Family weekend is the perfect opportunity for University students to bring their families around Grounds and show them a football game. But for the last two seasons, there has not been much to show. The Cavaliers were just 3-4, 2-6 and 4-3 coming into the past three family weekend games and lost all of those affairs by a combined 57 points. Spirits were low, and the atmosphere was a drag for all in attendance.
Like everything else about Virginia football in 2025, though, this year is different.
Going into its family weekend matchup with Wake Forest Saturday, Virginia has lost just one game and is undefeated in conference play. The Cavalier fanbase is alive and well. With a bowl game well-secured and a ranking of No. 12 in the nation, fans have now turned their attention to the ACC Championship and the College Football Playoff. Despite this, for now, Virginia does not care about rankings and projections. Instead, these Cavaliers care about going 1-0 each week.
Elliott knows the dangers of thinking too far in advance. After all, the Cavaliers started the 2024 season off 4-1 before losing six of their last seven games. This has led to him emphasizing a day-by-day, game-by-game approach within the team. Despite the Demon Deacons losing 42-7 last week, Elliott is not overlooking them at all.
“They play really hard,” Elliott said. “They play a physical brand of football. They have some very dynamic weapons on offense that can score at any time.”
With the margins of error Virginia has produced this season, there really is no room for thinking ahead and overlooking opponents. In what has been a season of inches, every play matters for the Cavaliers. That being said, Virginia has consistently found ways to win games when they come down to the wire, usually thanks to clutch turnovers on defense.
Elliott chalks up the increase in close games to talent dispersion across college football and the Cavaliers’ ability to win them to their team values in games and practices. While overarching goals may be in mind, Virginia knows it has to stay in the moment and take each game as it comes to keep those goals attainable.
“The thing I’m most proud of is that they just found a way to win football games …” Elliott said. “They focus week to week and they got a humility about themselves to come back to work each week and chase their best game.”
All signs point to a healthy victory against Wake Forest this weekend. The Cavaliers are favored by 6.5 points on the back of a seven-game win streak, which includes an undefeated record at Scott Stadium this season. Elliott takes pride in that and was quick to remind his players of their next objective to defend their home field directly after their 31-21 victory over California.
Yet there are plenty of things Virginia will have to overcome to win their first family weekend game in the Elliott era. Injuries still linger on graduate quarterback Chandler Morris’ shoulder as well as sophomore offensive lineman Ben York’s ankle. What’s more, Demon Deacon senior running back Demond Claiborne — a Commonwealth native —has been a threat to defenses all season and will test the Cavalier run defense. Like every game for Virginia, nothing is guaranteed.
However, some big plays from key names would not hurt either. Whether it be Morris or graduate running back J’Mari Taylor on the offense, or junior linebacker Kam Robinson on the defense, these star players have repeatedly impressed when the lights are brightest. This had led to Virginia being an elite fourth-quarter team, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat at the last moment.
The game against the Demon Deacons kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday, marking Virginia’s fifth home night game of the season. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN, the Cavaliers’ first appearance on the network since the double overtime win against Florida State. While the trajectory of the season has changed for the better since that victory, the goals and day-by-day approach of Virginia football have not.
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