Five takeaways from UVA football's comeback win over Boston College

The Virginia Cavaliers improved to 4-1 for the sixth time since 1999 with a thrilling 24-14 victory over the Boston College Eagles on Saturday afternoon.

On a beautiful, 75-degree October afternoon in Charlottesville, the 'Hoos appeared to be headed for a second straight disappointing loss through three quarters at Scott Stadium. But sparked by a Chico Bennett Jr. interception in the opening moments of the fourth period, the 'Hoos scored 18 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes, stunning the Eagles and securing the victory.

Here are five takeaways from the Cavaliers' big win:

While this 'Hoos squad is far from perfect, it is resilient

Despite appearing to be stuck in the mud for three quarters Saturday afternoon, Virginia caught fire in the fourth quarter and stormed back to beat Boston College. The 'Hoos could have easily fallen behind 14-0 in the first half, or after failing to convert on a fourth-and-goal attempt while down eight in the second half, or again after a penalty kicked another trip to the red zone nullified in the third quarter, but they never did.

Offensively, quarterback Anthony Colandrea was just 7 of 13 for 70 in the first half while the running game was barely able to do anything. The young signal caller also took several hard hits throughout the afternoon, one of which knocked him out of the game on a play in the second quarter. But time and time again, he managed to get upfield five times in the fourth quarter, delivering an absolute hit down the sideline to Malachi Fields to give the Hoos the lead before finding Andre Greene Jr. in the back of the end zone , who converted him for two.

And on the other side of the ball, Virginia's defense settled down and dominated the final 45 minutes of the game, being beaten for touchdowns twice by Thomas Castellanos and the Boston College offense on its first three possessions.

Tony Elliott has often emphasized the resilience of this UVA team, and that was clearly evident on Saturday afternoon. Yes, there are issues that need to be addressed, but you have to love a team that doesn't give up.

The defense won the game for Virginia

A quarter and a half into the game, the 'Hoos defense appeared to be in for an agonizingly long afternoon trying to stop Thomas Castellanos and Boston College. Virginia allowed the Eagles to gain 122 total yards in the first quarter as the Eagles marched down the field twice without breaking a sweat. But after shaking off the rust, the Cavalier defense countered and flat out won the ballgame for the 'Hoos.

Virginia pitched a second-half shutout, holding Boston College to just 126 yards rushing after halftime while forcing three game-winning turnovers. Arguably the two most important plays of the game – Bennett's interception to set up the Colandrea-to-Fields touchdown and a scoop-and-score from Jonas Sanker to extend the lead to 24-14 – were both executed by the Hoos defense, which was certainly This cannot be said in any of the first four games.

The offense never really got into a rhythm on Saturday, but the defense more than made up for it. It's hard to remember a Virginia football team that played complementary football like it did against the Eagles.

It took a while for the 'Hoos to shake off the rust

With Virginia still having 14 days to prepare for the Eagles, it looked more rusty than prepared coming out of the gates. The comeback was fun and gives this team a ton of confidence, but it doesn't quite erase the fact that the 'Hoos didn't look ready to play early.

Although two long drives late in the first half helped boost their numbers, the 'Hoos managed just 116 total yards in the first 30 minutes, which led to just six points. Virginia recorded just one first down in the first quarter as they were held back by a complete collapse of the rushing attack – the 'Hoos ran for just 36 yards on 19 carries in the first half (1.9 yards per rush).

And on the other side of the ball, Castellanos was able to score twice with tight end Kamari Morales running wide over the middle for huge drives as Virginia's secondary had several inexcusable coverage breakdowns early on.

The necessary adjustments were made and the 'Hoos got a big win against a good ACC opponent, so all is forgiven. But with another bye on the schedule at the end of October, hopefully Virginia will be in a better position to better manage its time off going forward.

Some questionable rules didn't do the offense any favors

While Virginia's offense struggled to get going, some surprising decisions in the game-winning department sabotaged the 'Hoos themselves early.

On each of UVA's first two possessions, the 'Hoos elected to run the ball on second-and-long. Neither play was unsuccessful, so Colandrea and Co. were forced to play behind the posts – something that was clearly not a recipe for success for the young quarterback.

Later in the first half, after the 'Hoos finally mounted a decent attack, offensive coordinator Des Kitchens managed a run up the middle on third-and-4 in the red zone, although he appeared to have no intention of doing it on fourth down to try. UVA, trailing 14-0 at the time, instead opted to send Will Bettridge out for a chip-shot field goal, a move reminiscent of the decision during Virginia's final home game three weeks ago against Maryland.

Tony Elliott and his staff have preached the importance of a balanced offensive attack — and the UVA offense has certainly looked better when they've had success on the ground this season — but it seemed like they weren't willing to deviate from the game plan, even on the ground The game had proven ineffective.

Check out the Hoos at the top of the ACC

For the first time since 2019, Virginia is 2-0 to start its conference. And for now, only the 'Hoos and Clemson have more than one win in ACC play.

It's been incredibly fun so far, and there isn't a single Virginia fan who would have turned down a 4-1 start. The schedule becomes more difficult as time goes on, but spirits in the Wahoo Nation are incredibly high right now, and rightly so. Tony Elliott has his team playing inspired football, and the Hoos are stacking Ws. Now bring on Louisville.