Cavaliers Shine in 55-16 Rout of William & Mary on UVA Strong Day

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On UVA Strong Day at Scott Stadium, head football coach Tony Elliott wanted more than a victory. Elliott wanted his team to perform to a standard that would honor the memories of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry: the three Cavalier players slain in a November 2022 shooting on Grounds.

“What we wanted to do today was just bring glory to those guys’ legacy,” Elliott said, and the Cavaliers did their part Saturday.

Against William & Mary, which competes in the NCAA’s Football Subdivision, UVA rolled to a 55-16 win before an announced crowd of 38,512.

The 55 points were the most the Wahoos have scored since a 55-15 rout of Abilene Christian at Scott Stadium in November 2020. Davis, a wide receiver, and Perry, a linebacker, each scored a TD in that game.

Two longstanding UVA records fell on a brilliantly sunny afternoon. Until Saturday, the 691 yards of total offense Virginia gained at Scott Stadium against Davidson in 1968 ranked as the most in school history. The Hoos finished with 700 against the Tribe (1-2).

Moreover, tailback Harrison Waylee opened the second-half scoring with a 97-yard touchdown run, the longest rush in program history. Mikell Simpson had set the previous mark on Jan. 1, 2008, when he had a 96-yard TD run against Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl.

On defense, UVA allowed only 263 yards, 79 of which came on a touchdown pass from W&M quarterback Tyler Hughes to wideout Deven Thompson early in the second quarter.

That was the Virginia defense’s only notable breakdown in the first half. The Cavaliers led 42-7 at intermission, and most of their starters rested in the second half.

With 3:58 left in the first half, Daniel Kaelin took over as quarterback for starter Chandler Morris, who didn’t return. Morris completed 13 of 19 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown against the Tribe, a 3-yard toss to tight end John Rogers.

Kaelin, a redshirt freshman, gave way to true freshman Cole Geer with 9:42 remaining in the final period. Kaelin left having completed 8 of 14 passes for 164 yards, with one interception.

Eleven players carried at least once apiece for Virginia, which finished with 379 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Waylee, a transfer from Wyoming, rushed 10 times for 151 yards and three touchdown, and Noah Vaughn carried eight times for 101 yards before leaving the game with an apparent high-ankle sprain.

Eleven players caught at least one pass each for the Hoos, led by wideout Kameron Courtney, who had four receptions for 67 yards. Courtney scored Virginia’s first touchdown, racing 23 yards on a reverse, and the Tribe never recovered.

In the second half, UVA outscored W&M 13-9. The Cavaliers’ points came on Waylee’s 97-yard run and two field goals and an extra point by Will Bettridge. The Tribe scored a touchdown late in the third quarter and then tacked on a safety midway through the fourth when a Virginia snap went out of the end zone.

The win was UVA’s seventh straight game over William & Mary. The Tribe’s head coach, Mike London, held that position at Virginia for six seasons (2010-15).

UP NEXT: The first-ever football game between UVA and Stanford is set for next Saturday night at Scott Stadium. At 7:30 p.m., the Cavaliers will host the Cardinal in a game to air on ACC Network.

This will be the ACC opener for Virginia (2-1), whose game against NC State on Sept. 6 didn’t count in the conference standings.

Stanford took an 0-2 record into its ACC opener Saturday night against visiting Boston College.

Virginia Team Notes 

• UVA improved to 33-6-1 in the all-time series with William & Mary, dating back to 1908. Saturday’s contest was the 40^th all-time meeting of the series.
• The game was UVA Strong Day at Scott Stadium, dedicated to the memories of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin and Chandler and D’Sean Perry, who were killed in an on-Grounds shooting on Nov. 13, 2022, upon returning from a class field trip. Their families along with Mike Hollins and Marlee Morgan served as honorary captains.
• The Cavaliers finished with a program-record 700 yards of total offense (379 rushing, 321 passing).
• Virginia’s 55 points are its most in a single game under head coach Tony Elliott and most since 2020, when the Cavaliers also tallied 55 against Abilene Christian. In the game against Abilene Christian both Lavel Davis and D’Sean Perry scored touchdowns.
• UVA has now won the last seven meetings of the series and 13 of the last 14.
• UVA scored 42 points in the first half, which tied for its most in a half since the BYU game in 2021.
• Last time UVA had six rushing touchdowns in a game was vs. Temple in 2005. UVA’s six rushing TDs are tied for third all-time in school single-game history.
• Eleven different Cavaliers combined for 379 yards rushing. UVA hit the 200-yard mark on the ground with 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter. It marked the most rushers in a single UVA game in at least 25 seasons.
• It also marked first time UVA had consecutive games with 200 rushing yards since 2023 and first time having 150 or more yards in three-straight games since 2021.
• Through its first three games, UVA has yet to allow a single sack this season. It marks the first time since 2011 that the Cavaliers have not surrendered a sack in three consecutive games.
• The Cavaliers entered the contest as the nation’s leader in 3^rd down defense and held William & Mary to 2-for-13 on third downs Saturday. Opposing offenses are now 4-for-34 (12%) on third down against UVA’s defense.
• UVA did not punt for the first time in a game since the Cavaliers defeated 52-17 William & Mary in 2019.
• Former UVA head coach Mike London – who was also a UVA assistant – is the current head coach of the Tribe. London is now 0-5 all-time against UVA as opposing head coach.

Virginia Individual Player Notes 

• Harrison Waylee’s 97-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter is the longest in UVA history. It eclipsed Mikell Simpson’s 96-yarder in the 2008 Gator Bowl against Texas Tech. Coming into week three, the longest rush in FBS was 94 yards (Hahsaun Wilson, UTEP).
• Waylee finished with three rushing TDs, which tied his career high. It was his third multi-TD game of his career and first since he had three against Ball State in 2022 when he played for Northern Illinois.
• Saturday marked the first time since 2004 in which UVA had a player scored three rushing touchdowns in consecutive games (J.Taylor at NC State & Waylee vs. William & Mary). Wali Lundy scored three rushing TDs in three straight games against Akron, North Carolina and Temple in 2004.
• Waylee went over the 100-yard mark for the first time as a Cavalier and the 14th time for his career.
• Waylee (151) and Vaughn (101) are UVA’s first running back tandem to rush for 100 yards each in a single game since Daniel Hamm and Kevin Parks did so in 2013 against VMI. It’s also the first that two Cavaliers rushed for 100 yards each in the same since the 2022 season opener against Richmond (QB Brennan Armstrong and RB Perris Jones).
• Receiver Kam Courtney scored his first career touchdown on a 23-yard end-around pitch, his first rushing attempt of the season and third of his career.
• J’Mari Taylor scored the game’s second touchdown. He now has six rushing TDs on the season. Dating back to his time at NC Central, he has scored a rushing touchdown in 14-consecutive games.
• Noah Vaughn left the game in the second quarter with an injury but compiled a career-high 101 rushing yards on eight carries, including the longest rush of his career (54 yards).
• John Rogers caught his first pass and first touchdown of his collegiate career. He finished the day with three receptions and 30 yards. His three receptions are the first three of his career.
• Placekicker Will Bettridge finished with 13 points (2-2 FG, 7-7 PAT) to move into sole possession of seventh on UVA’s all-time scoring list. He now has 228 points in 34 career games.  

Offensive Starters: QB #4 Chandler Morris, RB #3 J’Mari Taylor, WR #7 Jahmal Edrine, WR #6 Cam Ross, WR #11 Trell Harris, TE #9 Dakota Twitty, LT #52 McKale Boley, LG #77 Noah Josey, C #76 Brady Wilson, RG #60 Drake Metcalf, RT #68 Jack Witmer 

Defensive Starters: DE #14 Fisher Camac, NT #90 Jahmeer Carter, DT #91 Jason Hammond, DE #17 Mitchell Melton, LB #1 James Jackson, LB #32 Landon Danley, CB #9 Jordan Robinson, CB #28 Donavon Platt, NB #10 Ja’Son Prevard, S #30 Ethan Minter, S #27 Devin Neal. 

 Game Captains: #9 Jordan Robinson, #29 Davis Lane Jr., #38 Daniel Sparks, #68 Jack Witmer