After winning by scores of 41, 39 and 28 in their first three victories, the Cavaliers have had to acclimate themselves to tighter competition — in their previous three games, which all went to overtime, No. 15 Virginia (8-1, 5-0) has scored only six more points than their opponents.
The 31-21 win over California broke the slump. The Cavaliers returned to form against the Golden Bears (5-3, 2-3), earning a dramatic decline in margin of victory — and, more importantly, graduate quarterback Chandler Morris performed well after he previously struggled with a shoulder injury.
Morris’s performance, for the first time since the bye week, seemed unaffected by his health. In his previous two starts, he averaged a 114.5 passer rating with a 58.55 completion percentage — in this contest, he registered a 127.8 rating and completed 66.7 percent of his passes. Morris acknowledged the victory and solid showing, but still views the team as having room to improve.
“I was pleased with the day,” Morris said. “Obviously we’re not there. We’re gonna get there, keep pushing it.”
His steady control of the offense, coupled with graduate running back J’Mari Taylor’s continued excellence on the ground, resulted in three touchdowns, only one less than the side mustered in their past two games combined. Taylor, who was responsible for two of those scores, has now reached the endzone eleven times in nine games.
Aside from Morris and Taylor, the offense was buoyed by a diverse group of pass catchers — eight different players recorded a reception for Virginia, and four of that group recorded over 40 yards receiving. Senior Trell Harris and graduate student Cam Ross stood out in the talented receiver room. Harris, now leading the team in receptions and yards, put up his second straight performance of over 60 yards. Ross shined after a one-game absence as a receiver and kick returner, recording 118 total yards.
The Cavaliers also won in the trenches on both sides of the ball. After allowing six sacks in their matchup against North Carolina, the Virginia offensive line only let California defenders reach Morris twice. On defense, the front seven forced three sacks, one of which came from junior linebacker Kam Robinson.
Robinson had perhaps his best performance of the season with a sack, a tackle for a loss, one pass defended and the game-sealing pick six. Since returning from a three-game absence due to injury, the junior has been a complete game-wrecker — Robinson has over 50 tackles, two interceptions, two touchdowns, and a recovered fumble in only six games. He’s also not unfamiliar with ending opponents’ hopes at victory, having scored a game-winning safety against Washington State just two weeks ago.
Other standouts included freshman SPUR Corey Costner, who recorded his first career interception, and senior defensive tackle Jacob Holmes, who forced two tackles for a loss and a sack. Robinson, Costner, Holmes and the rest of the defense held California freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to only 19 completions, his second-fewest in that category thus far. Virginia contained junior running back Kendrick Raphael, as well, for his third-worst yards per rush this year.
The lead-up to Saturday’s contest was defined by an emphasis from Coach Tony Elliott and his staff on football as a game of inches, and today, Morris’s steadying performance and Robinson’s domination measured the difference for the Cavaliers. Virginia remains undefeated in conference play at the end of its cross-country trip and rises to 8-1 — the program’s highest win total in six years.
The Cavaliers will look to continue their seven game win streak this Family Weekend against Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Saturday.
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