ESPN CFB Tiers: Virginia Football Labeled A "Potential Sleeper"

Nov 16, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott watches in the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

College football is getting closer, and preseason rankings are slowly starting to trickle out after the preseason media polls. In the ACC preseason poll, Virginia was picked to finish 14th in the conference by those in attendance at ACC media days. Earlier in the week, CBS released its annual ranking of all 136 teams in the FBS, and the Cavaliers checked in at No. 60. They were ahead of other ACC programs such as Boston College, California, Wake Forest, and Stanford. UVA's top rival, Virginia Tech, checked in at No. 48.

The newest batch of rankings or tiers comes from ESPN's David Hale, who stuck every FBS program into one of twenty tiers. Where did Virginia end up? That would be Tier 11, labeled as "Potential Sleepers" and the Cavaliers were there along with North Carolina, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers:

"This tier includes Deion Sanders and Bill Belichick so, for media purposes, it should probably be Tier 1. But there are still some big questions surrounding Colorado and UNC.

For the Buffaloes, it'll be the first time Coach Prime will have to go to battle without Shedeur Sanders or Travis Hunter. Colorado has topped 150 yards on designed runs only once in two years under Deion Sanders, and the Buffs' 74 designed rush yards-per-game in that stretch is, by far, the worst in the country. How will Colorado adapt after losing two of the most explosive players in the country in the passing game?

UNC has completely overhauled its roster from the Mack Brown era, with Belichick dipping heavily into the transfer portal -- including nearly three dozen spring portal additions. Numerous coaches who spoke with ESPN said this spring was an incredibly shallow pool of talent. Can that actually translate to wins, or will 2025 be more about building a foundation than reviving the program?

Instead, it might be the lower-profile programs in this tier that have the real upside.

Virginia added transfer QB Chandler Morris alongside one of the better portal classes in the ACC and plays one of the weakest schedules of any Power 4 school this season. Louisville, Washington State and Duke are the only opponents on this season's slate that won more than six games in 2024.

Houston showed signs of promise in Year 1 under Willie Fritz with wins over TCU, Utah and Kansas State, even if the final record was ugly (4-8). An offensive overhaul led by Texas A&M transfer Conner Weigman should help a program that finished 133rd in scoring last season.

Each of the past two seasons, Rutgers has gone 6-6 with a four-game losing streak in the mix then won a bowl game. Usually, that would count as real success at a place like Rutgers, but coach Greg Schiano clearly has higher aspirations, and the Scarlet Knights might have the talent to push for bigger things in 2025.

Cincinnati blew a big lead to Pitt in Week 2. Pitt went on to start 7-0 before injuries and a handful of close losses derailed its season. Had Cincy hung on, it could've opened 6-1 with a win over Arizona State on its record. Instead, the Bearcats finished on a five-game losing streak and did not make a bowl. Both teams are deeper and more experienced this season, with veteran QBs and stars on defense (Kyle Louis, Dontay Corleone)."

Nov 23, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott (right) runs onto the field with players prior to their game against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

UVA's Schedule Is A Reason For Optimism

The schedule is going to give Virginia plenty of opportunity to make a bowl game and perhaps even more.

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.

Are Injuries Becoming A Concern?

UVA has had to deal with some unfortunate injury news this week.

Head Coach Tony Elliott announced that offensive tackle Makilan Thomas is set to be out for multiple months with a broken foot during his press conference on Wednesday. The injury is a massive loss for the Cavaliers' offensive line as Thomas was slotted to be the Hoos' starting right tackle this fall.

Georgia State defensive back transfer Ja'Maric Morris announced he'd be out for the season with a torn ACL. Morris announced the news via his Instagram late Wednesday evening. 

Virginia loaded up on defensive back transfers this offseason, but Morris was talented. There are still three weeks until the season opener against Coastal Carolina so Elliott and his staff have plenty of time to figure things out, but it is something to monitor.