DURHAM, N.C. - A week of worry over one Virginia star's injury was quieted before kickoff in Durham, only to quickly give way to an injury for another crucial Cavalier.
Quarterback Chandler Morris led the UVA offense on a 14 play, 75-yard touchdown drive to start the game at Duke after being cleared from protocols before kickoff. The air was let out from the orange and blue faithful at Wallace Wade Stadium, though, after ACC Defensive Player of the Year candidate Kam Robinson stayed down on the field grasping his knee before limping off.
What could have loomed large over a promising start for Virginia in a must-win game in the ACC standings against fellow one-loss opponent Duke, seemed to only spur them on. The Cavaliers eventually pulled away to a 34-17 win.
"I've seen it and I've seen it in you," UVA coach Tony Elliott said he told his team earlier this week. "Now you have to go showcase it to the world for everybody else to tell you that you got it."
No. 19 Virginia (9-2, 6-1 ACC) controlled the action from start to finish, taking control of its ACC destiny as one of four teams remaining with one loss in conference play. Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and SMU are the rest of the quartet. The win also gives the Cavaliers 9 wins on the season for only 8th time in program history.
"I felt like this was the most complete game that we’ve played in all three phases," Elliott said.
The Hoos possibly gave their best top to bottom performance of the season with 540 yards of total offense, while holding the ACC's third-ranked offense in Duke to a season-low 255 yards. Morris returned throw for 316 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23-35 passing, though he did have 2 interceptions. A career night for receiver Trell Harris aided the big day with 8 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. Running back J’Mari Taylor briefly limped off as well in the first quarter, but showed no ill effects while rushing for 133 yards and 2 TDs on 18 carries, including stamping the night with a career-long 78-yard touchdown run.
"We needed a win and the team knew that," UVA quarterback Chandler Morris said. "We've got a lot to play for."
A week after dropping a primetime game at Scott Stadium and throwing their ACC Championship hopes into the conference chaos, the Cavaliers gave a definitive response down in Durham. The Blue Devils entered the game as a -5.5 point home favorite, but the "Cardiac Cavs" gave fans a rest for the night winning by 17+ points for the first time since week four against Stanford.
The road win was the fourth consecutive for Virginia this season and tied a program record with 4 straight road victories. UVA will head into a bye week atop the ACC standings with a date against Commonwealth rival Virginia Tech looming large. Here are three takeaways from a dominant win at Duke.
Defense Impresses Without Kam Robinson
The Wahoos couldn't help but feel like the cards were stacked against them, while watching one of the most impactful defenders in the ACC in Kam Robinson lie on the turf clutching his knee. Robinson would be helped up to his feet, but limped to the sidelines under his own power. The ACC Defensive Player of the Year candidate would miss the remainder of the first half between taking a golf cart to the distant UVA locker room and watching from the sidelines without a helmet.
The Cavaliers didn't seem to miss No. 5 too much though. UVA held Duke, who entered the game leading in the league in scoring for conference games at 38.4 points per game, to a season-low 255 yards and 17 points on only one offensive touchdown. The other TD was a pick-6 on a Morris interception.
"It sucks losing a guy like Kam," Virginia defensive tackle Jacob Holmes said. "I think Kam is one of the best players in the country. We just had to flush it and next play."
Duke quarterback Darian Mensah entered the night as the fourth-leading passer in the country, but found himself under duress throughout the afternoon into the night. Mensah finished 18-35 passing for just 213 yards and a touchdown, while giving up 4 sacks.
A week after the Virginia defense held Wake Forest without an offensive touchdown, but lacked the sacks or turnovers, the defensive line came up big led by Fisher Camac with 2.0 sacks plus Holmes and Mitchell Melton adding another. The pressure was highlighted by Melton’s strip sack in the red zone that resulted in a fumble recovery.
"We know they're one of the top offenses in the country for a reason," Camac said. "It's starting off stoning the run, then earning your pass rush. That's where you make money."
Although the health of Robinson likely will be a requirement for the stretch run, Virginia continued to show its game-over-game improvement under defensive coordinator John Rudzinski. Since the Florida State win, the Cavaliers have held opponents under 400 yards and 30 points in six straight games.
"I think you've seen over the last several weeks that group has been coming into form," Elliott said. "Really starting to gel on all three levels."
As for Robinson, the UVA linebacker attempted to return in the second half and only lasted one play before limping off the field. Elliott said postgame that Robinson was taken back for scans and x-rays on his knee, which all came back clear.
Chandler Morris Back To What Makes Him Special
Virginia got its quarterback Chandler Morris back in multiple ways on Saturday. Not only was Morris cleared to start for the Cavaliers in a must-win game, but the quarterback who has struggled at times in the second half of the season found his game-changing ways again. Morris finished the night 23 of 35 for 316 yards, only his second 300+ yard passing game at Virginia, along with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
"We didn't know really up until before the game, but I knew if he was cleared to go that he was cool," Elliott said. "He was adamant that this is what he came for. An opportunity to be in this position in the month of November with a win and stay alive type of mentality as it relates to the race for Charlotte."
Early in the week there was serious doubt internally over whether Morris would be cleared in time to play at Duke. Elliott said once Morris was able to participate partially in practice on Wednesday, though, the optimism rose. Teammates kept tabs on Morris throughout the week to see if their quarterback would play.
"At the beginning of the week I was definitely a little worried," UVA wide receiver Trell Harris said. "I just kept calling and checking up on him and was like 'Are you sure you're good?' You don't have to lie to me, you let me know if you're good."
Morris said he missed valuable preparation time early in the week, but was able to watch film and take mental reps during practice. But there was barely a doubt in his head about his availability for Saturday in Durham with ACC Championship hopes on the line.
"It kind of takes me back to my backup days, you've got to prepare to be the starter every day," Morris said. "It was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to play."
The best sign for the Virginia offense came on the first drive of the game when Morris marched the Cavaliers down the field for a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by Taylor's first touchdown run. The drive took nearly 7 minutes and allowed both Morris and the offense to establish a rhythm.
"It was huge to be able to establish the run and it was huge for the quarterback because he was able to extend some third downs and get us out of some tough situations and just breeds confidence," Elliott said.
UVA put up 540 yards of total offense, the best output since week four against Stanford. Morris played a key role converting 7 3rd downs with throws down the field, allowing Virginia to go 12 for 19 on 3rd downs on the night.
One of Elliott’s keys to the week though was, whoever played quarterback, they needed help. Morris received that help in large part from Harris, who finished with a career-high 8 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown, Taylor, who added 133 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, and an offensive line that did not allow a sack.
"Offensive line kept me clean all night, came in there and hugged their necks and told them good job," Morris said. "We were able to get into a rhythm, able to run the ball and just set everything up."
Hoos Take Control Of Their Destiny
With the win, Virginia settles into a bye week at 6-1 atop the ACC standings with one game to go. The Cavaliers are joined at the top by Georgia Tech, who barely survived an upset bid against bottom-dweller Boston College, Pittsburgh, and SMU. Next week marks a huge Saturday in the ACC race with Georgia Tech hosting Pittsburgh, an elimination game for at least one of the ACC contenders, and SMU hosting a Louisville team coming off back-to-back losses.
According to the ACC, Virginia will all but officially clinch a spot in Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game with a win over Commonwealth rival Virginia Tech in two weeks. Currently, UVA has not fully clinched the strength of schedule tiebreaker over SMU, but has a healthy lead in that tiebreaker stat.
ESPN Analytics now give Virginia an 88% chance to make the ACC Championship game, putting the Cavaliers in the driver's seat going into the bye week. Of course, sitting on the other side of that break is a rival who would love nothing more than to play the role of spoiler in Charlottesville in two weeks.
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