CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Virginia went west and found gold.

J’Mari Taylor ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns as No. 15 Virginia won its seventh straight game, downing California, 31-21, on Saturday in Berkeley.

Linebacker Kam Robinson picked off a pass with 45 seconds to play and returned it 35 yards for a game-sealing touchdown.

The Cavaliers (8-1, 5-0 ACC) have their longest winning streak since 2007 and are off to their first 8-1 start since 1990, keeping them in the driver’s seat to reach the ACC championship game for the first time since 2019.

Virginia’s defense had at least one forced turnover for a sixth straight game.

It was a bounce back performance for UVA’s scuffling offense, which put up its most total yards since totaling 590 yards in its Sept. 20 blowout of Stanford.

Quarterback Chandler Morris went 24 for 36 for 262 yards and eight receivers caught passes.

Virginia opened up a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and went to the locker room ahead 17-7 at the half.

The Golden Bears (5-4, 2-3) used a trick play to pull within 17-14. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a wide pass out to tight end Mason Mini, a former high school quarterback. Mini pulled up and threw to a wide open running back Kendrick Raphael for a 42-yard touchdown.

But UVA responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown by Eli Wood, who caught a backwards pass and rushed to the end zone.

That put the Cavaliers ahead 24-14 with 1:51 left in the third quarter. They could not put the Bears away, however.

Set up by a shanked, 14-yard punt by Daniel Sparks, Cal got a 1-yard scoring run from Raphael to pull back within three points, down 24-21 with 12:57 left to play.