DURHAM, N.C. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Chandler Morris is back in the huddle, and all is right with the Virginia offense once again.
The sixth-year transfer quarterback threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns, and J’Mari Taylor rushed for 133 yards and two scores as the No. 19 Cavaliers thumped Duke 34-17 before a crowd of 27,215 Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium.

“This was probably the most complete game that we’ve played in all three phases,” UVA coach Tony Elliott said. “And that’s really what you’re talking about, is being able to show up in all three phases and play complementary football, and I think you saw what I’ve been able to see.”

The victory gives the Cavaliers (9-2, 6-1 ACC) the inside track for a spot in the ACC championship game and matched their best overall start since 2007. UVA has an open date this week and will close out the regular season needing to beat rival Virginia Tech in Charlottesville on Nov. 29 to wrap up their second appearance in the championship game and first since 2019.

Even with a UVA win over the Hokies, the title game berths could be decided by tiebreakers, but right now the Cavaliers have many of them in their favor.
Taylor, who began his career at North Carolina Central – the “other” school in Durham — had touchdown runs of 5 and 78 yards. And wide receiver Trell Harris had a career day with eight catches for 161 yards, with a 20-yard TD reception.
The win gave UVA its ninth win in the last 10 meetings with Duke and was the Cavaliers’ fourth road win, tying a school record set nine times previously.

Duke (5-5, 4-2) began the day as one of five teams with one loss in ACC play that were still solidly in the running for a championship game berth. But the Blue Devils’ chances are close to nonexistent with four one-loss teams, including Virginia, ahead of them in
the ACC standings.

Virginia dominated from the outset in running up 540 yards of total offense, the Cavaliers’ first time eclipsing the 500-yard mark since beating Stanford back on Sept. 20. The win also was the first since Stanford that was settled before the final two-minute timeout.

The Cavaliers started quickly, driving 75 yards on their first possession and converting all four of their third downs on the march before Taylor ran 5 yards for the touchdown. He also added the backbreaker in the third quarter, after Duke’s best drive to that juncture fizzled at the UVA 14-yard line on a sack by Mitchell Melton.

On third-and-2, Taylor burst off right tackle, cut back left into the secondary and outran everybody 78 yards to the end zone. It was the 19th game in his last 22 that he has scored a touchdown, giving him 13 for the season.

Duke came into the game with the top scoring offense in conference play (38.4 ppg) and the top passing offense (312.9) in the ACC with Tulane transfer quarterback Darian Mensah. But the Cavaliers simply shut him down for three quarters.

The Blue Devils had only 50 yards of total offense in the first half while UVA took a 17-3 halftime lead, and the Cavaliers expanded it to 31-3 with two third-quarter touchdowns.

All Duke could manage to that point was a 49-yard field goal by Todd Pelino in the second quarter.

Mensah finished with 18 completions in 35 attempts for 213 yards, but most of it came with the outcome decided. He threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Barkate in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils managed only 255 yards of total offense.

The defensive effort by UVA came without one of the Cavaliers’ best big-play defenders, too.

Junior linebacker Kam Robinson suffered a leg injury with 8 minutes left in the first quarter. He limped to the sideline and returned for one play, but the coaching staff shut him down when it was obvious he wasn’t full speed. Elliott said Robinson’s X-rays were negative.

“Then Landon (Danley) went out and led us in tackles,” Elliott said of the junior, who was one of five Cavaliers credited with a team-high six tackles. “Landon started three games for us. So depth-wise, it just goes to show then the belief that the next man just has to be ready.”

Morris had left last week’s loss to Wake Forest midway through the second quarter with a head and neck injury, and he was questionable early this week. But by Wednesday Elliott said it was looking like the veteran signal-caller would be back in the starting lineup.

“I know what kind of young man he is and competitor he is,” Elliott said. “He’s gonna want to go out and do everything he can as early as he can, right?

“We really didn’t know, really, up until before the game that he was going to be able to go. But I knew that if he was cleared to go that he was cool. Because he was adamant about this: This is what he came for, and opportunity to be in this position in the month of November.”

Morris completed 23 of 35 passes, with two interceptions. He forced a screen pass into a crowd in the fourth quarter that Duke linebacker Tre Freeman intercepted and returned 17 yards for a touchdown, less than a minute after the TD pass to Barkate.

That gave Elliott some anxious moments with 9:30 left to play and UVA’s lead having shrunk to 31-17.

But Morris answered by guiding the Cavaliers to a 42-yard field goal by Will Bettridge, returning the lead to three scores. Bettridge had kicked a 44-yarder on the final play of the first half when Morris took UVA 42 yards in the last 1:01 of the half.

Morris’ first TD pass of the day was a 12-yarder late in the second quarter to tight end Sage Ennis as UVA put 10 points on the scoreboard in the final 1:45 of the half. He added the 20-yarder to Harris to make it 24-3 with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

Morris credited the training staff for getting him physically ready to play.
“(I) missed a lot of preparation this week, but it was good,” he said. “I was able to watch film, kind of be out there at practice, get some mental reps and everything like that.”
He said the uncertainty of playing didn’t faze him.
“It kind of takes me back to my backup days,” he explained. “You’ve got to prepare like you’re the starter every single day. And that’s what I was doing. I was doing everything I could from a mental standpoint. It was never a doubt in my mind that I was gonna play. I just had to prepare like it every single day.”

Harris was Morris’ favorite target on the afternoon. His eight catches for 161 yards were both career highs, and he had a whopping 77 yards after catch, with his big gainer a 56-yarder that set up Bettridge’s first field goal.

Harris admitted he was worried that Morris might not be available.

“I just continued to check up on him (during the week),” Harris said. “I was like, ‘Bro, let me know. Like, are you sure you’re OK?’”

Morris’ performance should calm those concerns going forward.

“I think we did a great job offensively,” Morris said. “The offensive line kept me clean all night. I came in there (the locker room), hugged their necks and just told them good job and how much I appreciate them.”

The appreciation no doubt goes both ways.