CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — J’Mari Taylor became the first Atlantic Coast Conference running back since 2021 to run for a touchdown and throw for a score in the same game as No. 17 Virginia beat Virginia Tech 27-7 on Saturday night to clinch a spot in the conference championship game.
Virginia will play Duke, which it beat 34-17 two weeks ago on the road, next Saturday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“It’s just confirmation of what’s possible,” said Virginia coach Tony Elliott, who was 11-23 his first three seasons in Charlottesville.
Taylor ran for 80 yards and a score and quarterback Chandler Morris threw for 182 yards and ran 8 yards for a touchdown as the Cavaliers beat the Hokies for just the second time in the last 21 meetings between the schools.
“These past two weeks, it’s been championship ball. It’s been playoff football,” Morris, a transfer from North Texas, said. “To be able to get this one, I know this fan base has been extremely hungry to get this one.”
Virginia (10-2, 7-1 ACC) turned an interception off a deflected pass on Tech’s first possession into a touchdown and never looked back.
The Cavaliers’ defense held Tech to a season-low 197 total yards in front of 58,832, the largest crowd at Scott Stadium since 2011.
Virginia linebacker Maddox Marcellus, playing in place of injured star Kam Robinson, had nine tackles, an interception and was in on a sack.
“To fill in on this stage and lead us,” Elliott said, “just shows the type of young men that we have in that locker room.”
The Hokies (3-9, 2-6) got a 57-yard touchdown pass from Kyron Drones to Shamarius Peterkin with 4:20 left to play to get on the scoreboard.
Afterward, interim coach Philip Montgomery, who took over after Brent Pry was fired three games into the season, praised his team’s spirit throughout the year.
“They’ve been through a lot this year,” Montgomery said. “They’ve been resilient. They’ve played extremely hard. They’ve battled.”
A direct snap wrinkle
Virginia has used a direct snap to Taylor in short yardage situations throughout the season. Saturday, they changed it up by having Taylor pull up and throw a pass to Ennis on a first-down play at the 1-yard line with less than five minutes left in the half.
Morris said that when he got the play call from offensive coordinator Des Kitchings, he asked him to repeat it.
“I had him re-call it, just to make sure that we’re rolling with it,” Morris said. “We’ve had that one in for a while now and I wanted to make sure I didn’t hear him incorrectly.”
Elliott praised Kitchings’ decision to go with the play in that moment.
“You gotta keep people honest,” Elliott said. “They’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks. That’s one of those plays that you want to try to call it in the right situation. That’s what I told Des. I said, ‘Man you pulled it out at the right time.’”
The takeaway
Virginia Tech: An inspired defensive effort by the Hokies could not overcome its one-dimensional offense. Without the semblance of a passing game, the Hokies had seven straight three-and-outs at one point.
Virginia: The Cavaliers’ remarkable turnaround season will continue with an ACC title game appearance. For the second straight game, Virginia played complimentary football, getting contributions in all three phases.
Up next
Virginia Tech: The Hokies worst season since 1987 is officially in the books and the James Franklin era in Blacksburg can begin.
Virginia: The Cavaliers advance to the ACC championship game against Duke next Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
