CHARLOTTESVILLE — Add game-winning safety to No. 18 Virginia’s ever-growing bingo card of accomplishments during what is amounting to a special season.
The Cavaliers banked on the two-point play with 2:41 remaining to complete a comeback from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and clinch a 22-20 victory over Washington State on Saturday night at Scott Stadium.
Virginia’s sixth win of the season secured its first bowl berth since 2021, the season before head coach Tony Elliott took the reins.
“That’s major,” Cavaliers safety Devin Neal said. “I’m grateful for it. I’m happy to be a part of this, and I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to go (win).”
The Cavaliers’ defense was relentless in the final quarter, holding the Cougars (3-4) to 8 yards on eight plays. The chef’s kiss came when linebacker Kam Robinson made first contact with running back Kirby Vorhees near the goal line, stopping him from getting the ball out of the end zone.
“All I saw was ball,” Robinson said. “I saw it wasn’t our jersey color, so I was like (shoot), I’m gonna hit his (behind).”
Officials confirmed the safety after review, sending the announced crowd of 56,048 into a frenzy. Robinson’s play capped a 12-point scoring spree over the final 9:45 after UVA trailed 20-10 in the final period.
“I just saw chaos at the goal line,” Neal said. “I saw chaos, and he was stopped a little bit in the end zone and I was like ‘ooooh, safety.’
“It was good being on the field seeing that, and when the officials finally made the signal, I was like ‘yes.’ That was huge. That was big. That was a team win. Those types of wins with backs against the wall, a little bit ugly, but we got it done and that’s what it’s all about, getting that (win).”
SAFETY, HOOS BACK ON
The CW pic.twitter.com/eMLN7dCntI
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) October 19, 2025
Before anyone could fathom the level of talent it had accumulated in the transfer portal, bowl eligibility for Virginia (6-1) this season was considered an ambitious objective. The thought of the Cavaliers qualifying for one of the postseason contests only seven games into the season was almost unfathomable.
Well, UVA continues to buck expectations in this breakthrough season. The Cavaliers are one of three teams still standing with undefeated ACC records, along with Georgia Tech and SMU. Miami and Duke fell from those ranks this weekend.
“We haven’t talked about that, to be honest with you,” Elliott said of gaining bowl eligibility. “In the two weeks (after our last win at Louisville), we didn’t discuss it. We’re just focusing one week at a time.
“And now we’re kind of in a different situation. We’re not sneaking up on anybody. This team has big goals, and I think a lot of people may have looked at me crazy when I said this football team is thinking beyond just being bowl-eligible. Man, they want to go and compete to see if they can play for the biggest bowl game possible.”
After scuffling for the first three quarters, Virginia’s offense finally looked like itself early in the fourth. Its running backs battled for tough yards and broke off big gains. Its receivers fought for 50-50 balls. The Cavaliers put together a 97-yard scoring drive to seemingly reverse all the damage done during an uncharacteristically bad previous three periods.
UVA running back Harrison Waylee rumbled for a 2-yard touchdown with 9:45 remaining in the final quarter to cut what was previously a 10-point deficit to three with plenty of time to finish off the comeback.
It was dicey for the better part of 45 minutes, but UVA finally came alive when the prospect of a loss to a foe with no wins over a Power Four conference opponent in more than a calendar year started looking like a clear possibility.
UVA tied it on Will Bettridge’s 34-yard field goal with 2:55 remaining, and then struck the final blow with Robinson’s clutch defensive play.
“We were trying to end it so the offense didn’t have to go back out there,” Robinson said.
Washington State’s peskiness should have come as no surprise to UVA. The Cougars took No. 5 Ole Miss to the wire in a narrow road loss Oct. 11, but they hadn’t dropped a Power Four opponent since beating Washington on Sept. 14, 2024.
That potent Cavaliers offense that put up record-breaking numbers in the first half of the season was held to four first downs and 109 yards and trailed 17-7 at the half.
Meanwhile, Washington State put on a sterling offensive show, churning out 252 yards and 14 first downs while handing the Cavaliers their first halftime deficit of the season.
Cougars quarterback Zavi Eckhaus completed 12 of 15 passes for 139 yards and a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Joshua Meredith. The quarterback also ran for the go-ahead score on a 1-yard carry midway through the second quarter.
Washington State turned it into a two-possession lead late in the second quarter on a 37-yard field goal by Jack Stevens.
Highlights were sparse for the Cavaliers. Wide receiver Cam Ross, after dropping a long pass on the previous drive, scored on a 19-yard end-around run to even the score 7-7 in the first quarter, and cornerback Donavon Platt made a fingertip interception on the first play of the next drive.
The second half opened with a three-and-out stop by the Cavaliers’ defense, and UVA cut the lead to 17-10 on a 47-yard field goal by Bettridge that just barely cleared the crossbar.
The Cougars burned more than six minutes of clock on their next possession and capped it with a 42-yard Stevens field goal that made it 20-10.
“Where we want to go as a football program, and what we’re capable of becoming, it’s going to take games like this, thinking about finding a way to win, taking a quote-unquote not-so-sexy win,” Elliott said. “But a win’s a win. We’re winning. We’re learning.”
