carries and lost two fumbles on strip-sacks that both led to field goals.
“It’s about every single person on the offense, especially me and the quarterback room, to learn from this and just attacking the next two games as hard as we can to improve,” Kaelin said.
The Cavaliers suffered their first three lost fumbles of the season, including one with 3:09 remaining when Wake Forest linebacker Dylan Hazen snatched the ball away from running back J’Mari Taylor at the Demon Deacons’ 26-yard line.
Virginia’s defense held firm, as it did for most of the contest, giving the offense the ball back with 2:28 remaining. Kaelin completed his first six passes of the ensuing possession. His only misfire came on the last play.
“It was fourth down, and I tried to give my guy a chance, and I didn’t put it in a great spot for Jahmal to make a play,” Kaelin said.
Despite his struggles, Kaelin’s teammates were confident in his ability to lead the offense. They knew he was prepared from what he showed in practice.
“He’s just a ballplayer,” center Brady Wilson said. “In practice, he makes a lot of plays, and he’s comfortable. He commands the offense. Obviously, Chandler going down, it (stinks), but you have the ‘next man up’ mentality, and when he comes out there, we’re not worried. We know we’re in good hands.”
Much of the good fortune Virginia enjoyed throughout its win streak was missing against the Demon Deacons. The law of averages snuck up on the Cavaliers in a big way after they came away with dramatic last-second victories over Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina.
They lost despite yielding only 203 total yards. Wake’s damage came on an 88-yard punt-return touchdown by Carlos Hernandez in the second quarter and field goals of 50, 49 and 39 yards by Connor Calvert.
The defense held a foe to fewer than 300 yards for the second straight week. Wake Forest is the only UVA opponent not to score an offensive touchdown this season.
“It’s always good when you don’t let in a touchdown, but at the same time, we’re not in the business of having moral victories,” defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter said. “We didn’t do enough defensively to win the game. … Maybe a pick-six or something like that could have changed the momentum of the game like we’ve had in the past, but we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.”
The defense and special teams — star linebacker Kam Robinson blocked a punt in the first quarter that the Cavaliers recovered at the Wake 24 — gave the offense favorable field position on multiple occasions, but UVA failed to score a touchdown for the first time since a 14-12 four-overtime home loss to Miami on Oct. 29, 2022.
On three trips inside the Demon Deacons’ 20-yard line, UVA settled for a pair of field goals and the failed touchdown attempt at the end.
“As a team, we pride ourselves in not only getting points but scoring touchdowns in the red zone,” Kaelin said. “That’s what you’ve got to do to win, so we definitely left a lot out there when we got to the red zone.”
