Easiest Schedule in The Power Four? Virginia Will Face Zero Teams Ranked In The Preseason AP Top 25

Oct 12, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott (center) celebrates after Virginia Cavaliers safety Ethan Minter (30) intercepts the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The Preseason AP Top 25 was released today and while Virginia was nowhere to be seen in the poll, neither were any of their opponents. Virginia is going to face zero teams ranked in the AP Top 25 (in the preseason at least) and that is yet another indicator of how advantageous this schedule could be for head coach Tony Elliott, who is still in search of his first bowl appearance.

BREAKING: Preseason College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/O9s1jHORyn pic.twitter.com/reBHuc3tL8

— On3 (@On3sports) August 11, 2025

Just because it is an easy schedule does not mean that the Cavaliers are going to take full advantage of it. This team still has a lot to prove on the field. Louisville is going to be a tough game for this team to win, Florida State at home is not going to be easy, and Elliott has yet to beat Virginia Tech, despite the Hokies program not being in a great place under Brent Pry.

Where does this schedule rank among others?

In a ranking of ACC schedules, CBS Sports Chip Patterson ranked UVA's as the easiest in the conference, while Syracuse has the toughest:

"A busy offseason aligns with one of the more favorable schedules to set up what could be coach Tony Elliot's long-awaited breakthrough with the program. Virginia brings in 31 players from the portal (it only took 22 total over the previous two offseasons) and faces a schedule that lacks Clemson, Miami, and SMU. The toughest nonconference game is actually against an ACC peer in NC State, so if Virginia can hold serve as a favorite, it might need only one or two upsets to be bowl-eligible for the first time since 2021."

ESPN's FPI ranked UVA's schedule as the easiest in the power four.

FPI has Virginia with the 83rd-ranked schedule in the country. Wake Forest, Houston, BYU, and Arizona make up the rest of the weakest Power four schedules in the country.

Nov 23, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott (center) looks on from the field during a stoppage in play in the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Here is how Virginia's 2025 schedule looks from an FPI perspective:

Aug. 30th- Coastal Carolina (100th)

Sept. 6th- at NC State (No. 57)

Sept. 13th- William & Mary (NA)

Sept. 20th- Stanford (64th)

Sept. 26th- Florida State (48th)

Oct. 4th- at Louisville (41st)

Oct. 18th- Washington State (98th)

Oct. 25th- at North Carolina (51st)

Nov. 1st- at Cal (60th)

Nov. 8th- Wake Forest (89th)

Nov. 15th- at Duke (54th)

Nov. 28th- Virginia Tech (26th)

As you can see, this is a very favorable schedule for the Cavaliers. They avoid Clemson, Miami, SMU, and Georgia Tech this season and don't face a projected top 25 opponent according to FPI. I also don't think Virginia Tech is the 26th best team in the country and the 4th best in the ACC. I don't expect this team to be in the ACC Championship, but anything less than a bowl appearance is going to be disappointing for a team that has this kind of schedule and brought in the amount of experienced transfers that they did. It is a big season in Charlottesville for Tony Elliott.

Virginia opens their 2025 season on Aug. 30th against Coastal Carolina.