Virginia Football: Official Record Predictions For The 2025 Season

What will be the final record for Virginia Football for the 2025 season?

Sep 14, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott encourages his team during a change of possession against the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

It is officially game week for Virginia Football.

The Cavaliers have had a busy offseason that included 30+ players being brought in through the transfer portal, have coaching staff continuity, and as favorable of a schedule as there is in the country. Can head coach Tony Elliott parlay that into a bowl appearance for the first time since he took over as the head coach?

Official Record Predictions

Oct 12, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers running back Xavier Brown (0) carries the ball to score a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

With the season beginning on Saturday, it is the last chance to get any official predictions in. Myself and editor Aidan Baller picked each game and how we thought the season would play out:

Aidan

Coastal Carolina- W

NC State- L

William & Mary- W

Stanford- W

Florida State- W

Louisville- L

Washington State- W

North Carolina- W

California- W

Wake Forest- W

Duke- L

Virginia Tech- W

Final Record: 8-4

Jackson

Coastal Carolina- W

NC State- L

William & Mary- W

Stanford- W

Florida State- L

Louisville- L

Washington State- W

North Carolina- L

California- W

Wake Forest- W

Duke- L

Virginia Tech- W

Final Record: 7-5

Is this record good enough?

Nov 23, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott (center) looks on from the field during a stoppage in play in the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Elliott enters the year on the hot seat and likely needs to make a bowl game if he wants to keep coaching Virginia. If we are right, this would be viewed as a successful season without question.

Because Elliott has not made a bowl game in his three seasons as the head coach, he is being placed on the hot seat entering the season. In a recent column about hot-seat coaches, college football insider Bruce Feldman wrote that Elliott's seat is very warm entering the 2025 season:

"He had a terrific run as a Clemson assistant, helping his alma mater become a powerhouse, but in his three seasons at Virginia, Elliott has been underwhelming with an 11-23 overall record and just 6-17 in the ACC. He is coming off his best year, going 5-7 with an upset over then-No. 18 Pitt on the road. Unfortunately, that was sandwiched between two three-game losing streaks.

This should be Elliott’s most talented team and the schedule looks favorable. A 3-1 start seems realistic, and the Cavaliers have very winnable games against Washington State, Cal and Wake Forest in the second half of the season. Getting to a bowl might be enough to buy Elliott more time. Short of that, with a buyout under $5 million, UVA might be ready for a change."

Temperature check: Very warm.

Schedule offers a chance for Elliott

Nov 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott reacts on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

There might not be a team in the power four conferences that has an easier schedule than Virginia and it is the top reason to be optimistic about the Cavaliers season.

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."

Even if Virginia does not make massive improvements on the field, the schedule affords them plenty of opportunity to make a run to a bowl game. Is that enough to move Elliott off the hot seat?