Let it be said — by all apparent accounts, Virginia is substantially favored against Norfolk State in their second matchup of the season Friday.
But let it also be said that during Virginia’s (1-0, 1-0 ACC) bye week, UMass — a team riding a 16-game losing streak and without a win against an FBS-level team since 2023 — beat power-conference Rutgers, a team who entered the game favored by 29.5 points. That same weekend, the Minutemen’s fellow Mid-American Conference team Bowling Green lost to FCS Tarleton State, showing that anything can happen on any given weekend.
In the Cavaliers’ first contest under the Friday night lights since the trajectory-altering win against Florida State last season, Virginia faces the FCS-level Spartans (1-1, 0-0 MEAC) of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
The Spartans are a classic early-season opponent for Virginia — comparable to William and Mary in 2025 or Richmond in 2024. The Cavaliers won those two contests by a combined score of 89-29, and those in Scott Stadium can reasonably expect another Virginia win in 2026.
Additionally, Virginia has not lost to an FCS team in just over 10 years — the Spiders in 2016 being that most recent occasion — and Coach Tony Elliott is undefeated coming off of a bye week during his tenure with the Cavaliers. It can be reasonably conjectured that no Cavalier desires these streaks to be broken in the first-ever matchup between the Spartans and Virginia.
The matchup against Virginia will be the third game of the season for Norfolk State, following a blowout 56-0 victory against NCAA Division II Winston-Salem State and a 31-10 loss at fellow Norfolk school Old Dominion.
Virginia will likely prove stiffer competition for the Spartans than their previous two opponents as Norfolk State heads outside of their home city for the first time this season. The last time the Spartans played a Power Four school, they lost 60-10 in 2025 against a woeful Rutgers team that went 5-7 on the season.
It also should be noted that Norfolk State is coached by Michael Vick. Vick, a star NFL quarterback for several teams, most notably for the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles, played for Virginia Tech in his college days — a team that needs no introduction for Cavalier fans.
Although the Hokies and Cavaliers were not in the same conference in either 1999 or 2000 — the two years Vick started at Virginia Tech — the rivalry game was still contested. Vick was merciless through the air in those two matchups as the Hokies beat Virginia by a combined score of 73-28 over those two games.
Vick returned to the sideline in late 2024 to coach Norfolk State beginning with the 2025 season. Although he has only been with Norfolk State for one full season, the Spartans’ record can hardly be called good. Their only victory of the 2025 season came against Division II Virginia State, although they did lose by one-score margins in several other matchups.
In his second year, though, Vick feels the team is in a better position.
“Being a second-year head coach and having a chance to view my team … and what I want their identity to be, I think they’ve created it,” Vick said at an Aug. 25 press conference. “Obviously, improving from the things we didn’t do as well … last year — certainly, from a disciplinary standpoint, cut[ting] down on the flags, cut[ting] down on the penalties.”
There are a number of storylines to watch on the Virginia side Friday. Fourth-year linebacker Kam Robinson — who had a bevy of eyes and expectations upon him in the preseason — was a game-time decision on whether or not he would be in action against NC State, and ultimately did not play.
“It was close,” Elliott said at the post-NC State press conference Aug. 29. “I think [Robinson] could have played and he would have played. But at the end of the day, I didn’t feel great about it … I didn't want to force the issue. And then we got two more weeks before we play.”
It is possible that he sits another game out with an expected win by a wide margin, but those in Scott Stadium might have the chance to see Robinson wreaking havoc for the first time since November 2025.
Additionally, if the Cavalier offense is even mildly humming against the Spartans, it is likely to see fifth-year kicker Will Bettridge become Virginia’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing early 2000s kicker Connor Hughes’ 332 points. At present, Bettridge stands just five points away.
In terms of broader game-planning, it is also possible that fifth-year Beau Pribula might not play as mobile as he did against NC State, as Elliott indicated.
“I thought [the running backs] all did a good job and contributed throughout the course of the game,” Elliott said. “We’re gonna need all five of those guys throughout the course of the year. I love how Beau runs, but you know, 15 carries every game is probably not the way we want to make a living … You’d like to be able to feature the [running] backs a little bit more.”
Under the Friday night lights, Virginia will take another step on their 12-fold path that is the 2026 season. The Community Day game is scheduled for kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday, and can be streamed on ACCNX.
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