By the Numbers: Breaking Down Virginia's Win at Coastal Carolina

Originally posted on Virginia Cavaliers on SI
By Matthew Newton | Last updated Sep 21, 2024 11:44 PM ET

In front of the largest crowd in the 21-year history of Brooks Stadium, Virginia handed Coastal Carolina its first loss of the season in convincing fashion, routing the Chanticleers 43-24 on Saturday afternoon in Conway, South Carolina. UVA improved to 3-1 on the season, its best start in the Tony Elliott era and best start to a season since going 4-0 to begin the 2019 campaign. This is just the fourth time since 2008 that the Cavaliers are 3-1 or better through their first four games.

Virginia scored 43 points, the most for the program since putting up 49 in a loss to BYU in 2021. UVA rushed for 384 yards on the ground, the team's most rushing yards in a game since totaling 446 rushing yards against San Jose State in 1998. It's also the first time the Cavaliers rushed for at least 300 yards since 2018. Virginia eclipsed 500 yards of total offense (525 yards) for the first time since doing so against Old Dominion in 2022.

Virginia forced three turnovers, the first time UVA has had at least three takeaways in a single game since the Boston College game last season. The Cavaliers also forced Coastal Carolina to turn the ball over on downs three times.

See the chart below for a breakdown of the stats from Virginia's win over Coastal Carolina:

Five Takeaways From Virginia's 43-24 Win at Coastal Carolina

Here are some key individual stats from the game along with some more notes:

Xavier Brown became Virginia's first 100-yard rusher since Perris Jones recorded 134 rushing yards against William & Mary last season. Brown rushed for 171 yards on just nine carries, averaging 19.0 yards per carry. He is the first UVA player to rush for more than 150 yards since Bryce Perkins rushed for 164 yards to lead the Cavaliers to victory over Virginia Tech in 2019. Brown had a 75-yard carry in the third quarter, the longest run by a Virginia running back since Jordan Ellis matched that 75-yard rush against Louisville in 2018. Brown is the first UVA running back to go over 150 yards rushing in a single game since Ellis did so against Ohio in 2018.

Grady Brosterhous rushed for his second and third touchdowns of the season, the most by a UVA quarterback in a single season since Brennan Armstrong rushed for six touchdowns in 2022. Brosterhous became the first Virginia player to score multiple rushing touchdowns in a single game since Hollins scored three rushing touchdowns against North Carolina last season and he is the first UVA quarterback to accomplish that feat since Armstrong in 2021.

Malachi Fields caught multiple touchdown passes for the second time in his career, but they were also his first touchdown catches of the season.

Antonio Clary led the Cavaliers in tackles (8) for the fourth game in a row and posted his second-career interception and Virginia's first interception as a team this season.

Kam Butler recorded his first sack of the season and now has 22.5 sacks for his career, 7.5 of them have come as a Cavalier.

Will Bettridge matched his career-high with a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half. The junior kicker went 3/3 on field goals and 4/4 on extra points, scoring 13 total points.

Daniel Sparks registered a 60-yard punt in the first quarter, his seventh time launching a punt of at least 60 yards.

This article first appeared on Virginia Cavaliers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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