Three Virginia Players Who Saw their Stock Rise in the ACC Upset over Florida State

Who showed out the most in the historic 48-36 overtime victory?

Sep 26, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers fans and players celebrate on the field after their game against the Florida State Seminoles at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Virginia secured one of their biggest win in recent program history. Fans stormed the field the second UVA defensive back Ja'Son Prevard locked in the win with an interception on FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos. The Virginia offense continues to show how gritty and persistent they are each and every week of 2025.

Let's take a look at three Hoo's players who saw their stock jump the highest after taking down the No. 8 Seminoles at Scott Stadium.

QB Chandler Morris

Sep 26, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris (4) scores a touchdown s Florida State Seminoles defensive back Ja'Bril Rawls (11) defends during the second quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Obviously, UVA quarterback Chandler Morris is the story of this game. While Virginia fans have probably been insanely high on Morris since preseason camp, I think the rest of the college football environment is seeing just how legitimate Morris is as the signal caller for Virginia. Morris looks like a veteran who is able to impact the game every snap when he is on the field. I don't the stakes this week affected the signal caller.

Morris not only accounted for five scores but also connected on a season-high 71.5% of his passes. Friday night's performance also marked the first time Morris rushed for three touchdowns in his five-year career. The Texas native seems to get better every week as he creates more chemistry with the weapons he has been granted on offense.

TE Sage Ennis

He's a TD machine 🎰

Tallahassee native @Sage_Ennis has three TD receptions in his last three appearances 💯

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/ec5tjBGslq

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) September 26, 2025

UVA tight end Sage Ennis secured his third touchdown of the season in just three appearances. Ennis also reeled in a score against both NC State and Stanford, while he did not appear in the games against William & Mary and Coastal Carolina.

Interestingly enough, Ennis does not usually make much more of an impact in the pass game besides these short scores. The tight end has scored three times on just five receptions for a total of 37 yards. Ennis has not logged more than two receptions in a game but is still able to find pay dirt, regardless.

Ennis' receiving score this week was a huge moment for the Hoo's. The Virginia offense was able to get on the board first and punch this FSU defense right in the mouth before they knew what had happened. The play helped Morris get started early and avoid playing from behind.

DB Devin Neal

Defensive back Devin Neal had his fingerprints all over this game on defense. Neal led all Virginia defenders with 12 total tackles - a new career high for the fifth-year senior.

The stellar performance comes a week after Neal did not have much impact, logging just three tackles in the win against Stanford. The previous week against William & Mary was not much more productive minus a half-sack for Neal.

The Hoo's defense relied heavily on the Kentucky native in a huge game with a lethal weapon at the opposing quarterback position and Neal delivered. With a quarterback like Castellanos running all over the field on broken down run plays, it is extremely important for defensive backs to be able to make open field tackles to minimize huge gains on plays where the coverage does their job.