Tony Elliott Believes Virginia's Matchup Against William & Mary Holds Plenty of Value For His Team and The State

Elliott spoke about the importance of the game this weekend and what it means for his team and the state of Virginia as a whole

Aug 30, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott celebrates after a touchdown against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers during the second quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers appeared to have a lot of momentum as a program heading into last week's game vs NC State. While they had only beaten Coastal Carolina, UVA looked impressive and they had a real shot to win in Raleigh.

They did not win, though, despite putting up over 500 yards of offense. Crucial red zone mistakes killed any momentum this team had, and they dropped to 1-1. While the schedule is still favorable and the game against the Wolfpack did not count in the conference standings, it felt like a missed opportunity.

Now Virginia turns their focus towards an in-state FCS opponent William & Mary.

Elliot believes this game holds a lot of value

Aug 30, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott looks on from the field prior to the game against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Under the ACC's adjusted revenue sharing, TV ratings are a big deal for every program and naturally, games against FCS teams and group of five teams are generally not going to draw a big audience. Teams like Virginia Tech have canceled upcoming games against Old Dominion in an effort to find other opponents to play, and Georgia Tech has scheduled future games against SEC opponents Tennessee and Alabama.

While the focus has shifted to getting games that draw big audiences, UVA head coach Tony Elliott still believes that games against in-state opponents like William & Mary still have a lot of value for both programs:

"I think it's important for the game of football. I think it's important for the state of Virginia from the standpoint that there are a lot of high school players in the state of Virginia who wanna play. And this gives an opportunity for both programs to have exposure. And they got, let me see, what did I count? Four Power Four players. players on their defense, right? One from here, shout out to Aiden Ryan.

So they got four power four players on their roster. They had several players from the last time that we played them that were able to transfer us. So I think it's great for the state, for the bigger schools to play, some of the smaller schools to give them a venue to play on this stage, to get the exposure so that, cause every kid wants to play Power Four, but there's not enough spots for every kid that's getting recruited to play at the Power Four or maybe they got to develop a little bit more. It's a great opportunity for them to see, hey, I can go to William & Mary, I can go to these smaller schools and develop and then have an opportunity to compete against the higher level and then possibly maybe elevate my status over time. I think it's just good for football.

I think it's good for the state when you play these games."

Virginia has more games like these on future schedules.

Next season they face Norfolk State, they play William & Mary again in 2027, and have games against Old Dominion, Richmond, and VMI down the line. With conferences shaking up their scheduling models, it will be interesting to see if these games stay on the future slates.

Virginia will face William & Mary this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.