With less than two minutes remaining in the first half of Saturday’s season finale against Virginia Tech, Virginia senior defensive tackle Brent Urban and freshman linebacker Max Valles broke through the Virginia Tech offensive line and delivered a punishing hit on Hokie senior quarterback Logan Thomas. The ball skirted free, and Urban fell on it to give the Cavaliers possession on their opponent’s 34-yard line. Trailing 9-6, the Cavaliers had a chance to go into halftime with a lead against their hated rival.

Instead, Virginia (2-10, 0-8 ACC) went nowhere on three plays and failed to convert on a fourth-and-11, handing the ball back to Virginia Tech. The Hokies (8-4, 5-3 ACC) capitalized, as Thomas found redshirt freshman running back Trey Edmunds for a 26-yard touchdown connection to go up 16-6. That score was more than enough for Virginia Tech, as the Cavaliers found a way to tack a disappointing end on to an already disappointing season, finishing with their ninth straight loss.

“That’s obviously a momentum shifter that they took advantage of,” senior center Luke Bowanko said of the end of the first half. “I think we failed to take advantage of a lot of opportunities that we had on turnovers and fourth down stops, and that’s what good teams do. They take the momentum, they seize it and make plays, and we didn’t make plays, today or this year.”

With the loss, Virginia finishes the season 2-10 and winless in ACC play for the first time since 1981. It was also the 10th consecutive loss to Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers have now won just six games in the last two years.

“I’m not used to losing,” sophomore defensive end Eli Harold said. “Not a lot of guys are. It is just something you have to deal with. It’s life. You have to be resilient. I will now attack everything like it’s the last day of my life.”

The Cavalier defense forced two turnovers against the Hokies — junior cornerback DreQuan Hoskey had a third-quarter interception — but the offense failed to capitalize on either. Virginia has struggled to take advantage of turnovers all year, scoring just 13 points on 21 takeaways this season.

“[There were] a lot of guys going in and out, a lot of guys seeing time and we just didn’t make enough big plays,” Bowanko said. “Whether it was coming off of a turnover to seize the momentum … or to stop moving backwards, guys need to step up and make a play.”

Neither team was particularly productive on offense, and Virginia’s defense appeared up to the challenge of keeping the game close. The Cavalier defense held Virginia Tech to three field goals — including a successful stand on the one yard line — before the game’s lone touchdown in the first half, and then held the Hokies scoreless for the entire second half.

“I think for the most part we were solid,” Urban said. “We gave up too many big plays, but we were solid when we needed to be. I’m proud of my guys.”

The offense, however, was not nearly as sharp. Sophomore quarterback David Watford started the game under center, but was unimpressive, going 13-for-23 for 122 yards. He reeled off a 20-yard run early in the first quarter, but struggled to show that athleticism again later in the game.

“They pressured us and got after us,” Watford said. “I made a couple errant throws because of it. The pressure was in my face and I had to get it out before I wanted to and it caused me to be inaccurate. They did that a lot to us on third downs.”

As promised, coach Mike London gave Greyson Lambert a more extended look under center in the team’s season finale, turning to the redshirt freshman late in the third quarter. Lambert fared no better than Watford, however, completing just 4-of-16 passes for 54 yards with an interception.

“He had his opportunity and did a nice job in some spurts,” London said. “But toward the end, Virginia Tech did a great job on the pass rush situation. [Freshman guard] Eric Smith had his hands full. Tech made plays when we couldn’t. Greyson will have plenty of opportunities moving forward.”

If there was any bright spot on offense, it was junior tailback Kevin Parks, who finished with 105 yards in the game to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark for the season. He is the first Virginia rusher since Alvin Pearman in 2004 to rush for more than 1,000 yards.

“That’s about as big as it gets for an offensive lineman, and that’s all we can really hang our hats on,” Bowanko said. “We were sort of counting it down on the sideline, and hopefully that becomes somewhat of a tradition here where a guy rushes for 1,000 yards. I’m proud of him. He earned every single yard and gets a lot of yards after contact.”

Parks was cognizant of the achievement, but his excitement was tempered by the loss.

“I know it means a lot to [the offensive linemen],” Parks said. “For me, I’d rather have a win any day, but that’s the way things go sometimes.”

Now two losing seasons removed from a bowl berth, London sits in a precarious situation. Athletic director Craig Littlepage has voiced his support for London and said he will return for a fifth season at the University, but there is growing discontent among the Cavalier fan base. London, however, is simply concerned with doing his job.

“I’m looking forward to getting next year’s team prepared,” London said.