The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From Virginia's 48-7 Win Over Coastal Carolina

Virginia dominated Saturday's game vs Coastal Carolina and there is a lot of good that came out of the game

Aug 30, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris (4) catches a snap against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers during the second quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

You could not have asked for a better start from Virginia than the one they had tonight vs Coastal Carolina. Aside from starting quarterback Chandler Morris leaving with an injury, it was a really good night all around for the Cavaliers.

Let's break down the good, the bad, and the ugly from Virginia's 48-7 win over the Chanticleers.

The Good

Aug 30, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Maddox Marcellus (11) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers during the second quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

With the win, Virginia improved to 2-0 all-time against Coastal Carolina. The first meeting was played in Conway, S.C., in 2024, while Saturday marked the teams’ first matchup at Scott Stadium. 

• UVA improved to 87-40-9 (.673) all-time in season openers. 

• The Cavaliers improved to 3-1 in both season openers and home openers under head coach Tony Elliott. Elliott is also 3-0 when opening the season at Scott
Stadium. 

• Virginia shut out Coastal Carolina in the first half, which marked the first time UVA held an opponent scoreless before halftime since Oct. 16, 2021 (vs.
Duke). 

• Virginia's 41-point margin of victory is its largest in a game since defeating Duke 48-0 on Oct. 16, 2021. 

• The Cavaliers' 48 points are the most in a game under Elliott, surpassing UVA’s previous best of 43 points in last year’s win at Coastal Carolina. It’s
also the most points in a game since 2021 (49 at No. 25 BYU, Oct. 30). 

• UVA’s 21 points in the second quarter tied for eighth most all-time. 

• The Cavaliers scored the first five touchdowns of the game, their longest stretch without surrendering a touchdown since Oct. 16, 2021, against Duke (48-0). 

• Coastal Carolina was 1-for-14 on third down in the contest. 

• Chandler Morris started in his fourth consecutive season opener (2 at TCU, 1 at North Texas, 1 at UVA). Morris entered Saturday’s contest as one of 15 FBS quarterbacks expected to open the season as his team’s starting QB for the fourth consecutive year. 

• Morris threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns on 17-of-24 passing. It marked the 14th
time in his career he’s thrown for more that 250 yards in a game. 

• In his Cavalier debut, Cam Ross accounted for 224 all-purpose yards (124 receiving, 100 KOR), which included a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. 

• Ross’ kickoff return TD matched that of the longest in school history and is the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a Cavalier since Joe Reed did so against Duke
in 2019. The 100-yard return is one of five in program history with the last by Reed against William & Mary in 2019. 

• Ross collected his fourth 100-yard receiving performance of his career. His four career 100-yard receiving performances lead all players on UVA’s 2025 roster. 

• J’Mari Taylor’s rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the contest, his 24th and 25th running scores of his career. Dating back to his time at NC Central, he has now rushed for a touchdown in 12-straight games. He now has six multi-touchdown rushing games in 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. 

• Trell Harris hauled in a career-long 48-yard reception with a one-handed grab late in the second quarter that setup the Hoos’ third TD of the period. 

• Caleb Hardy blocked a punt in the second quarter; it marked the first time UVA has blocked a punt since 2019 (Noah Taylor, at Pitt). 

• With 12 points, placekicker Will Bettridge (2-3 FG, 6-6 PAT) moved to No. 11 on UVA’s all-time scoring list. He now has 208 points in 32 career games. 

• Linebacker James Jackson nabbed his first career fumble recovery while CCU was in the red zone in the first quarter. 

• Drake Metcalf started at right guard for UVA, his first start since the 2023 season while playing at UCF. Metcalf missed the entire 2024 season due to an Achillies
injury. 

• Harrison Waylee’s 1-yard plunge to put UVA up 14-0 early in the second quarter was his 17th
of his career and first as a Cavalier. 

• Jahmal Edrine hauled in his first TD reception since Nov. 11, 2024 (vs. Northwestern), when he was at Purdue. The TD reception was also the ninth of his career. 

• Wide receiver Eli Wood and linebacker Landon Danley made their first career starts. Danley led all UVA tacklers with seven. 

The Bad

Aug 30, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers running back Harrison Waylee (21) carries the ball as Coastal Carolina Chanticleers cornerback Myles Mooyoung (8) defends during the second half at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

For a game that was won 48-7, there were a few notable things that could have been better for UVA.

• The running game could have been much better. UVA finished with 164 yards on 43 carries (3.8 YPC). That will be something to monitor moving forward.

• While it does not appear serious, Chandler Morris having an injury in game one is less than ideal.

• UVA only scored seven points on three forced turnovers.

• Virginia fumbled three times, but fortunately did not lose any of them.

• Defense played well, but only had one sack and four TFLs

The Ugly

While not a perfect game, nothing that happened would constitute being in this category.