In the first three years under Coach Tony Elliott, Virginia has missed out on a bowl game. Last year, the Cavaliers started 4-1 only to finish with a 5-7 record — missing the six-win threshold for a bowl game appearance.
However, with loads of transfer additions and improving returners, 2025 might just be a breakthrough year. There is talent aplenty, and multiple primetime matchups to look forward to. Below, three beat writers make a few predictions for the season.
What will Virginia’s record be?
Xander Tilock, Sports Editor: Elliott will lead Virginia to a bowl game with a 6-6 record. I predict the Cavaliers will pick up comfortable wins against Coastal Carolina, William & Mary, Stanford and Washington State simply by virtue of having the better roster. The rest of the schedule will likely be full of losses, but winning the winnable games — plus two more toss-ups in ACC play — would be enough to make a postseason appearance.
Ryan Weiner, Senior Writer: There is no excuse for Elliott to have this team below six wins in 2025. Virginia ought to start the season 3-1 before Florida State comes to town Sept. 26. Aside from that, they should take home victories in mid-season contests with Washington State, California and Wake Forest. With Elliott’s Cavaliers always pulling off an upset as well, either six or seven wins is the bar.
Ben McNiff, Staff Writer: With the easiest preseason strength of schedule in the ACC, Virginia should pick up at least six wins, likely more. Three will come against William & Mary, Washington State and Wake Forest, and the Cavaliers should go 2-1 between Coastal Carolina, NC State and Stanford. That puts Virginia at five wins. The sixth should be an upset over a tougher ACC foe.
Aside from the Commonwealth Cup, which game will be the most exciting?
XT: The Friday night showdown Sept. 26 versus Florida State will be must-see TV. Florida State is usually a college football titan, one that routinely takes residence in the national rankings, but finished last in the ACC in 2024. If there is any time to play the Seminoles, it’s now.
RW: While the opponent itself is not great, Family Weekend against Wake Forest Nov. 8 takes the cake here. Oddly enough, the Cavaliers have not won a Family Weekend game since the 2021 season, but this game gives them a great chance to turn the tide.
BM: Virginia’s chance at revenge for the 41-14 embarrassment at North Carolina’s hands in Charlottesville last season comes in the form of an Oct. 25 road showdown. Plus, there’s the added intrigue of playing against former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, glowering on the opposing sideline in one of his short-sleeved hoodies.
Who will be the team’s most impactful player?
XT: Junior linebacker Kam Robinson. It would be easy to tab a skill position player on offense, but in order to find success, Virginia needs some consistency. The Cavaliers ranked 95th nationally in total defense last year — that will have to change. Luckily, Robinson is talented and undoubtedly Virginia’s best defender.
RW: Surely, it has to be graduate quarterback Chandler Morris. The Cavaliers were mired by middling quarterback play the past few years and have not had a dominant arm since 2021. Morris’ rushing ability and passing IQ gives this offense a strong duality that will allow it to make explosive plays without suffering costly mistakes.
BM: Performance in the trenches is what truly separates five-win teams from bowl eligible teams. Sacks are just as, if not more, costly than interceptions. The viability of Virginia’s passing offense begins and ends with offensive linemen like senior McKale Boley and graduate student Wallace Unamba, who seem to be the leading candidates to start at left and right tackle.
Is this the year Virginia finally beats Virginia Tech?
XT: It is possible. As mediocre as the Cavaliers have been over the past three years, the Hokies are not exponentially better. They may have bested Virginia at seemingly every junction, but with an entirely new lineup of experienced transfers, the Cavaliers have their best chance of winning since 2019.
RW: This is one sports curse that somehow just does not get broken. Aside from the team’s magical 2019 run to the ACC title game, they have been destroyed by their in-state rival year in and year out. Virginia Tech always finds a way to win the Commonwealth Cup.
BM: The only way Elliott can prove his team can beat the Hokies is to actually beat the Hokies. In his two matchups against them, the Cavaliers have been brutally outscored 92-34. Even if Virginia magically has a historic turnaround, beating Virginia Tech would seem just as unlikely as it has every single other year for the last 20 years — save 2019.
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