The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly From Virginia's 16-9 Loss vs Wake Forest

A missed opportunity

Virginia has been a surprise team this season in the ACC and was the lone undefeated team in conference play, headed into a home game against Wake Forest. On Saturday, Virginia fell at the hands of Wake Forest and is now 8-2 (5-1 ACC). They still have a good opportunity in front of them with two games left in conference play.

“So I talked to him in the locker room, and I told them that all of our goals that we started the season with are still out there, right? We never had a goal that said we wanted to go undefeated in the ACC right? Our goal is to win the conference championship and the state championship, and we still have an opportunity ahead of us with the next two ball games. So let's not let this beat us twice. Yeah, we got humble pie. I mean, coaches, players, all of us. We got to own it. We got to, you know, go back to work, figure out where we can get better and stay together, because we still got everything ahead of us," said Virginia head coach Tony Elliot.

Let's take a look at the good, bad, and the ugly from the game on Saturday.

The Good

-Virginia LB Kam Robinson contines to make plays not only on defense but also in special teams. He had a blocked punt less than two minutes into the game on Saturday

-Despite all the turnovers on the offensive side of the ball, the defense played really well. They held Wake Forest to just 64 passing yards and nine points. The 64 yards were the fewest Virginia allowed since November 17th 2018.

-Virginia held Wake Forest to just six points off three turnovers

-Daniel Kaelin managed the game well in adverse circumstances. Kaelin finished 18-28 for 145 yards and no turnovers. He also had a 54 yard scamper. With so much going on, he did well not to let the moment become too big for him.

-Kam Robinson finished with 10 tackles, and Devin Neal added eight. Both did a good job of making plays on defense all game.

-Ja'Son Prevard had four tackles, two pass breakups, and a half tackle for loss.

-Wake Forest only completed nine passes against Virginia.

-Wide receiver Cam Ross played in his 50th collegiate game

-Sophomore WR Kam Courtney caught a career-long 34 yard reception

Virginia outgained Wake Forest 327-203

Virginia recorded its second punt block of the season. It is the first time since 2013, Virginia has had two punt blocks in a season.

The Bad

-The execution at the end of the game with a chance to tie it. Virginia threw the ball in play with the time ticking down and was tackled in bounds. The Cavaliers had to rush just to get a snap off in the waning seconds and it was a rushed throw from Daniel Kaelin to a covered Jahmal Edrine that fell incomplete and sealed their fate. Better execution at the end would have led to a better end result.

-Saturday was the fourth time in the past five games Virginia has finished with fewer than 330 yards of offense

-Virginia only scored nine points against Wake Forest, a team that gave up 42 points last week to Florida State

-Wake Forest has now won three consecutive games at Scott Stadium (2012, 2021, 2025)

The Ugly

-Wake Forest couldn't muster much offense against the Cavaliers defense on Saturday, but a 88-yard punt return for a touchdown by Carlos Hernandez gave the Demon Deacons momentum. It was the lone score of the game.

-Virginia had three turnovers its most all season

Virginia went scoreless in the fourth quarter, one they have played well in all season.

-Virginia went 3-14 on third down conversions, and 1-3 on fourth down conversions

-Virginia fans who were excited to see their team at home with everything in front of them in the ACC. The announced crowd was 55,568, which marked the first time since 2007that Virginia has drawn a crowd of at least 50,000 fans. It was also family weekend for the Cavaliers, and the fans made it a great environment, but didn't quite get the result they were looking for.

For More Virginia Football News:

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Where Would Virginia Play If The College Football Playoff Started Today?

What do the Advanced Analytics Say About Virginia's Matchup vs Wake Forest?