Tony Elliott explains the expensive late-season game call

ByNBAUSA



Tony Elliott is widely praised for his work with him Virginia during the 2025 college football seasonbut even he couldn’t avoid taking the blame for the Cavaliers’ loss to Duke in the ACC Championship Game.

The 27-20 loss came down to a field goal in overtime, and the two teams battled for position all night. With his team needing a touchdown to put the game away, Elliott pulled off a double-pass trick on 1st-and-10 that led to an interception on the key play.

Fans criticized Elliott for the call, and the coach took the blame. After the game, he admitted that he had become too aggressive after Virginia backed up a penalty.

“That 15-yard overtime penalty kind of puts you in that zone where you’re trying to get a piece of the play, so you have most of your plays designed like that,” Elliott said, via Jacqui Franchiuli of 247 Sports. “I’m sure we all want that play back. Their guy made the play, and hats off to Duke for winning the game.”

College football rules say teams start each overtime at the 25-yard line, but Virginia started at the 40-yard line. Linebacker James Jackson was flagged for a roughing the passer on Duke quarterback Darian Mensah’s one-yard pass that carried over on the next play.

Elliott’s play saw quarterback Chandler Morris hand the ball off to running back J.Marie Taylor, who threw a lateral pass to the first. Morris threw the ball downfield to anchor Eli Wood in double coverage and was intercepted by Duke linebacker Luke Mergott.

Virginia’s success didn’t often come from big plays, but Elliott felt that experimentation was necessary. The fourth-year coach said all week that he expected the game to be much closer than his Cavaliers’ 34-17 regular season win over Duke.

It’s Duke now miraculously in the college playoff conversationdespite an 8-5 record. Virginia entered the game ranked 17th and likely would have entered with a win, but will settle for a non-playoff bowl game instead.





2025-12-07 16:55:00

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