DESHAZO: Virginia's biggest goal may have become unreachable after Saturday

Cavaliers' path to the ACC championship game -- and a playoff bid -- may now be out of their hands

Sep 19, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott reacts to a West Virginia Mountaineers touchdown during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After Saturday night's humbling performance against West Virginia, Tony Elliott must get his Virginia Cavaliers to immediately regroup and prepare for an underrated Delaware team this Saturday. Their primary focus can't be on reaching the ACC championship game or the College Football Playoff.

Even so, Saturday's results may have ended the Cavaliers' chances of either of those lofty preseason goals -- even if they somehow go unbeaten for the rest of the season.

True, a 38-27 loss to the Mountaineers in Charlotte doesn't affect their ACC record. Just like last year's nonconference defeat at NC State, it gave them an early wake-up call and time to address their weaknesses. And they did just that in 2025.

Can they rebound again?

Sep 19, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Beau Pribula (7) looks to pass against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But Saturday's loss exposed several flaws that weren't apparent in this season's rematch with NC State or a 59-3 romp over Norfolk State. The Mountaineers gashed Virginia's defense for 247 rushing yards, exploited that number with effective play-action passes, and put far more pressure on Beau Pribula than either the Wolfpack or Spartans did.

You can be sure Virginia's future opponents will study that game tape and try to duplicate WVU's strategy, even if they don't have similar personnel. Some of the Cavaliers' ACC matchups that looked like achievable wins (Florida State, Duke, Virginia Tech) suddenly seem more challenging -- not to mention their Oct. 17 trip to SMU, in which they'll be even greater underdogs than before.

There was also another development on Saturday that lessens Virginia's chances of returning to Charlotte (site of their last two losses) for the ACC title game in December: Louisville's 41-31 victory over SMU.

That means that even if the Cavaliers go 9-0 in conference play -- a possibility that seems more remote than it did 24 hours ago -- they could be left out of the championship game.

Like Virginia, Louisville doesn't face preseason favorite Miami this season. If the Cavaliers, Cardinals and Hurricanes all finish unbeaten in ACC play, Virginia seems unlikely to earn a spot in the title game under the conference's new tiebreaker rules, which instituted a vague "strongest body of work" criterion to separate tied teams which did not meet on the field.

It's hard to imagine Virginia getting the nod over Miami or Louisville in such a scenario, given the Cavaliers' modest conference schedule. And even at 11-1 -- again, a pretty long shot at the moment -- Virginia probably wouldn't get an at-large College Football Playoff bid.

Their only legitimate path seems to be going 9-0 in ACC play, hoping either the Hurricanes or Cardinals (or both) stumble at least once and earning the conference's automatic CFP spot by winning the ACC championship game. Even an 11-2 mark that includes a loss in the ACC final probably wouldn't suffice without extenuating circumstances.

There's still so much more of the season to play out, and just like last year, there are so many variables that are out of the Cavaliers' hands. They'd be well-advised to lick their wounds, go back to basics, ignore the noise, try to go 1-0 each week, and let the chips fall where they may.