CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – In tense moments, Virginia kicker Will Bettridge has a spot on the sideline he stakes out to watch the action unfold.

He walks to the opposite end of the football field from where the play is taking place, away from teammates bustling on and off the field and coaches signaling plays and yelling directives.

“I usually just like watching from the far side,” Bettridge said. “It gets really crowded on that one side. I’m pretty superstitious for something like that. It’s been something I continue to do and it’s been working.”

Saturday night, as No. 18 Virginia’s defense worked against Washington State with the Cougars pinned inside their 2-yard line in the final minutes of a tie game, Bettridge went to the other end of the field, the side with the hill jampacked with students.

UVA has practice nets for Bettridge to kick into at either end of the sideline and he started preparing for a possible game-winning kick.

Instead, on third-down, Virginia’s defense came up with one of the rarest plays in football – linebacker Kam Robinson tackled Washington State running back Kirby Vorhees before Vorhees could escape the end zone.

The Cavaliers had a safety, the final play of a 12-0 fourth quarter that lifted it to a 22-20 victory.

It was Virginia’s fifth straight win and third straight nailbiter.

It needed double overtime to topple Florida State on Sept. 26 in Charlottesville, overtime to get a road win over Louisville and then the fourth-quarter comeback to finish off Washington State on Saturday night.

Coach Tony Elliott might scoff at this assertion, and UVA’s players might roll their eyes, but things appeared to come easily to this team for most of the first five games, especially offensively. Transfer quarterback Chad Morris led a record-setting unit that broke the school mark for total yardage by putting up 700 against William & Mary.

Through the first five games, Virginia averaged 539.6 yards and 45.6 points per outing. Once-embattled offensive coordinator Des Kitchings was being lauded for his game-planning and play-calling.

The Cavaliers weren’t just winning. They were winning in style.

But in the last two outings, nothing has come easy for UVA.

Injuries have disrupted the offensive line. Morris is playing through a painful shoulder injury. The production has dropped off.

In the win over Louisville and Washington State, UVA averaged just 269 yards and 26 points. Against the Cardinals, the Cavaliers got two of their touchdowns from their defense, a Donovan Platt fumble return and a Robinson interception runback.

Saturday, the defense scored the game-winning points.

“Offensive football is very rhythmic,” Elliott said. “We couldn’t get into a rhythm.”

Still, they pulled out another victory and, like it did late against FSU and Louisville, the offense got enough going just in the nick of time.

“They showed kind of glimpses of what they’ve been,” Elliott said. “We just have to continue to press on the little things, the details. But that same offense is in that locker room. We’re going to keep working. At the end of the day, they found enough.”

They’re on a five-game win streak, they’re bowl eligible and their in control of their own destiny for a spot in the ACC title game.

Maybe they have moxie. Maybe they’re playing with fire.

Whichever it is, it’s fun to watch.

Even if you’re watching from the other end of the field.