2023 Virginia Cavaliers football team

2023 Virginia Cavaliers football
2023 Virginia Cavaliers football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	3–9 (2–6 ACC)
Head coach	Tony Elliott (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Desmond Kitchings (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	John Rudzinski (2nd season)
Home stadium	Scott Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by second-year head coach Tony Elliott and played home games at the Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Florida State y$	8	–	0	13	–	1
No. 19 Louisville y	7	–	1	10	–	4
No. 21 NC State	6	–	2	9	–	4
Georgia Tech	5	–	3	7	–	6
Virginia Tech	5	–	3	7	–	6
North Carolina	4	–	4	8	–	5
No. 20 Clemson	4	–	4	9	–	4
Duke	4	–	4	8	–	5
Miami (FL)	3	–	5	7	–	6
Boston College	3	–	5	7	–	6
Syracuse	2	–	6	6	–	7
Virginia	2	–	6	3	–	9
Pittsburgh	2	–	6	3	–	9
Wake Forest	1	–	7	4	–	8
Championship: Florida State 16, Louisville 6
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule edit

Virginia and the ACC announced the 2023 football schedule on January 30, 2023.^[1]^[2] The 2023 season was the conference's first season since 2004, other than 2020, with a scheduling format not split into two divisions. The new format sets Virginia with three set conference opponents, while playing the remaining ten teams twice (home and away) in a four-year cycle. The Cavaliers' three set conference opponents for the next four years are Louisville, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech.^[3]^[4]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 12 Tennessee*	Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN (SEC Nation)	ABC	L 13–49	69,507
September 9	12:00 p.m.	James Madison*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPNU	L 35–36	56,508
September 15	7:00 p.m.	at Maryland*	SECU Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)	FS1	L 14–42	37,041
September 22	7:30 p.m.	NC State	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN	L 21–24	42,979
September 30	2:00 p.m.	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	The CW	L 24–27	41,868
October 7	12:00 p.m.	No. 10 (FCS) William & Mary*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCN	W 27–13	38,289
October 21	6:30 p.m.	at No. 10 North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)	The CW	W 31–27	50,500
October 28	3:30 p.m.	at Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ACCN	L 26–29 ^OT	58,503
November 4	2:00 p.m.	Georgia Tech	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	The CW	L 17–45	42,606
November 9	7:30 p.m.	at No. 11 Louisville	L&N Stadium Louisville, KY	ESPN	L 24–31	44,628
November 18	3:00 p.m.	Duke	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	The CW	W 30–27	36,400
November 25	3:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ACCN	L 17–55	42,976
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Roster edit

2023 Virginia Cavaliers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`0`	Cody Brown	So
WR	`1`	Suderian Harrison	Fr
RB	`2`	Perris Jones	Sr
WR	`3`	Delaney Crawford	Fr
WR	`4`	Malik Washington	GS
RB	`5`	Kobe Pace	Sr
RB	`7`	Mike Hollins	GS
WR	`8`	Malachi Fields	So
RB	`9`	Amaad Foston	So
QB	`10`	Anthony Colandrea	Fr
QB	`11`	Tony Muskett	Sr
QB	`13`	Jared Rayman	Sr
WR	`17`	JR Wilson	So
WR	`18`	Jaden Gibson	Fr
QB	`19`	Grady Brosterhous	Fr
RB	`20`	Xavier Brown	So
WR	`21`	Landon Spell	Fr
QB	`22`	Devin Sherwood	Fr
RB	`25`	Donté Hawthorne	Fr
WR	`26`	Ethan Davies	So
WR	`27`	KJ Bratton	Fr
RB	`28`	Noah Vaughn	Fr
RB	`34`	Kevin Chadwick Jr.	Fr
RB	`34`	Jack Griese	Fr
TE	`44`	Sackett Wood Jr.	Sr
OT	`50`	Jimmy Christ	GS
C	`51`	Ty Furnish	So
OT	`52`	McKale Boley	So
C	`53`	Dawson Alters	Fr
OT	`54`	Blake Steen	Fr
C	`55`	Brian Stevens	GS
OT	`57`	Andy Lutes	Fr
G	`58`	Noah Hartsoe	Fr
OT	`60`	Charlie Patterson	So
G	`61`	Dane Steele	Fr
G	`63`	Joey Kagel	So
G	`64`	Cole Surber	Fr
OT	`68`	Jack Witmer	So
G	`69`	Luke Johnson	Jr
G	`70`	Grant Lanham	So
G	`71`	Ugonna Nnanna	Sr
G	`72`	Snoop Leota-Amaama	Fr
G	`74`	Noah DeMeritt	Fr
OT	`75`	Houston Curry	Fr
G	`77`	Noah Josey	So
G	`78`	Jestus Johnson III	Jr
OL	`79`	Jessie Knight	Sr
WR	`80`	TyLyric Coleman	Fr
TE	`81`	TeKai Kirby	Fr
WR	`82`	Eli Wood	Fr
WR	`83`	Dakota Twitty	Fr
WR	`84`	Dillon Tennyson	So
TE	`85`	Grant Misch	Sr
WR	`86`	Claiborne Richards	Fr
WR	`87`	Titus Ivy	Fr
TE	`88`	Karson Gay	Fr
TE	`89`	Joshua Rawlings	Jr
TE	`93`	Henry Duke	So
TE	`94`	Hayden Rollison	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
S	`0`	Antonio Clary	Sr
DE	`1`	Paul Akere	GS
LB	`2`	Stevie Bracey	So
LB	`3`	Langston Long	Jr
CB	`4`	Dave Herard	Jr
LB	`5`	Kam Robinson	Fr
CB	`6`	Dre Walker	Fr
LB	`7`	James Jackson	Jr
CB	`8`	Malcolm Greene	GS
DB	`9`	Coen King	Sr
DE	`10`	Ben Smiley III	Sr
CB	`11`	William Simpkins III	So
CB	`13`	Sam Westfall	GS
DE	`14`	Miles Greene	Fr
DE	`15`	Chico Bennett Jr.	GS
LB	`16`	Trey McDonald	Fr
S	`17`	Aidan Ryan	So
DT	`18`	Michael Diatta	So
DT	`19`	Olasunkonmi Agunloye	Jr
S	`20`	Jonas Sanker	Jr
S	`21`	Donovan Johnson Sr.	Jr
CB	`22`	Elijah Gaines	Jr
CB	`23`	Tayvonn Kyle	Sr
DT	`25`	Terrell Jones	Fr
S	`26`	Caleb Hardy	Fr
CB	`27`	Trent Baker-Booker	Fr
LB	`28`	Sam Brady	Jr
S	`29`	Davis Lane Jr.	Fr
S	`30`	Addie Burrow	Sr
CB	`31`	Micah Gaffney	So
S	`32`	Landon Danley	Fr
LB	`33`	Josh Ahern	Sr
S	`36`	Carlo Thompson	Fr
S	`37`	John Hurley	Fr
DE	`38`	Mekhi Buchanan	Fr
S	`39`	Robbie Engelberg	Fr
LB	`40`	Rob Keys	Fr
LB	`42`	Kendall Cross	So
LB	`43`	Logan Kotter	Fr
DE	`44`	Brayden Sheffer	Jr
S	`46`	Devin Clark	Fr
DE	`47`	Gabe Sneed	Fr
LB	`49`	Josh McCarron	So
DE	`52`	Nate Morris	Jr
LB	`53`	Justin Stewart	Fr
DE	`54`	Joseph Holland III	So
DT	`55`	Anthony Britton	Fr
DE	`56`	Caleb Stoltz	Sr
DT	`59`	Jack Hardy	Jr
DE	`82`	Kam Butler	GS
DE	`88`	Lorenz Terry	So
DT	`89`	Sam Bond	So
DT	`90`	Jahmeer Carter	Sr
DT	`91`	Jason Hammond	Fr
DT	`92`	Andrew Williams	So
DE	`93`	Jonathan Horton	Jr
DT	`94`	Aaron Faumui	Sr
DT	`95`	Nana Appouh	Fr
DT	`96`	Bryce Carter	So
DT	`98`	Bryce Purnell	Fr
DE	`99`	DJ Jones	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LS	`32`	Luke Byrne	So
P	`38`	Daniel Sparks	Sr
K	`41`	Will Bettridge	So
LS	`45`	Aidan Livingston	GS
K	`47`	Vadin Bruot	Fr
K	`98`	Matt Ganyard	Sr
P/PK	`99`	Elijah Slibeck	Fr

Head coach

Tony Elliott

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Des Kitchings – Offensive coordinator/ Tight ends
John Rudzinski – Defensive coordinator/ Defensive backs
Keith Gaither – Special teams coordinator/ Running backs
Dave Patenaude – Senior offensive analyst

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries edit

vs Tennessee edit

Game One – Virginia Cavaliers (0-0) vs No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers (0-0) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Virginia	0	3	7	3	13
No. 12 Tennessee	7	14	14	14	49

at Nissan Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee

Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: Sunny, 80 °F (27 °C)
Game attendance: 69,507
Referee: Matt Loeffler
TV announcers (ABC): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst), Katie George (sideline)

Game information

First quarter

(12:05) TENN – Dylan Sampson 9-yard pass from Joe Milton III (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 2:55; Tennessee 7-0)

Second quarter

(4:41) TENN – Dylan Sampson 3-yard run (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 13 plays, 90 yards, 4:52; Tennessee 14-0)
(1:42) UVA – Will Bettridge 30-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 52 yards, 2:59; Tennessee 14-3)
(0:06) TENN – Joe Milton III 1-yard run (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 1:36; Tennessee 21-3)

Third quarter

(10:52) TENN – Joe Milton III 1-yard run (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 3:10; Tennessee 28-3)
(7:23) TENN – Dylan Sampson 2-yard run (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 2:28; Tennessee 35-3)
(3:05) UVA – Perris Jones 17-yard run (Will Bettridge kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:18; Tennessee 35-10)

Fourth quarter

(13:36) TENN – Jacob Warren 11-yard pass from Joe Milton III (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 27 yards, 2:03; Tennessee 42-10)
(11:06) TENN – Dylan Sampson 3-yard run (Charles Campbell kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 1:40; Tennessee 49-10)
(0:39) UVA – Will Bettridge 40-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 47 yards, 3:57; Tennessee 49-13)

Statistics	UVA	TENN
First downs	12	29
Total yards	64–201	85–499
Rushing yards	40–95	52–287
Passing yards	106	212
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	11–24–0	23–33–0
Time of possession	32:54	27:06

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Virginia	Passing	Tony Muskett	9/17, 94 yards
	Rushing	Perris Jones	7 carries, 39 yards, TD
	Receiving	Malachi Fields	4 receptions, 63 yards
Tennessee	Passing	Joe Milton III	21/30, 201 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Jaylen Wright	12 carries, 115 yards
	Receiving	Ramel Keyton	3 receptions, 66 yards

at Maryland edit

Pregame line	Over/under
MD -16.5	48.5

Game Three – Virginia Cavaliers (0–2) at Maryland Terrapins (2–0) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	14	0	0	0	14
Terrapins	7	7	7	21	42

at SECU Stadium • College Park, Maryland

Date: September 15th
Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT/12:30 p.m. PDT
Game attendance: 37,041
Referee: Mike Roche
TV announcers (FS1): Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Devin Gardner (analyst)

Game information

First quarter

12:25 UVA - Perris Jones 13-yard run (Will Bettridge kick) - 7-0 Virginia, Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 1:20
4:16 UVA - Kobe Pace 19-yard pass from Anthony Colandrea (Will Bettridge kick) - 14-0 Virginia, Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 3:59
4:03 MD - Braeden Wisloski 98-yard kickoff return (Jack Howes kick) - 14-7 Virginia, Drive: 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:00

Second quarter

1:23 MD - Roman Hemby 3-yard run (Jack Howes kick) - 14-14, Drive: 14 plays, 97 yards, 6:23

Third quarter

9:47 MD - Jeshaun Jones 64-yard pass from Taulia Tagovailoa (Jack Howes kick) - 21-14 Maryland, Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 2:39

Fourth quarter

11:10 MD - Roman Hemby 3-yard run (Jack Howes kick) - 28-14 Maryland, Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:34
10:25 MD - Antwain Littleton II 2-yard run (Jack Howes kick) - 35-14 Maryland, Drive: 3 plays, 30 yards, 0:37
5:58 MD - Colby McDonald 1-yard run (Jack Howes kick) - 42-14 Maryland, Drive: 6 plays, 56 yards, 3:18

Statistics	Virginia	Maryland
First downs	25	20
Plays–yards	69-354	61-461
Rushes–yards	30-91	31-119
Passing yards	263	342
Passing: comp–att–int	23-39-3	19-30-0
Time of possession	31:27	28:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Virginia	Passing	Anthony Colandrea	23/39, 263 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Perris Jones	9 carries, 37 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Malik Washington	9 receptions, 141 yards
Maryland	Passing	Taulia Tagovailoa	19/30, 342 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Colby McDonald	10 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jeshaun Jones	5 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD

NC State edit

Pregame line	Over/under
NCSU –8.5	47.5

Game Four – NC State Wolfpacks (1–1) at Virginia Cavaliers (0–3) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	0	14	7	3	24
Cavaliers	0	7	6	8	21

at Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, VA

Date: September 22, 2023
Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT/4:30 p.m. PDT
Game weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 42,979
Referee: Riley Johnson
TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline)

Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays

Second quarter

4:55 NCSU – KC Concepcion 12-yard pass from Brennan Armstrong (Brayden Narveson kick) – 7–0 NC State, Drive: 7 plays, 49 yards, 2:43
1:46 UVA – Malik Washington 8-yard pass from Anthony Colandrea (Will Bettridge kick) – 7–7 Tied, Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:09
0:28 NCSU – Delbert Mimms III 1-yard run (Brayden Narveson kick) – 14–7 NC State, Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 2:36

Third quarter

6:48 UVA – Will Bettridge 21-yard field goal – 14–10 NC State, Drive: 5 plays, 60 yards, 1:59
2:24 UVA – Will Betridge 36-yard field goal – 14–13 NC State, Drive: 5 plays, 38 yards, 2:58
0:11 NCSU – KC Concepcion 48-yard pass from Brennan Armstrong (Brayden Narveson kick) – 21–13 NC State, Drive: 5 plays, 74 yards, 2:13

Fourth quarter

0:36 UVA – Malik Washington 3-yard pass from Anthony Colandrea (Malachi Fields pass from Anthony Colandrea for 2-point conversion) – 21–21 Tied, Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 2:53
0:00 NCSU – Brayden Narveson 33-yard field goal – 24–21 NC State, Drive 5 plays, 33 yards, 0:36

Statistics	NCSU	UVA
First downs	21	20
Total yards	319	384
Rushing yards	139	113
Passing yards	180	271
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	27:26	32:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
NC State	Passing	Brennan Armstrong	15–30, 180 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Brennan Armstrong	15 rushes, 64 yards
	Receiving	KC Concepcion	6 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TD
Virginia	Passing	Anthony Colandrea	18–30, 271 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Anthony Colandrea	13 rushes, 43 yards
	Receiving	Malik Washington	10 receptions, 170 yards, 2 TD

Players drafted into the NFL edit

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
6	184	Malik Washington	WR	Miami Dolphins

References edit

^ Willett, Preston (January 30, 2023). "Virginia reveals 2023 football schedule". WCAV. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
^ Johnson, Eric (January 30, 2023). "Save the Dates: 2023 Virginia Football schedule". WSLS-TV. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
^ "ACC Announces Football Schedule Model for 2023–26" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
^ Frankenberry, Jami (June 28, 2022). "Virginia Tech and Virginia will play each other, two more primary opponents, annually under ACC's new football scheduling format". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

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[1] Willett, Preston (January 30, 2023). "Virginia reveals 2023 football schedule". WCAV. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

[2] Johnson, Eric (January 30, 2023). "Save the Dates: 2023 Virginia Football schedule". WSLS-TV. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

[3] "ACC Announces Football Schedule Model for 2023–26" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

[4] Frankenberry, Jami (June 28, 2022). "Virginia Tech and Virginia will play each other, two more primary opponents, annually under ACC's new football scheduling format". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

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