CHARLOTTESVILLE — For the second consecutive football season, Virginia is 3-1, and for the second straight year, the Cavaliers’ defense is suspect. There the parallels end.
The latest evidence unfolded Saturday night at Scott Stadium, where UVA torched Stanford 48-20.
Up front, let’s acknowledge that the season is young, and that the Cavaliers lost to the only opponent with remotely similar talent: NC State.
But no matter that Virginia’s conquests — Coastal Carolina, William & Mary and Stanford — may be the schedule’s weakest links. The Cavaliers’ offense is deep, productive and wildly entertaining.
And the reason is North Texas transfer, by way of Texas Christian and Oklahoma, Chandler Morris, the first quarterback in Tony Elliott’s four seasons as coach to appear comfortable and reliable running an attack coordinated by Des Kitchings.
Listed at 6 feet, Morris lacks the position’s prototype size, but as he again demonstrated Saturday, he possesses the skill and moxie to make any imaginable throw and, when the pocket collapses, to escape.
Pressured by blitzing safety Mitch Leigber on Virginia’s first snap, a flea-flicker, Morris misfired on a deep ball intended for Trell Harris. He promptly completed his next 11 attempts for 262 yards and three touchdowns, each of the scores to Harris.
Indeed, Virginia scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, marching 65, 75, 72 and 88 yards. Last week’s school-record 700 yards of offense against W&M already was in jeopardy.
Morris finished with 380 yards and four touchdown passes. He added a 13-yard TD scamper as the Cavaliers (590 yards of offense) led by multiple scores for the final three-plus quarters.
Elliott and Kitchings inherited quarterback Brennan Armstrong from the Bronco Mendenhall/Jason Beck regime, fresh off a 2021 in which Armstrong set an ACC single-season record for passing yards (4,449). But Armstrong and the new staff clashed throughout the year, prompting Armstrong’s transfer to NC State and two subsequent seasons of struggles with Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea.
To be fair, Morris is the first quarterback of Elliott’s tenure to operate behind an effective offensive line. Center Brady Wilson, a transfer from Alabama Birmingham who arrived with 31 starts and 2,379 snaps of experience, anchors the group, which also includes program veterans such as tackle McKale Boley.
Wilson exited Saturday’s game midway through the third quarter and spent the remainder of the contest on the sideline wearing a boot on his right foot/leg and walking with crutches, the evening’s lone buzzkill for the offense.
“Very hopeful that it’s only a calf strain,” Elliott said.
Two early-season stats especially flatter the o-line: The Cavaliers did not yield a sack this year until Saturday’s fourth quarter, and they’re averaging a robust 6.0 yards per rush.
As important and impressive: Virginia’s running game has morphed from dormant to combustible.
For the entirety of last season, UVA broke 11 rushes of 20 yards or more, three of 30 or more, two of 40 or more, and one of 50-plus.
Already this year, the Cavaliers have nine 20-plus, five 30-plus, four 40-plus and three 50-plus. Moreover, they have a stable of running backs that includes J’Mari Taylor, Xavier Brown, Harrison Waylee and Noah Vaughn.
Brown was the only back with a run of at least 20 yards Saturday, but the Cavaliers still grinded their way to 206 rushing yards.
The overarching question about Virginia is a defense that yielded completions of 68 and 60 yards from Ben Gulbranson to Bryce Farrell. Resolve those breakdowns, and the Cavaliers can dare to dream big.
Last season, UVA improved to 4-1 before losing six of its final seven outings. But that was against a gantlet headlined by eventual College Football Playoff qualifiers Clemson, Notre Dame and SMU, plus a Louisville squad that finished 9-4.
In short, you could see the Cavaliers’ fade coming.
Not this time. Indeed, following this Friday’s visit from No. 7 Florida State, UVA’s final seven opponents aren’t nearly as daunting.
About that date with FSU: This marks the 30th anniversary of the Cavaliers’ 1995 Thursday-night home conquest of the undefeated and second-ranked Seminoles. ’Twas Florida State’s first ACC loss since joining the conference in 1992, a signature moment that Virginia promises to spotlight throughout the week.
UVA closed as a 16½-point favorite Saturday, only the third time in the last 20 seasons that the Cavaliers have been favored by two touchdowns or more against a power-conference peer.
The other occasions were against Georgia Tech in 2019 and Duke in 2007, and let the record show that those were darn fine UVA squads. Al Groh’s 2007 Cavaliers finished 9-4, and Bronco Mendenhall’s 2019 crew went 9-5 and captured the ACC Coastal Division title.
Might this bunch be likewise capable?
“We’ve got the potential,” Morris said, “to be really good.”
David Teel, david.teel@virginiamedia.com
