CHARLOTTE — His team’s ACC championship hopes and College Football Playoff prospects dashed by a 27-20 upset loss to Duke in overtime on Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium, Virginia coach Tony Elliott still saw an opportunity to stump for his squad.
Not for inclusion in the playoff bracket, but for appreciation of the turnaround is program forged in 2025. The pain from the loss was fresh, but he felt the need to offer some context.
“They’ve got a heart of a champion,” he said. “The football team that lost tonight came up a touchdown short. They’ve got the heart of a champion, or they wouldn’t have been in the situation that they’re in.”
The 16th-ranked Cavaliers (10-3) dug themselves a 10-point hole late in the fourth quarter before putting on a late charge to tie it right before the end of regulation. Penalties and turnovers were bugaboos throughout the contest, and they contributed to the final debilitating sequence.
A roughing the passer call on Duke’s touchdown to start overtime — quarterback Darian Mensah whipped a 1-yard strike to tight end Jeremiah Hasley on fourth down while under duress — was enforced on Virginia’s ensuing possession.
Needing 40 yards to reach paydirt instead of the customary 25, the Cavaliers opted for a trick play on first down that resulted in linebacker Luke Mergott’s interception of quarterback Chandler Morris.
The ending left Virginia’s players stunned. Understandably emotional, many slowly made the trek back to the locker room. Linebacker James Jackson was seen consoling wide receiver Jahmal Edrine as they walked toward the door. Wide receiver Cam Ross stuck around to watch Duke’s celebration.
“I’ve never been in a position like this. I’ve never been to a conference championship game,” said wide receiver Cam Ross, who played at UConn and JMU before transferring to UVA. “The scene afterwards … as much as I wanted to, it didn’t feel right just leaving the field, just going straight to the locker room. It hurt, but it was a scene that you just kind of wanted to soak in.”
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The Cavaliers made a meteoric rise to championship contender in 2025. They won 11 games in Elliott’s first three seasons as head coach and are now on the doorstep of matching that total in one season.
On Sunday, UVA accepted an invitation to play Missouri, of the SEC, in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, Dec. 27.
A win against the Blue Devils would have clinched Virginia a spot in the College Football Playoff. Instead, a loss left it lamenting how close it was to reaching its ultimate goal.
Before falling short of the conference championship and College Football Playoff, the Cavaliers piled up accomplishments, including tying a program record for wins — besting its previous high under Elliott by five — and its first solo finish atop the ACC standings. UVA also qualified for a bowl for the first time since 2021.
“We’ve got one more game. We’ve got an opportunity to go win 11, and that’s what I told them, I want that 11th, and I think everybody in our locker room wants that 11th,” Elliott said.
The players concurred.
“I’d say that’s really important as far as this season,” said safety Devin Neal, who tied for the team lead with seven tackles. “This season has been a historic and monumental moment overall, so just being able to cap the season off with 11 wins would be really nice to really solidify the team.”
UVA was a championship contender this season after missing the postseason in each of the previous three seasons. It was picked to finish 14th out of the 17 ACC teams in a preseason media poll.
The time to appreciate that accomplishment would come soon enough.
“As far as the emotion in the locker room, I’d say just disappointment, you know,” Neal said. “I’m sure we’ll use this pain as something to fuel us for the next game, but just disappointment overall in how far we’ve come and just expecting to get this done and the preparation that went into this game, it’s really unfortunate the outcome didn’t happen the way we wanted it to.”
