CHARLOTTESVILLE — It’s probably unwise to draw conclusions from a three-game sample, but it’s hard to dismiss how dominant Virginia’s run game has been so far this season.
After struggling to move the ball on the ground for much of the first three years of head coach Tony Elliott’s tenure, the Cavaliers have taken a substantial leap so far in the nonconference portion of the 2025 campaign.
UVA racked up a school-record 700 total yards, including 379 on the ground, in a 55-16 win over William & Mary on Saturday at Scott Stadium. The Cavaliers (2-1) did it every which way, drawing up plays for a cadre of dynamic running backs and fleet-footed wide receivers that left their Football Championship Subdivision foe panting for breath.
“It’s awesome seeing everything coming together now,” Elliott said. “You’re starting to see the cohesion, because there were times where we were good in spots, but now you’re starting to see it all kind of mesh together.”
Virginia surpassed 250 rushing yards for the second straight game, after accumulating 257 in a loss at N.C. State. The Cavaliers reached that rushing total only once in the previous two seasons combined — at Coastal Carolina (384) on Sept. 21, 2024.
The Cavaliers have scored three or more rushing TDs in each of their first three contests, and they still haven’t allowed a sack. UVA has scored 12 touchdowns on the ground this season, only two shy of their total from 2024.
“When we come together and play well, this is a really special team, and we’re going to prevail in a bunch of things,” said running back Harrison Waylee, who rushed for a game-high 151 yards and three touchdowns.
UVA’s previous single-game yardage record was 691 against Davidson in 1968.
The Cavaliers broke that mark on third-string quarterback Cole Greer’s 12-yard run in the fourth quarter. The record was announced over the PA system, drawing applause from the smattering of fans who stuck around.
It was a joyous scene in the Virginia locker room after the onslaught. When Elliott praised offensive coordinator Des Kitchings for the offensive performance, some players lifted the coordinator up on their shoulders in a show of appreciation.
“Everybody was lifting him up on his back almost,” wide receiver Kam Courtney said. “He was on his back, and everybody was yelling, ‘Yeah!’”
Waylee and Noah Vaughn (101) both surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark, and four players combined to score six touchdowns on the ground in fueling the most convincing offensive outing in Elliott’s four seasons as coach.
The last time the Cavaliers had two 100-yard rushers in the same contest was against Richmond in the 2022 season opener, Elliott’s first game as head coach.
“I told the senior leadership, point blank … I said, ‘Look, we’re going to find out a lot about our football team this week. How mature are we? Are we going to be able to show up and play to a standard, or are we going to show up and play to an opponent?’ I felt like they came out ready to go in all three phases trying to establish a standard, and that’s what we’re chasing every single week,” Elliott said.
The bulk of Waylee’s yardage came on a record-breaking 97-yard run on UVA’s first play of the second half. He slipped a tackle near the line of scrimmage and then sprinted untouched to the end zone for the longest rush in school history, eclipsing the 96-yard scoring run Mikell Simpson had against Texas Tech in the 2007 Gator Bowl.
Vaughn, who logged his first career 100-yard game, also had a long rush of 54 yards early in the second quarter. He suffered an ankle injury on the next play and didn’t return. Elliott said it appeared to be a high ankle sprain and that X-rays didn’t reveal anything more serious.
Running backs J’Mari Taylor and Xavier Brown also scored rushing touchdowns, and Courtney scored on a 23-yard end-around run in the first quarter. Courtney also had four catches for a team-high 67 yards.
“I felt like once we got the run game established, everything was wide open,” Courtney said. “I just appreciate our O-line and our backs for just making everything work.”
The Cavaliers averaged eight yards per play and 7.3 yards per rush. Quarterback Chandler Morris completed 13 of 19 passes for 149 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown to tight end John Rogers. Morris helped the Cavaliers build a 42-7 lead before ceding the offense to backup Daniel Kaelin with six minutes left in the first half.
It was the kind of balanced offensive performance Elliott and Kitchings have been striving for since they came to UVA in 2022. They’ve preached run-pass cohesion from Day One, but it just hasn’t happened for a variety of reasons.
The Cavaliers ranked 100th nationally in rushing yards per game (123.75) in Elliott’s first season in 2022 and hovered near that mark in each of the next two campaigns, topping out at 131.92 ground yards per game last year, which ranked 94th out of 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
UVA also ranked 104th last season in yards per attempt (3.66) and tied for 100th in rushing touchdowns (14).
Through the first three contests, it looks like the Cavaliers might finally have the balanced attack they’ve been craving for so long.
UVA has rushed for at least 250 yards five times since the start of the 2019 season, including twice in the last two weeks:
Sept. 13, 2025 – 379 vs. William & Mary
Sept. 6, 2025 – 257 at N.C. State
Sept. 21, 2024 – 384 at Coastal Carolina
Sept. 3, 2022 – 259 vs. Richmond
Dec. 5, 2020 – 262 vs. Boston College
