Virginia Football Preview 2026: Finish the Job

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Virginia had the ACC Championship and an almost certain spot in the College Football Playoff right there for the taking.

It couldn't come through in an overtime thriller of a loss to Duke, and the program failed to come up with a third ACC Championship in 72 seasons in the conference.

Can Virginia Stay in the ACC Championship Race?

Consider it a positive, though, that last year's team legitimately looked and played the part after three years of horrible luck and heartbreak in the Tony Elliott era.

Virginia football has improved in each of the four years under him – considering the horrible shooting tragedy that occured in his first season – but now that one extra step to get better means winning an ACC title for the first time since 1995.

– 2026 Virginia Schedule Analysis

Virginia Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Tony Elliott (5th year, 22-26)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Win the ACC Championship/A sixth non-winning season in seven years
• Key Player: Beau Pribula, QB Sr. or Eli Holstein, QB Sr.
• 2025 Record: 11-3
• Biggest Question: Will the Cavaliers be as efficient and crisp as they were throughout last season?

Virginia Key 2025 Stats

• 1st Quarter Scoring: Virginia 107, Opponents 42
• 3rd Down Conversions: Virginia 116-for-233 (50%), Opponents 54-for-193 (28%)
• Time of Possession: Virginia 32:16, Opponents 27:44

Offense

The Virginia offense got it right.

Offensive coordinator Des Kitchings had the parts to work with, and it all clicked at a stunningly efficient and effective level. 

The Cavaliers averaged 418 yards and 31 points per game, and even with a slew of new parts in key spots, there's no thought of slowing things down.

What’s Working

The Cavaliers quietly built up the receiving corps. The top three wideouts might be gone, but the transfer portal gets were fantastic.

The trio of signings – Rico Flores Jr. (UCLA), Da'Shawn Martin (Kent State), and Jacquon Gibson (UMass) – was really, really smart, They're veterans who can make big things happen.

The offensive line is experienced and terrific. There's a ton to love with a front five that was good for the ground game and good enough in pass protection. Now it should be even better.

Monroe Mills is a 6-7, 322-pound tackle who was supposed to be a big deal going into last year, got hurt, missed the season, and now he's filling in the missing piece.

Left tackle McKale Boley, left guard Noah Josey, and Drake Metcalf playing either center or guard form a wonderful nucleus to work around.

There are options at quarterback. The hope was to get back Chandler Morris for a 19th year – okay, it would've been a seventh season of college football, but it seemed longer. The NCAA didn't play along. 

However, Missouri's Beau Pribula and Pitt's Eli Holstein are veteran passers who can step in and produce – at least, one of them has to match all the big moment Morris provided. However …

What Needs Work

The offensive backfield is starting over. Morris came over from North Texas after bombing away for 3,774 yards and 31 touchdowns, and while he didn't do that for Virginia, he was fantastic at keeping things moving.

Again, there are options, and the situation should be okay, but Pribula and Holstein don't come into this with over 800 pass attempts of experience like Morris brought.

The running back transfers have to be fantastic. J'Mari Taylor ran for over 1,000 yards with 14 scores, and Harrison Waylee ran for 556 yards and six touchdowns. They're both done.

The transfers are good. Jekail Middlebrook ran for over 700 yards last year for Middle Tennessee, and he can catch. Tennessee transfer Peyton Lewis can play, and UAB's Solomon Beebe is a strong all-around signing. 

Limit the interceptions. The Cavaliers went 2-2 when Morris threw multiple interceptions. As good as they were, and will be, they can't be on the wrong side of the mistake battle.

Five wins came by one score. Those flip if the offense starts giving it away.

Player to Watch

Monroe Mills, OT Sr.
Last year I wrote a whole thing about how the Virginia program desperately needed a break, and it couldn't get one – as further evidenced by Mills going down in the offseason.

He played at Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Louisville, and was a crazy-good signing through the portal. Now he's back, he's still got NFL size and tools, and he should make a good situation on the line even better.

Defense

John Rudzinski put together a whale of a defense. 

The veteran coordinator's group was allowed around 310 yards and 20 points per game. This year's defense is loaded with transfers to build up the depth, but the starting 11 should be just fine even with a few losses.

What’s Working

The defensive front should be far more dangerous. It didn't get into the backfield enough, but the idea is for Baylor transfer Matthew Fobbs-White to grow into the pass rusher role on one side to take the pressure off of main man Fisher Camac on the other.

The tackle combination of Jason Hammond and Anthony Britton is terrific. The Cavaliers have real size and talent to deal with.

Stop teams from running, and good things happen. It was an odd quirk with last year's defense, and it might just be the same thing this time around. 

Teams that had to throw were in trouble. That means they couldn't run.

Virginia won almost every time the other side bombed away, but went 3-3 against those who ran for over 135 yards – and was 8-0 when allowing fewer yards.

There's no concern about the linebacking corps. Maddox Marcellus is a veteran on the outside who can hold his own, and Kam Robinson is back in the middle after making 64 stops in just eight games. Landon Danley can fit in wherever needed.

What Needs Work

The secondary needs the transfers to be fantastic. Ethan Minter is a good safety holdover, and Donavon Platt made plenty of plays at one corner.

Michigan safety Brandyn Hillman was good last year in the Big Ten, and now he has to be one of the team's leading tacklers.

Jacobie Henderson (Rutgers) has upside at one corner, and safeties Christian Ellis (Virginia Tech) and Jaylen Jones (Georgia State) are needed right away.

The pass rush and playmaking up front has to be more disruptive. It'll be okay, and the line overall is great, but this wasn't a big-time team at getting into backfields.

It had its moments, but the five tackles for loss per game weren't enough.

Can the defense live on third downs again? There was plenty of bending, but when it came down to it, the defense got off the field.

It's not a stretch to say that Virginia did that last year overall mainly because the defense was second in the nation in third down stops.

Time and again, that was everything to the tempo of games – the Cavaliers allowed fewer than 28% of third downs to be converted.

Player to Watch

Brandyn Hillman, S Sr.
He got better and better as his Michigan career went on, finishing his third season with 49 tackles with an interception, and three broken up passes.

Virginia would like him to double all of those stats, and he might be able to do it.

Keys to the Season

• Pick the right quarterback to replace Chandler Morris.
• Be as efficient and effective on both sides of the ball again.
• Do that again when it comes to takeaways – 21 last year – and third down stops.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Beau Pribula, QB Sr.
Or Eli Holstein. Both quarterbacks are big – far bigger than Chandler Morris – and they've been around the block. 

Pribula was on his way to a monster season with Missouri, but he got banged up. He has to keep the interceptions – nine last year – down.

Holstein threw 29 touchdown passes in two years with Pitt, and he can run a bit, too.

Biggest Concern

Can the Cavaliers possibly be as crisp?
 It's not like the Cavaliers were any more talented than everyone else in the ACC – they weren't – but the execution was amazing.

They converted 50% of their third down tries, kept the turnovers to a relative minimum, didn't have huge penalty problems, and controlled the clock and tempo. 

Biggest Game

NC State, August 29
You want to be a player in the ACC chase again, Virginia? Come up with a huge win to open up the season. 

This was supposed to be in Brazil, but it's not a home game that could be an immediate tone-setter with a relatively manageable conference slate the rest of the way.

Transfer Portal

If you think Virginia is about to take a step back in any way, look at this transfer class.

The program knows what it is – it's not Miami or Florida State in terms of expectations – but it found the new parts that can fit and keep the success going.

It wasn't shy about going big with a bunch of high-end talents from all across the board.

Best Signing

Matthew Fobbs-White, EDGE (Baylor)
Okay in his first two years at Tulane, he didn't do too much last year at Baylor with just 18 tackles and no sacks. However, he's got the 6-3, 245-pound size, quickness, and enough experience to explode.

Biggest Loss

Trell Harris, WR (Oklahoma)
The main man for the Virginia receiving corps caught 59 passes for 847 yards and five scores. He was the deep threat and most dangerous playmaker, and now he'll be a big deal in the Oklahoma receiving corps.

Other Names to Know

• Nnanna Anyanwu, EDGE (UTSA)
• Brandyn Hillman, S (Michigan)
• Alex Payne, OT (USC)

CFN Season Prediction

Start with this – the expectations are there now for Virginia to be good. But we've seen this before.

The 2018 and 2019 Cavaliers were good under Bronco Mendenhall, and then the program didn't have a winning season again until last year.

There was a nice stunner of a 2011 season going 8-5, and then six straight dud campaigns followed.

CFN Prediction: 8-4

And it's the ACC. It's possible for stunning seasons to come out of nowhere – for good and bad. You never know who the next Duke will be.

The Cavaliers have enough in place to put together another good season as long as the steady production is there on offense.

Missing Miami, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Clemson, and Pitt will help, and the home games – NC State, Syracuse, Duke, Cal, and North Carolina – are all winnable.

There will be road misfires – Florida State, SMU, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech are all nasty – and there will be a blip at home somewhere, but the goal is clear no matter what.

Finish the job.

Related: 26 for 2026: 26 Key Questions for the ACC Football Season

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