As Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris maneuvered to his right, there were no doubts about who he was searching for down the field.
Morris was locked on wide receiver Trell Harris, and ready to fire Harris’ way once more.
Harris sped past Stanford’s defense again and was streaking into the end zone, so Morris launched the football to his 6-0, 200-pound blazing-fast target.
In one perfect motion, Harris adjusted his body and turned around to make an outstanding, two-handed touchdown reception.
Morris, Harris and the Hoos were rolling, sending the Scott Stadium crowd into another early outburst of joy during the Cavaliers’ 48-20 romp of Stanford in their ACC opener on Saturday night.
That touchdown expanded UVa’s lead to 21-7 with 3:36 left in the first quarter, and marked the third time on the evening in which Morris connected with Harris for a score.
Harris, who finished with four catches for 145 yards and the three touchdowns, entered Saturday night with four career touchdown receptions. He became the first UVa wide receiver to haul in three touchdowns in a game since Olamide Zaccheaus had three against South Carolina in the 2018 Belk Bowl.
Harris’ first touchdown of the night occurred when the Cavaliers called a wide-receiver screen for him from Stanford’s 3-yard line on their opening possession. With blockers in front of him after securing the catch, Harris powered forward to advance beyond the goal line for his first touchdown of the 2025 campaign and his first since last September’s win at Wake Forest.
His plunge for the game’s first points got him going, too.
Because on UVa’s very next offensive snap, Morris threw off of a play-action fake and Harris showcased exactly how fast he is.
He outran Stanford’s defense to sprint under the zip of a pass Morris darted deep.
Harris caught it in stride for a 75-yard touchdown, which grew the Cavaliers’ lead to 14-7 with 8:17 to go in the first quarter.
Morris’ 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter pushed UVa’s advantage to a three-touchdown edge at 28-7 with 9:05 remaining before halftime. He actually took a handoff from running back J’Mari Taylor on the play after the ball was snapped directly to Taylor, who earlier this season scored on a direct snap.
The Cardinal looked unprepared to account for Morris acting as a running back in that situation.
The margin could’ve been more at the break, too, for UVa but kicker Will Bettridge missed a 25-yard field-goal try with less than three minutes left in the second period and the Cardinal took advantage.
They marched 80 yards and eight plays capped by running back Micah Ford’s 3-yard touchdown run to cut their deficit to 28-14 at halftime.
After halftime, though, UVa (3-1, 1-0 ACC) kept pressing on to ensure its victory over Stanford (1-3, 1-1 ACC) in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
The Cavaliers used their first possession of the third quarter to put together a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive that ended with Morris finding tight end Sage Ennis for a 13-yard touchdown.
Ennis was wide open on the left side of the field after Stanford chased UVa receivers, including Harris, who were running routes to the right side of the field.
In the win, Morris completed 23-of-31 throws for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Saturday was Morris’ first time with at least three passing touchdowns as a member of the Hoos. He threw for three touchdowns or more in a game on six occasions last fall while at North Texas.
After Ennis’ touchdown, the Cavaliers extended the lead to 24 points on their next possession, thanks to a 28-yard field goal from Bettridge.
They added more points in the fourth quarter when backup quarterback Daniel Kaelin threw a touchdown to wide receiver Eli Wood.
Saturday marked the third straight game with at least 500 yards of total offense for the Cavaliers. Defensively, the Cavaliers racked up five sacks. Defensive end Daniel Rickert had two of them.
Greg Madia
gmadia@dailyprogress.com
@GregMadia on X
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Greg Madia
UVa Sports Reporter
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