Thomas Jones cranked out another Heisman-worthy performance Saturday, but beleaguered quarterback Dan Ellis stole quite a bit of his thunder with a record-breaking passing day as the Cavaliers rolled to a 50-21 win against winless Buffalo in the home finale.
Jones scored twice and rumbled for 221 rushing yards as Virginia (6-4, 4-3 ACC) gained bowl eligibility with its sixth Division I-A victory. The fourth-year tailback's 331 all-purpose yards set a Cavalier record, but finished a mere three yards shy of the 51-year-old Virginia single-game record for the second time in four games.
Ellis, on the other hand, had no trouble chiseling his name in the Cav record book with six touchdown passes. He connected on 16 of 19 attempts for a career-high 363 yards.
"Dan did a really good job," Jones said. "When you throw six touchdowns in one game -- I don't care who you play -- that's a great day."
Buffalo (0-10), which now has lost 14 straight games, offered the most porous defense Virginia has faced all season. In their first season since jumping up from Division I-AA, the Bulls rank second to last in Division I-A in total defense. Buffalo team members said they knew the odds of knocking off the Cavs were slim.
"We were going to let it all hang out, give great effort and do everything we possibly could: trick plays, isolation plays, laterals," Buffalo Coach Craig Cirbus said. "Our eyes weren't on the scoreboard, they were on effort."
Virginia jumped ahead 17-0 four minutes into the second quarter on a pair of Ellis touchdown strikes to wideouts Kevin Coffey and Billy McMullen and a 46-yard Todd Braverman field goal.
Yet Buffalo edged back into the game against a Cav defense that never took control. Bulls fullback Josh Roth, who rumbled for 114 yards on the day, took it up the gut for an eight-yard score with eight minutes left in the first half.
McMullen hauled in Ellis' seven-yard jump ball in the corner of the end zone for a 21-point lead, but the Bulls went into the locker room down only 24-14 after wide receiver Drew Haddad broke a handful of tackles in a 67-yard touchdown scamper down the sideline.
Missed tackles plagued the Cavaliers for much of the day.
"We're not a good tackling team right now," Cav Coach George Welsh said. "We were hanging on defense. I was hoping we could come out in the second half and stop them, but we never did stop them, really."
But the Virginia offense never missed a beat. Touchdown catches by fullback Patrick Washington and Coffey gave the Cavs a 37-14 advantage.
Jones took the Bulls by the horns in the fourth quarter. He turned a short pass into an 84-yard score and put up the final Cavalier points with a 37-yard burst to paydirt on his final play in Scott Stadium.
Virginia had one more possession, but Welsh elected to keep Jones on the bench, three yards shy of the school single-game record, for fear of injury -- and that was fine with the ACC's leading rusher.
"It's not frustrating because whatever records you get are going to get broken by someone else eventually," said Jones, who now stands only 14 yards off the ACC single season rushing mark. "It's fine if I get it, it's fine if I don't"
Read More
Virginia Athletics wins second straight Commonwealth Clash over Virginia Tech
By Eleanor Lynch | 11 hours agoThe Cavaliers’ fifth Commonwealth Clash victory over the last eight contests proves the athletic department’s overall success in recent years.
No. 6 men’s lacrosse falters late, fumbling chance at huge victory over No. 1 Notre Dame
By Michael Liebermann | 14 hours agoThe ache of last season's defeat will persist.
No. 6 women’s lacrosse eliminated by No. 4 Syracuse in ACC Semifinal
By Peter Kratz | 14 hours agoA forgettable first-half performance sunk the ship for the Cavaliers.
