Fast Start Propels Cavaliers to 48-20 ACC Opening Win Over Stanford

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia fielded its first football team in 1888, Stanford in 1891. More than 130 years later, those universities finally met on the football field, and it was not an occasion the Cardinal will look back on fondly.

For the second straight weekend, fans at Scott Stadium witnessed an offensive tour de force by the home team. The Cavaliers, who gained 700 yards against William and Mary on Sept. 13, didn’t quite hit that mark Saturday night against Stanford. But they were facing a Power Four opponent this time, not an FCS foe, and they were plenty productive in a 48-20 rout of the Cardinal.

In front of an announced crowd of 36,223, Virginia finished with 590 yards on offense—384 passing and 206 rushing—and didn’t turn the ball over. Standouts abounded for the Wahoos in their ACC opener, with quarterback Chandler Morris and wide receiver Trell Harris shining especially brightly.

Morris, a graduate transfer who’s in his first season at UVA, completed 23 of 31 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those TD passes were to Harris, who’s in his second year at Virginia. Harris finished with four receptions for 145 yards, and his three first-quarter TDs helped stake Virginia to a 21-7 lead.

UVA’s defense did its part, too, sacking quarterback Ben Gulbranson five times and holding tailback Micah Ford to 44 yards on 13 carries. A week earlier, Ford had rushed for 157 yards in the Stanford’s ACC opener, a 30-20 win over Boston College.

Filling in for the injured Daniel Sparks, Elijah Slibeck handled kickoffs and punts for the Cavaliers and acquitted himself well.

“Just good, complementary football,” UVA head coach Tony Elliott said of his team’s performance.

In improving the program’s all-time record in night games at Scott Stadium to 43-22-1, Virginia never trailed against Stanford (1-3, 1-1).

UVA scored a touchdown on each of its first four possessions Saturday night. At the end of a first half in which the Hoos gained 401 yards on offense, they led 28-14. Their advantage could have been greater, but Will Bettridge missed a 25-yard field goal attempt with UVA leading 28-7 late in the second quarter.

Stanford capitalized on that miss, driving 80 yards for its second touchdown.

Morris completed 15 of 19 passes for 279 yards in the first half. His completions included touchdown passes of 3, 75 and 27 yards to Harris, and Morris ran for another first-half score.

UVA pulled away in the second half, getting two field goals from Bettridge and touchdowns from tight end Sage Ennis and wideout Eli Wood.

The game marked the 2025 debut of UVA linebacker Kam Robinson, a junior who missed the first three games while recovering from a broken collarbone. Robinson made a team-high seven tackles and recovered a fumble that defensive tackle Jason Hammond forced on a fourth-quarter sack. Defensive end Daniel Rickert recorded two sacks to lead Virginia in that category.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Next up for Virginia (3-1 overall, 1-0 ACC) is a visit from No. 7 Florida State (3-0 overall). In a game to air on ESPN, they’ll meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Scott Stadium, with the Jefferson-Eppes trophy going to the winner.

The Cavaliers, 4-15 all-time against the Seminoles, have won two of the past three games in the series. In the teams’ most recent meeting, in 2019, UVA rallied for a 31-24 victory over FSU at Scott Stadium.

The Hoos’ first victory in the series came on Nov. 2, 1995, at Scott Stadium, where they held on for a 33-28 win over the No. 2 Seminoles. FSU entered the game with a 29-0 record in ACC play.

This will be the ACC opener for the Noles, who crushed Kent State 66-10 on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.

Virginia Team Notes 

• Saturday’s contest was the first-ever meeting between Virginia and Stanford. With the win, UVA improved to 6-1 in its last seven meetings with first-time opponents.
• For the second consecutive year, Virginia has three wins in its first four games.
• For the first time since 2020, UVA has won its ACC opener in back-to-back seasons.
• The Cavaliers also improved to 3-13 all-time when playing ACC opponent for the very first time, dating back to 1954, its first season in the league. UVA has won three of its last four such contests.
• UVA is 43-22-1 all-time in night games under the Scott Stadium lights, and dating back to 2018, and has won 12 of its last 16 games at night in Charlottesville. The last home win over an ACC opponent at night came against Georgia Tech in 2021 (48-40).
• Virginia scored on the opening drive for the third-straight game. UVA went 65 yards on seven plays in 2:26.
• Virginia scored touchdowns on its first four drives. The Cavaliers’ first of two punts in the contest was the first in 23-straight drives dating back to their game at NC State (9/6).
• The Cavalier offense produced its second, one-play drive of the season with a 75-yard strike from Chandler Morris to Trell Harris in the first quarter. It marked the 13th one-play drive over 75 yards in program history. 
• Saturday’s contest marked the third game of the season in which UVA had at least 28 points at halftime (28 vs. Coastal Carolina, 42 vs. William & Mary, 28 vs. Stanford).
• UVA had 401 yards of total offense at the half (279 passing, 122 rushing).
• For the first time since 2004, UVA has rushed for 200 yards in three straight games. The Cavaliers finished with 206 yards against Stanford.
• Virginia’s offense finished with 590 yards of total offense, including 384 yards through the air. It marks the second time this season UVA’s offense recorded at least 590 yards, having set the program’s single-game record of 700 in last week’s win over William & Mary.
• Under Tony Elliott (since 2022), the Cavaliers have now recorded at least 500 yards of total offense in six games, including the last three games.
• UVA, which entered Saturday’s contest as the nation’s leader in total touchdowns, finished with six to bring its total on the season to 23.
• Virginia’s offense was sacked for the first time this season with 1:14 remaining in the third quarter. The last time UVA did not allow a sack in three consecutive games was in 2011.
• With receptions by Jayden Thomas and Harrison Waylee, sixteen different UVA receivers have caught a pass this year.

Virginia Individual Player Notes 

• Trell Harris finished with career highs in receiving yards (145) and touchdown receptions (3). His 75-yard reception in the first quarter was the longest of his career and the longest pass play by the Cavaliers since 2023 (Colandrea to Pace vs. JMU).
• Harris is the first Virginia wide receiver with three touchdowns in a game since Olamide Zaccheaus hauled in three scores in the 2018 Belk Bowl against South Carolina. Since 1995, only four Cavaliers have had three receiving touchdowns in a game – Harris, Zaccheaus, Canaan Severin (2015 at Louisville) and Wali Lundy (2003 at NC State).
• On the 75-yard completion to Harris, quarterback Chandler Morris went over 7,000 yards for his career. Entering the week, he was one of 17 active FBS QBs with 6,800+ yards passing.
• Morris tied his career high of five total touchdowns. While at North Texas, Morris also had five TDs against Tulsa and South Alabama in 2024.
• Kicker Will Bettridge converted on two of his three field goal attempts (28, 26) and was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points. His 12 points moved him into a tie for fifth place with Thomas Jones (240 points) on UVA’s all-time scoring list.
• J’Mari Taylor led the Cavaliers with 85 yards rushing on 15 carries. His 14-game streak of scoring a rushing touchdown came to an end.
• Linebacker Kam Robinson, safety Antonio Clary and defensive end Mekhi Buchanan made their season debuts Saturday. All three missed UVA’s first three games of the 2025 season due to injury. Robinson led the team in tackles with seven and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter. 
• Cam Ross led the Cavaliers with seven receptions, his second seven-reception game of the season. In the process, he eclipsed the 2,000-yard receiving mark for his career after catching the first two passes of the game. He entered week four at No. 11 on the NCAA’s active career leaders in receiving yards behind former Cavalier and current Notre Dame wideout, Malachi Fields.
• Sophomore Daniel Kaelin threw his first collegiate touchdown pass, a four-yard pass to Eli Wood. The touchdown reception for Wood was also the first of his career.

Offensive Starters: QB #4 Chandler Morris, RB #3 J’Mari Taylor, WR #7 Jahmal Edrine, WR #11 Trell Harris, TE #0 Sage Ennis, 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 #5 Kam Robinson, CB #9 Jordan Robinson, CB #28 Donavon Platt, NB #10 Ja’Son Prevard, S #30 Ethan Minter, S #27 Devin Neal. 

Game Captains: #4 Christian Charles, #8 Jayden Thomas, #23 Jacob Holmes, #60 Drake Metcalf.