Three Storylines To Watch On Saturday When No. 12 Virginia Plays Wake Forest

Three major things to watch this upcoming weekend for the Cavaliers

Nov 1, 2025; Berkeley, California, USA; Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Kam Robinson (5) runs back a California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele pass for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers begin their preparation for an ACC opponent, Wake Forest, on Saturday. Virginia is coming off a 24-21 win over California this past weekend. Let’s take a look at key storylines to watch on Saturday in Charlottesville. 

1. Can the Virginia defense keep forcing turnovers? 

Oct 25, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Kam Robinson (5) on the sidelines in the first quarter at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Virginia defense came up with two turnovers on Saturday against California, including the game sealing interception from Kam Robinson, who returned it for a touchdown. True freshman Corey Costner recorded his first interception of his career on Saturday. Virginia is one of the best teams in turnover margin this season and is tied for eighth in the NCAA with a +10 turnover margin. The Cavaliers have 10 interceptions and six fumble recoveries in 2025. Their 16 turnovers are tied-15th in the nation. With their ability to force turnovers it allows the Cavaliers to put their offense in opportune situations and capitalize. 

"Yeah, I thought the defense was doing a good job throughout the course of the day, man. We put them on the short field, right, because of special teams, you know, but we put the ball on the 25-yard line, right? There are at least three points, right? If not seven. And we had some traffic issues, had guys running to each other, and then they scored right there. But I thought they were doing a good job of getting enough stops in during critical situations to put the offense back on the field with an opportunity to either change field position or score points,” said Elliot.

“I think the other thing too that we got to make sure that our guys understand is that you know what, it ain't always about points. Sometimes it's about field position, right? And we also had some situations where we had a safe punt return call, we had a blind side block and a holding, right? That put us in a minus four, right? So in that situation, realistically, if you get one first down, you win that scenario and then you try to pump the ball out of there, right? So, I wouldn't say it's a wasted possession, but when you're backed up, man, you're really just trying to make sure that you get field position and you don't, you know, you don't give up a safety or you don't have a turnover down there and you can put your defense back on the field with an opportunity to to impact field position."

2. Will Virginia Be Able To Continue to Stay Ahead of the Sticks? 

Nov 1, 2025; Berkeley, California, USA; Virginia Cavaliers running back J'Mari Taylor (3) breaks a big gainer against the California Golden Bears during the second quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

A big key in the Cavaliers' victory was their ability to stay ahead of the sticks and convert on third down. Virginia was 10-19 on third down against California. They also ran the ball well, rushing for 194 yards and three touchdowns. J’Mari Taylor had one of his better games on Saturday, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Chandler Morris was efficient, going 24-36 with 262 passing yards. The Cavaliers also hit on a number of explosive plays. Virginia had four plays of over 15 yards in the passing game and took advantage of a porous pass defense. 

"Man, it's huge. Everything starts for us off the run game. We're at our best when we can run the football and have play action, set things up, and then also, you know, a second and five call is a whole lot easier than a second and 10 call. And so, I thought Chandler did a good job in the passing game of checking the ball down, keeping us ahead of the chains, and then when we handed it off, I thought we were effective enough, and then we finally popped a couple. But staying effective, staying ahead of the chains, gives you the ability to really access all of your offense. And for us, we want to attack. We want to be aggressive, but you can't be aggressive if you're not staying ahead of the change."

3. Virginia on verge of a 6-0 start in the ACC  

Oct 1, 2022; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliot reacts during the second half against the Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Can the Cavaliers continue one of their best starts in conference play? Virginia is looking to add another win this weekend when it faces Wake Forest at home on Saturday. They are in the driver's seat to make the ACC championship with just three games left in the regular season. It starts this weekend and remain focused on the task at hand. Head coach Tony Elliot put it best in a press conference after a win in California.

"Yeah, just keep the main thing the main thing, and at the end of the day, all that stuff down the road doesn't matter if you don't take care of the business in front of you. And I think the team has really adopted, you know, that mindset and mentality that they know that we got to do it one step at a time and focus on what we can control,” said Elliot. “I'm constantly reminding the guys to simplify their lives and cut off social media and it's only going to get hard this week because, you know, this is the week where they start doing all the rankings and all that kind of stuff, and hopefully, you know, I can get ahead of it and and tell the guys that none of that stuff matters, and really from the beginning I told them that preseason rankings don't matter, midseason rankings don't matter. The only ranking that matters is where you're at at the end of the season, and if we don't take care of business week to week, then we're not going to be in that conversation."