The Shadow
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (VR) – Virginia opened its 2025 football season with a commanding 48-7 victory over Coastal Carolina on Saturday at Scott Stadium. The Cavaliers improved to 2-0 all-time against Coastal, with Saturday marking the first meeting between the programs in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers (1-0) are now 87-40-9 all-time in season openers and 3-1 in both season and home openers under head coach Tony Elliott. Elliott also moved to 3-0 in games where Virginia begins the season at Scott Stadium.
Virginia’s defense set the tone by shutting out Coastal Carolina in the first half, the program’s first scoreless half since Oct. 16, 2021, against Duke. By the time the Chanticleers scored late, the Cavaliers had already built a 41-0 lead. The 41-point margin was UVA’s largest since that same 2021 win over Duke, while the 48 points marked the most in a game under Elliott.
Quarterback Chandler Morris, making his fourth straight season-opening start and first for Virginia, threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns on 17-of-24 passing. Cam Ross made a strong Cavalier debut with 224 all-purpose yards, including a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The return tied the longest in school history and was the first by a UVA player since 2019 against William and Mary. Ross also finished with 124 receiving yards, his fourth career 100-yard receiving performance.
J’Mari Taylor added two rushing touchdowns, giving him six career multi-score games. his 24th and 25th running scores of his career. Taylor is the first UVA running back to record multiple rushing TDs in a game, since Mike Hollins had two against Miami on Oct. 28, 2023 Harrison Waylee and Jahmal Edrine also found the end zone, while Trell Harris contributed a career-long 48-yard reception.
On special teams, Caleb Hardy blocked a punt in the second quarter — Virginia’s first since 2019 — and kicker Will Bettridge scored 12 points, moving into 11th place on UVA’s all-time scoring list with 208 career points.
Defensively, James Jackson recorded his first career fumble recovery in the red zone, and Landon Danley led the Cavaliers with seven tackles in his first start.
Virginia’s offense scored the first five touchdowns of the game, while its defense limited Coastal Carolina to 1-of-14 on third down conversions. The Cavaliers also tied a program mark with 21 points in the second quarter, the eighth-most in a single period in school history.
The Cavs will now face NC State on the road, September 6th at 12:00pm
