Virginia is Week 8 College Football Cheez-It/FWAA Team of the Week

October 24, 2023 by FWAA

DALLAS (FWAA) – The Virginia Cavaliers went to No. 10 North Carolina and earned their first road win in program history over a top-10 team with a 31-27 victory in Chapel Hill. The first win over a top-10 opponent since 2005 has earned Virginia the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Oct. 21, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.

This is only the second time that Virginia has earned the national team of the week honor from the FWAA.

Virginia had been winless in 30 road games against top-10 opponents in its history. The Cavaliers’ last win over a top-10 foe was on Oct. 15, 2005, against Florida State. The big win also snaps a five-game losing streak against ranked foes since the Cavs beat North Carolina in 2020. The Cavs have now won five of their last seven games against UNC.

A balanced attack led Virginia back from a 24-14 deficit midway through the third quarter. Mike Hollis rushed for three touchdowns among Virginia’s 228 rushing yards. Quarterback Tony Muskett, a graduate transfer from Monmouth, was another of the rushing leaders with 66 yards, and also completed 20 of 30 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown to Malik Washington, who caught 12 passes for 115 yards. Washington broke multiple tackles en route for a 14-yard touchdown with 8:51 left that became the game-winner and has now had a reception in 32 consecutive games.

UVA’s defense did the rest, keeping UNC star quarterback Drake Maye in check before Cavs linebacker James Jackson intercepted Maye with under a minute remaining to seal the game.

“This is a program win,” second-year head coach Tony Elliott said. “And not only is it a program win it’s a catalyst to where we’re going.”

“This team is full of fighters,” Hollins said.

Saturday was the 128th meeting between the two schools, the second-most played rivalry in FBS.

Virginia plays at Miami at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on the ACC Network.

Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.

The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 21 were:

• Ohio State (7-0): The No.3 Buckeyes won a defensive battle holding No. 7 Penn State to two field goals until the final minute in a 20-12 win at Ohio Stadium. It was Ohio State’s seventh consecutive win in the series. Marvin Harrison Jr. caught 11 Kyle McCord passes for 162 yards and a score. McCord finished with 286 yards passing with 22 completions on 35 attempts.
  
  
• Utah (6-1): Cole Becker booted a 38-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift No. 14 Utah to a 34-32 win at No. 18 USC in The Coliseum. The field goal was the last of five scoring plays in a wild fourth quarter and sealed Utah’s fourth consecutive win over USC. Utah racked up season-highs across the board on offense, producing 482 total yards in a balanced attack (247 rushing, 235 passing) averaging 6.9 yards per play.

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ABOUT FLORIDA CITRUS SPORTS
Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic, the Camping World Kickoff and the FC Series. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, visit sportswriters.net.

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2023 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman (Chair)
Travis L. Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Scott Farrell, collegepressbox
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Nate Mink, Syracuse Post-Standard
Ben Portnoy, The State
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications
Dusty Thibodeaux, WarhawkReport.com
Ryan Thorburn, Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune
John Wagner, County News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group