Cavaliers Turn Their Attention to Seminoles

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In the middle of his postgame address in the home locker room, University of Virginia head football coach Tony Elliott glanced at the time and saw it was 11:01 p.m.

“You’ve got 59 minutes to enjoy this,” a smiling Elliott told his players late Saturday night after UVA’s 48-20 victory over Stanford at Scott Stadium.

Sunday is usually a day off for UVA players, though many study film on their own. But the Cavaliers’ next game is on Friday, not Saturday, and so they’ll convene on Sunday to prepare for a much-anticipated clash with a top-10 opponent.

At 7 p.m. Friday, Virginia (3-1 overall, 1-0 ACC) hosts No. 7 Florida State (3-0, 0-0) at Scott Stadium.

“I’m pumped,” said UVA defensive tackle Jason Hammond, who’s from Miami Gardens, Fla.

Had the Wahoos not stumbled Sept. 6 in a 35-31 non-conference loss at NC State, they would be unbeaten, and that defeat still hurts, Hammond said. “But I think this is our opportunity to show the world what Virginia football can do.”

Elliott spent 11 years as a Clemson assistant before coming to UVA in December 2021, and during his tenure at his alma mater he coached in countless games of this magnitude. His keys to playing well on such a stage?

“One, don’t make it bigger than what it is,” Elliott said. “At the end of the day, it’s a conference game. It’s the next step in the progression. Don’t try to be superhuman, but you’ve got to have a good understanding of your opponent, what you’re going up against, and then you’ve got to prepare to the standard. You’ve got to block out the noise.

“In games like this, I think everybody’s going to be ready. Everybody’s going to be excited. It’s a prime time game. There’s all these things associated with it, but it’s still about the preparation … We’ve got to make sure that we don’t just try to skip the preparation and get to the game thinking that being ready is going to get it done. Because, no, you’re going to have to go out and you’re going to have to play well, take care of the football. The same thing that you had to do tonight versus the team that we played. You’ve got to take care of the ball. You’ve got to protect the quarterback. You’ve got to win the line of scrimmage.”

In their ACC opener, the Cavaliers did all of that. They scored touchdowns on each of their first four possessions and never trailed against Stanford (1-3, 1-1).

“Just really pleased with the team effort,” Elliott said. “There’s plenty for us to coach better at and to clean up. But just super proud of the guys showing up with a business-like mentality.  They continue to have that each week and they’re playing good complementary football.”

This was the first-ever football game between schools that have each been playing the sport since the late 19^th century. It was not an experience 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 Hoos, who gained a program-record 700 yards against William and Mary on Sept. 13, didn’t hit that mark against Stanford. But they were facing a Power Four opponent this time, not an FCS foe, and they totaled 590 yards on offense—384 passing and 206 rushing—with no turnovers.

“I know I’m a tough critic and everything, but we left a lot out there,” quarterback Chandler Morris said, “and we know that as a unit. We left a ton out there. So we’ve just got to get back in and clean that stuff up, but it gives us confidence moving forward … because we know we’ve got a lot of potential.”

Of UVA’s many stars Saturday night, Morris and wide receiver Trell Harris shined brightest. 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—both career highs—and his three first-quarter TDs helped stake Virginia to a 21-7 lead.

“It was obviously a crazy experience,” Harris said. “I’ve never had a game like that since high school.”

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.

“It’s easy to be on the same page with him,” Harris said of Morris. “I trust him and he trusts me whenever I give him input. And when he gives me input, I know that I’m going to be in the spot that he wants me to.”

Another wideout, Cam Ross, led Virginia with seven receptions, and tailbacks J’Mari Taylor, Xavier Brown and Harrison Waylee combined to rush for 185 yards. For the first time since 2004, UVA has rushed for at least 200 yards in three consecutive games.

“Even though I’m a wideout by trade, I still want to run the ball,” Elliott said. “The best offenses I’ve been around can effectively run the football. That’s where it starts, and that creates some of the play actions to create some more of the intermediate throws and then also some of the deep shots. So we’re going to need to be able to do both down the stretch.”

UVA’s defense gave up several long passes but played well overall. The Hoos recorded five sacks—defensive end Daniel Rickert led the way with two—and held tailback Micah Ford to 44 yards on 13 carries. A week earlier, Ford rushed for 157 yards in Stanford’s ACC opener, a 30-20 win over Boston College.

The return of All-ACC candidate Kam Robinson bolstered Virginia’s defense. The junior linebacker had missed the first three games while recovering from a broken collarbone, but he showed no signs of rust Saturday night.

Robinson recorded a team-high seven tackles and recovered a fumble that Hammond forced on a fourth-quarter sack.

“It was just good to see 5 running around,” Elliott said. “I think everybody loves to watch him because you never know what you’re going to see. You have a chance to see something special because of the ability level that he has. But it was good to see him get back in there, play good football, lead us in tackles, come up with a turnover.”

At the end of a first half in which the Cavaliers amassed 401 yards of 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, and Elliott challenged his team at halftime.

“I know this may not be the right way to describe it,” Elliott said at his postgame press conference, “but in this sport, the good teams, when there’s blood in the water, they go after it.”

If their focus lapsed late in the first half, the Cavaliers regained it after intermission. Bettridge kicked two field goals, and tight end Sage Ennis and wideout Eli Woods scored touchdowns on passes from Morris and No. 2 quarterback Daniel Kaelin, respectively.

For the season, Virginia is averaging 45.5 points and 564.5 yards per game.

“Just super proud of the guys,” Elliott said. “We’ve been able to put up some yards and score some points, and we’re going to need to continue to be able to do that.”

UNDER THE LIGHTS: The Cavaliers’ all-time record in night games at Scott Stadium is 43-22-1. Their game with FSU will start at 7 p.m. Friday and air on ESPN, with the Jefferson-Eppes trophy going to the winner.

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

The Hoos’ first victory in the series came on Nov. 2, 1995, at Scott Stadium, where they stunned the No. 2 Noles 33-28. 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.

SOUND BITES: The Cavaliers’ captains for the game were defensive tackle Jacob Holmes, safety Christian Charles, wide receiver Jayden Thomas and offensive lineman Drake Metcalf, who earned his bachelor’s degree at Stanford. Among the postgame comments:

* Trell Harris on his approach: “See ball, get ball. See the ball in the air, just try to make a play for the team.”

* Chandler Morris on Harris: He’s a competitor, he wants to win, and I think it just goes back to all our film sessions together … and so it’s really awesome to see that translate to the grass on Saturdays and I’m just trying to get 11 the ball. He’s a playmaker.”

* Harris on Morris’ calm demeanor: “It helps when you’re in the fire and there’s somebody that’s even-keeled 24/7, never gets too high, never gets too low.”

* Elliott on the injury that forced starting center Brady Wilson out of the game in the third quarter: “Very hopeful that it’s not more than a calf strain, but I won’t know for sure until the doctors check in the morning.”

* Kam Robinson on missing UVA’s first three games: “As a competitor, it’s always tough sitting on the sidelines. What I took from it was: What are you going to do when you get back? How are you going to be a game-changer when you get back? So that was my goal, to be a game-changer.”

* Morris on Daniel Kaelin’s first touchdown pass: “First of many.”

* Morris on Eli Wood’s first touchdown catch: “It’s awesome. Eli Wood shows up every day. He loves football. He shows up every day and just works extremely hard. The receiver room, they love him, and he’s just a great teammate.”

* Elliott, smiling, on the first sack UVA has allowed this season: “I told Chandler that was on him … He’s got to throw that ball out of bounds on that, and he will next time. So I told the [offensive line] they still got four games with no sacks.”

* Elliott on Morris’ performance: “It’s good for Chandler to have a game like that where he just kind of got really settled in and got in the rhythm and made some plays and extended some plays and found some big plays down the field.”

* Morris on the strong showing by students in the first half: “They were loud. They were bringing a lot of energy. Just trying to get everyone in the community there at the games is going to be very important for us to have a true home-field advantage.”

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