CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Norfolk State football team dropped its second straight road game, falling 59-3 to No. 25 Virginia on Friday, Sept. 11, at Scott Stadium in front of 46,918 fans in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Spartans (1-2) turned the ball over three times and were held to 223 yards of total offense, while the Cavaliers (2-0) scored on seven of their first nine possessions.
Deljay Bailey completed 15 of 25 passes for 142 yards. Elyjah Mitchell led the receiving corps with five catches for 43 yards, and Paul Billups II added 37 yards on two receptions, including a 32-yard grab that was the longest Norfolk State play of the night. Brevin Caldwell caught two passes for 25 yards, and Jalyn Daniels led the ground game with 22 yards on six carries. Marco Peery provided the lone points with a 40-yard field goal and also handled punting duties, averaging 39.2 yards on six attempts with a long of 50.
Defensively, Brenden Thompson paced the Spartans with nine tackles and Jordan Saunders added eight. Rontravious Perry posted three tackles for loss totaling 15 yards, including a 10-yard sack, and Josiah Davis recorded an interception and a tackle for loss.
Norfolk State opened the game with its most sustained drive of the first half, moving 46 yards in 10 plays to the Virginia 29. Bailey hit Mitchell twice, and a holding call against the Cavaliers wiped out a third-down sack and handed the Spartans a first down at midfield. Bailey then found Caldwell for 18 yards to the Virginia 32. The drive ended on fourth-and-7 from the 29, where a Bailey throw was intercepted by Brandyn Hillman and returned 50 yards to the NSU 37.
Virginia converted the short field into a touchdown, with Beau Pribula finding Jacquon Gibson from six yards out on fourth-and-2. A second Hillman interception three plays into the next Spartan possession set up the Cavaliers at the NSU 22, and Pribula hit Da'Shawn Martin for a 27-yard score 27 seconds later. Virginia added a third touchdown with 3:12 left in the quarter on a 30-yard Pribula-to-Gibson connection, taking a 21-0 lead.
Rontravious Perry opened the second quarter with back-to-back disruptions. He dropped Xavier Brown for a four-yard loss to start the possession, then sacked Pribula for 10 yards on third down to force fourth-and-23 and a Virginia punt.
The Spartans answered with their best possession of the night. Starting from their own 10, they drove 76 yards on 12 plays. A 14-yard completion from Bailey to Ravon Moore Jr. converted a third-and-6 and moved the ball to the NSU 48, and Billups followed with a 32-yard grab that gave Norfolk State its best field position of the night at the Virginia 20. The drive stalled at the 14, and a 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide with 7:11 to play.
Norfolk State got the ball right back. Quintin Goins tipped a Pribula pass at the line and Davis hauled in the deflection at the Virginia 36 for his second interception in as many weeks. Bailey found Mitchell for 12 yards to the 24, and Peery connected from 40 yards with 4:05 left in the half to make it 21-3 — a career long for the sophomore, two drives after his miss.
Virginia responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive capped by a three-yard Peyton Lewis run, taking a 28-3 lead into the break.
The Cavaliers pulled away in the third. Jacquon Gibson returned the second-half kickoff 37 yards to set up a nine-play, 59-yard drive that ended on a one-yard Eli Holstein touchdown pass to Ty'Lyric Coleman. After Norfolk State turned it over on downs at its own 32, Virginia needed five plays to score again.
The Spartans were held to 11 yards on their three third-quarter possessions and punted from their own 4 midway through the period.
Virginia's fourth-quarter points came on a 12-yard Cole Geer touchdown pass to Hayden Rollison, a 30-yard Will Bettridge field goal and a 50-yard interception return by Justin Rowe with 4:17 remaining.
QUOTES
Head coach Michael Vick on the game: "Tough game today. It's never easy when a team puts up 59 points on you. I thought we had some chances to do some things better. There are a lot of things we've got to correct, but I do think this was really good for our football team, to go out and play against a really good team, a well-coached team, a very physical, very smart football team. I'm glad we had a chance to play these guys."
On the offensive approach: "We wanted to be aggressive. We wanted to challenge them. We knew just running the football straight at them was going to be tough. They have a very, very good defensive front, so it wasn't going to be easy. We didn't want to not take our chances or not try to throw the ball down the field."
On playing two FBS opponents in seven days: "After the first game we were on a high, but we couldn't enjoy it, because we had to hone in and get ready for ODU, and we knew we were going to have to play UVA too. Really good, well-coached football teams. To go out and play on big stages against strong really good football teams, it sets a standard for us moving forward. I'm extremely proud of them. They didn't quit. They fought. I think we earned some respect from a lot of people."
On what carries into next week: "What we take away from this week is the confidence we built. If you listen to the locker room right now, they're ready to get after it. It's a very confident group. But we've got to keep in mind that Hampton is a good football team. They beat us last year. We came out and started fast on them, and they came from behind and beat us. We've got to prepare for them and work really, really hard this week."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- 223 total yards on 65 plays (3.4 avg.)
- 55 rushing yards on 31 carries (1.8 avg.)
- Three tackles for loss and one sack, all from Perry, plus one interception
- Time of possession: NSU 31:46, UVA 28:14
- Jason Wonodi returned three kickoffs for 43 yards
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
- Peery's career long. The 40-yard field goal was the longest of Marco Peery's collegiate career, topping the 37-yarder he made last week at Old Dominion. His previous best was a 36-yarder against Virginia State on Sept. 6, 2025.
- Davis stays hot. Josiah Davis recorded an interception for the second consecutive game.
- Measuring up at Scott Stadium. Norfolk State outgained NC State's output in the same building against the same opponent, totaling 223 yards to the Wolfpack's 168 in Virginia's Aug. 29 win. The Spartans also threw for 168 yards to NC State's 92 and held the ball for 31:46, nearly 10 minutes longer than the Wolfpack's 21:57.
- Taking one away. Davis's interception gave Norfolk State a takeaway against Virginia. NC State did not force a turnover in its meeting with the Cavaliers.
UP NEXT
The Spartans return home to William "Dick" Price Stadium to host the Pirates of Hampton University in the annual Battle of the Bay on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the MEAC Network and Hot 91.1 radio.
