Grady Brosterhous pushed through for a 1-yard sneak for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:07 left to help Virginia rally past Wake Forest 31-30 on Saturday night.
The Cavaliers (2-0, 1-0 ACC) then came up with a huge takeaway, with Malcolm Greene jarring a catch loose from Taylor Morin for a fumble that was recovered by a diving Antonio Clary with 1:24 left.
That proved to be the biggest stop for Virginia, which held on as Wake Forest had one last no-timeouts desperate possession in the final minute. That drive never reached midfield and ended with a frantic set of laterals as time expired.
Anthony Colandrea threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cavaliers, who trailed 30-17 entering the fourth quarter. His last scoring throw was a 24-yarder to Trell Harris on the left side of the end zone to bring Virginia within six with 10:37 left.
Then he directed a 12-play scoring drive that included two 4th-down conversions, the last being when he zipped a pass to Malachi Fields — who was locked up with a Wake Forest defender — to set up a first-and-goal before Brosterhous came on two plays later to punch it in.
Hank Bachmeier threw for 403 yards and a touchdown to lead the Demon Deacons (1-1, 0-1), with Donavon Greene hauling in 11 passes for 166 yards and that 3-yard score in the third quarter.
The Demon Deacons rolled to 544 yards but had some key drives stall out with a chance to increase the lead. And Donavon Greene had a chance to recover Morin’s late fumble, but he tried to pick it up and couldn’t control it as Clary went low to snatch the ball.
The Cavaliers had won just three games in each of coach Tony Elliott’s first two seasons, but now have their first 2-0 start since Bronco Mendenhall’s final season in 2021 along with their first win in an ACC opener since 2020.
Bachmeier got the start and went the whole way in this one after sharing snaps with Michael Kern in the opener. He was effective pushing the ball downfield to Greene, who looked fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him last year. But Virginia also got after Bachmeier for six sacks while Morin’s late fumble ended what amounted to Wake Forest’s last best chance.
The Cavaliers return home next Saturday to host Maryland, a former longtime ACC member.
