Getty Image / Lee Coleman
Football is, obviously, a very physical game. And, sometimes, emotions can get the best of a player. That’s what appeared to have happened in Thursday night’s game between Virginia and #11 Louisville.
Take a look at the incident. It’s not a good look, for sure.
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) November 10, 2023
That’s Virginia redshirt senior center Brian Stevens giving a pretty big cheap shot to Louisville junior defensive tackle Dezmond Tell.
It’s a pretty unacceptable play, too. As I said, football is a game where emotions get the best of players all the time. But, this is a pretty bad cheap shot.
Stevens was formerly at Dayton, members of the Pioneer League in D1 FCS. He was named an all-conference selection last year, before entering the transfer portal and signing with Virginia. He’s been a fixture on the Cavaliers offensive line this year.
It’s just another low-point in a terrible season for UVA football. The program has not been able to recover on the field following the tragic murders of players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, and D’Sean Perry last November. They sit at just 2-7 under second-year head coach Tony Elliott. It was already a pretty difficult job to win at before the tragedy, but Elliott seems to be in a near-impossible situation in Charlottesville.
Meanwhile, Louisville is heading in the other direction under first-year head coach Jeff Brohm. The Cardinals sit at 8-1, ranked 11th in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and could conceivably make the College Football Playoff.