Biggest winners and losers from Virginia's win over Syracuse: UVA's ACC hopes are alive

Coach Tony Elliott said he is not going to apologize for winning a football game. After all, a win is a win. The thing is, Virginia's victory over Syracuse was awfully close — and that says a lot about the current status of the Cavaliers.

Virginia struggled to stop a third-string quarterback, and the defensive backs were torched by the Orange's potent WR duo. The offense was also problematic, and only escaped with a win thanks to a late surge by the offensive line and Jekail Middlebrook.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the Cavaliers' second ACC win of the 2026 season:

Winner: Virginia's goals

A loss to Syracuse would have put the Cavaliers on the brink of elimination from the ACC race. Now, though, Virginia just needs to win out and have two results to go its way. The Cavaliers are not out of the race to Charlotte so long as they keep winning. That is worth something.

Loser: Anemic offense once again goes on very long scoring drought

Virginia went hours without scoring (about 40 minutes of game time). That simply cannot happen against a Power Four team. The Cavaliers defense and struggling Orange offense kept things close, but Virginia is in dire need of a reboot offensively. The Cavaliers are playing with fire and nearly got burned again.

Winner: Daniel Sparks' All-American campaign

Daniel Sparks has been beyond fantastic this season. He is averaging nearly 50 yards a punt, and has been crucial to Virginia's four wins. Sparks has legitimately been the Cavaliers' best player this season — which says just as much about the rest of the team as it does about Sparks.

Loser: Self-inflicted errors, again

On many occasions, the losing team's mistakes are more impactful than the winning team's big plays. This is why Virginia won an ugly 28-25 game that it trailed in for nearly three quarters. And this came against a reeling Syracuse team that ended the game with its fourth-string quarterback playing meaningful minutes.

This one play was especially poor:

Egregious decision here by Jacobie Henderson. The quarterback is nowhere near the first down marker when Henderson delivers this hit. pic.twitter.com/zyL6Y9prlM
— Xander (@xandertilock) October 11, 2026

Winner: WR Da'Shawn Martin

Martin made the first start of his Cavaliers career Saturday, getting the nod over Jacquon Gibson. Martin has been one of the most explosive playmakers on the team. He scored a touchdown against the Orange — and he has scored in all but one game this season. Martin should be starting again against the Mustangs this weekend.

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