The Virginia football team kicked off the season with a strong performance as it ran past Richmond on Saturday, 42-13, the most points scored in an opener since 2012. That year, UVA opened with a 43-19 victory against these same Spiders.

In Saturday’s season-opening win, the running game set the tone. The Cavaliers posted 301 rushing yards, the first time under coach Bronco Mendenhall that the team rushed for at least 200 yards in a game. They averaged 7.1 yards per carry on 47 rushing attempts. They tallied four rushing touchdowns.

Two players reached the 100-yard plateau to pace that effort. Senior running back Jordan Ellis led all rushers with a career-high 146 rushing yards and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for his career in the process. Junior quarterback Bryce Perkins added 108 rushing yards in his debut, the 13th 100-yard game by a QB in program history and the first since Jameel Sewell’s 104-yard against Virginia Tech in 2009. The duo posted two touchdowns each with Perkins getting in from 36 and 22 yards and Ellis visiting the end zone from 10 and 21 yards.

The first touchdown for Ellis is in the spotlight for this week’s Rewind feature.

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