Brennan Armstrong’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Grant Misch with 22 seconds remaining lifted Virginia to a 34-33 comeback victory over host Louisville on Saturday.
The Cavaliers rallied from a 30-13 fourth-quarter deficit by scoring three touchdowns in the final 12:40 behind a huge performance from Armstrong, who went 40-of-60 passing for 487 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Ra’Shaun Henry had nine receptions for 179 yards for the Cavaliers (4-2, 2-2 ACC).
Armstrong’s performance overshadowed Louisville running back Hassan Hall, who rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Malik Cunningham went 17-of-25 passing for 270 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Harrell had two catches for 100 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals (3-3, 1-2).
Trailing 33-27 following a Louisville field goal, Armstrong needed just two minutes to drive the Cavaliers down the field and find Misch running across the back of the end zone to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive.
The Cardinals had a chance to win the game, but James Turner’s 49-yard field goal as time expired sailed wide left.
After Louisville outscored Virginia 20-0 in the third quarter to take a 30-13 lead, the Cavaliers pulled to within 30-27 by scoring twice in less than a five-minute span in the fourth quarter. Keytaon Thompson scored on a 5-yard run with 12:40 left before Armstrong hit Jelani Woods for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 7:49 remaining.
The Cavaliers got the ball back on their 35-yard line with 4:24 left, but they failed to get a first down and had to punt. Louisville responded with Turner’s fourth field goal of the game, a 40-yarder, with 2:22 left.
Trailing 13-10 at halftime, Louisville opened the third quarter when Hall burst up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown run and a 17-13 lead less than three minutes into the second half.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 20-13 on a 28-yard field goal by Turner midway through the third quarter after taking over at Virginia’s 25-yard line following an interception.
Mitchell’s 3-yard run extended the lead to 27-13 with 4:02 left in the third quarter. After Louisville got the ball back following Kendrick Duncan’s interception on Virginia’s next series,
Turner’s third field goal of the game made it 30-13 with 1:29 left in the third quarter.
–Field Level Media
