With a perfect bounce-back opportunity teed up coming off their neutral-site loss to West Virginia last weekend, the Virginia Cavaliers took care of business on Saturday night, thumping the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, 42-3, on ‘UVA Strong’ night inside Scott Stadium.
The ’Hoos, who improved to 3-1 (1-0 ACC) on the season with Saturday’s victory, seemed unfazed after the setback in Charlotte, returning to the dominant form displayed in their first two games against NC State and Norfolk State. Led by a five-touchdown night from Beau Pribula, Virginia outgained Delaware 556-160 in total yards and limited the Blue Hens to just 12 first downs.
With an overmatched opponent on its home turf, Virginia set the tone for Saturday’s domination on its opening drive, marching 75 yards to the house and capping the possession with an 11-yard touchdown strike to Da’Shawn Martin.
Uncharacteristically, the ’Hoos leaned on the right arm, rather than the legs, of Pribula early on. The senior signal-caller completed 8-of-8 passes on Virginia’s opening drive for 65 yards and a touchdown.
A missed 37-yard field-goal attempt by kicker Will Bettridge would keep the ’Hoos from tacking on any additional points in the first quarter, but Virginia’s defense showed renewed energy in the opening period. UVA held Delaware to just two total yards in the first 15 minutes of action after the Mountaineers put up 437 total yards and 38 points a week ago.
Virginia quickly found the scoring column in the second quarter, as Pribula connected with Rico Flores Jr. for a seven-yard score on the first play after the break. Flores’ second-quarter touchdown highlighted a promising performance by the highly regarded UCLA transfer, who finished his evening with nine receptions for 113 yards.
Flores had been off to a slow start in the Orange and Blue, missing each of Virginia’s first two games before posting just one reception against West Virginia in his season debut. Against the Fightin’ Blue Hens, however, the 6-foot-2 senior from North Highlands, California, flashed as a go-to target for Pribula, an encouraging development for a receiving corps searching for a playmaker in the early going this season.
Delaware responded to Virginia’s second touchdown with their lone scoring drive of the game, gaining 53 yards on 12 plays before knocking through a 39-yard field goal to cut the Wahoo lead to 14-3.
With a hint of momentum on its side, the Delaware defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Virginia possession. But the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ night took an unfortunate turn when quarterback Nick Minicucci was knocked out of the game with an apparent knee injury with 5:58 remaining in the second quarter. The Delaware offense never regained its rhythm after the departure of its Second-Team All-CUSA quarterback, picking up just seven first downs the rest of the way.
Virginia would open the floodgates from there, adding two quick scores before the half on a pair of Cam Kourtney touchdown receptions, the second of which coming with just one second remaining in the second quarter.
Kourtney, a third-year ’Hoo and Virginia native, totaled four receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns on the night as he continues to ascend into a featured role in the Cavalier offense.
Virginia continued to build its lead in the second half as Pribula capped a dynamic night with a 14-yard touchdown run on Virginia’s first possession of the third quarter. The senior quarterback flashed his dual-threat ability all night, finishing 24-for-28 with 279 yards and four touchdowns through the air, plus 24 yards and a score on the ground.
The ’Hoos turned to backup quarterback Eli Holstein midway through the third quarter, who completed 8-of-12 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown before handing the reins to third-stringer Cole Greer late in the fourth quarter.
While it would have been concerning had Virginia not dominated on Saturday, the ’Hoos steadied the ship and did what they needed to do against the Blue Hens. It’s hard to take much away from such a lopsided game, but Virginia’s aerial attack stood out and took a much-needed step forward. Defensively, UVA bounced back nicely from its thrashing in Charlotte and came up with a pair of takeaways, both interceptions by Keke Adams.
With the non-conference schedule now in the books, the ’Hoos will return to the field next Saturday in Tallahassee against Florida State for a pivotal ACC matchup.
