Virginia 48 Stanford 20
Offensively, the Cavaliers came out firing on all cylinders. In the first quarter alone, wide receiver Trell Harris had caught three passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns as the Cavaliers jumped out to a 21-7 lead.
Chandler Morris scored from 13 yards out to push the lead to 28-7, and then they got sloppy. Will Bettridge missed a 25-yard field goal, and the Cavaliers gave up an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive at the end of the half.
Whatever Tony Elliott said at halftime resonated with his players.
Virginia opened the half with a seven-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Sage Ennis.
Takeaways:
Stretching the Field
Brown stretched the field all night. That’s important to the passing game because it opens up mid-level catch-and-run design plays.
Cam Ross and Jahmal Edrine have really good nights in their own respect, averaging 12.6 and 15.3 per reception, respectively.
The running game (more on that later) and the ability to throw the ball into deep windows open up the secondary to big plays.
Running Game Flattened the Cardinal
What was impressive tonight was not just the rushing yards, but also the diversity of how the Cavaliers ran the ball.
Virginia was successful running both inside and outside the tackles. Xavier Brown’s eyes quickly identified the crease, and J’Mari Taylor was his productive self.
Morris is a top-flight quarterback with two electrifying wide receivers. If Virginia can run the ball consistently, it’ll be a top-five offense in the ACC.
Maturity
If Virginia wants to be what it could be, it needed to take care of Stanford in this fashion. The Cardinal’s offense is one-dimensional at best, and the defense wasn’t going to stoke memories of the ’85 Bears.
The Cavaliers knew they would be able to run the ball and have chances to make plays downfield. It’s one thing to know it and another thing to do it.
Virginia did it. It’s why the North Carolina State loss is frustrating, even though the due date has come and gone, to quit talking about that game.
The Cavaliers have solid pieces, especially on offense, in an ACC that has winnable games.
