UVa football: Cavaliers clinch winning season by topping Liberty 45-24

Virginia linebacker Elliot Brown (center) intercepts a pass intended for LIberty receiver JT Wood (right) on Saturday.

CHARLOTTESVILLE — After Virginia’s 45-24 win over Liberty at Scott Stadium on Saturday, a reporter mentioned to sophomore safety De’Vante Cross that the victory clinched the Cavaliers’ first winning season since 2011.

“Sheesh, I was in middle school. I was in eighth grade,” Cross said. “When you think about it like that, that’s wild. And I’m glad it’s this team and I’m glad we’re doing it.”

UVa went 8-5 in 2011, under coach Mike London.

Under coach Bronco Mendenhall, the Cavaliers had gone 2-10 in 2016 and 6-7 last year. Now, they’ll finish above .500.

Saturday was Virginia’s senior day, too. The Cavaliers honored 27 seniors before the game. It’s a group that Mendenhall said is responsible for what the 7-3 Wahoos are building.

“There’s been a lot that’s happened in a pretty short amount of time,” Mendenhall said. “And so, for our seniors, I don’t really really know how to describe it any better — they have caused it. And I’m so proud of them.”

One senior, running back Jordan Ellis, had a strong day on the ground with 106 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

Ellis said the winning season means a lot to him.

“Putting the effort into building this program up, laying the foundation,” he said.

Saturday was the first meeting between Liberty and UVa. The Flames (4-5) are in their first year in the FBS, competing as an independent.

Liberty proved a formidable opponent.

The teams had nearly identical offensive stats through the first three quarters, with Virginia (7-3) at 322 total yards and Liberty at 319. The final breakdown was a 389-354 advantage for the Cavaliers.

Virginia began pulling away midway through the third quarter. Facing a fourth-and-1 from their own 14, the Flames went for it. But sophomore free safety Brenton Nelson broke up a pass intended for junior wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden.

It was a gutsy call, and Mendenhall said he admired it. Liberty coach Turner Gill said his team needed to be aggressive.

“You’ve got to take chances in this type of game. You’ve got to score points,” Gill said. “We knew we had to score some points against them, so I decided let’s go for it and see what happens. Unfortunately we didn’t make it.”

Three plays after UVa took over at the 14, junior quarterback Bryce Perkins scrambled for a 9-yard touchdown to put the Cavaliers up 38-24 with 7:21 to play in the third quarter.

Later in the quarter, Liberty junior quarterback Stephen Calvert threw his third interception of the day, to senior safety Juan Thornhill. UVa took over at the Liberty 35.

Early in the fourth, Ellis carried the ball 6 yards to the Liberty 6 on fourth-and-1. Then Perkins hit junior wide receiver Joe Reed on a screen pass, and Reed put the Cavaliers up 45-24 with 12:30 left.

Reed made a big impact in the kick return game, too. Reed had 193 yards on four returns, including a 90-yard touchdown dash on the opening kickoff of the second half, which gave UVa a 31-17 lead.

“We always talk about on special teams, we have to change the game on special teams,” Reed said. “So we came in at halftime knowing we were going to get the ball back. So I knew it was going to be a big opportunity, especially the score being what it was.”

Next up for UVa is a game at Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

And, while happy with the winning season, the Cavaliers want more.

“I know it was senior day but, at the end of the day, I’m not really that sad,” senior punter Lester Coleman said. “I didn’t keep my shoulder pads on a long time. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, there’s still a lot of games to be played.”