Virginia Football Opens As Big Underdog Against No. 17 Wake Forest

Virginia is coming off a week eight loss to Duke and now must face Wake Forest on the road

Oct 23, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Beau Pribula (7) runs with the ball as Duke Blue Devils linebacker Kendall Johnson (42) defends during the second half at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Virginia Cavaliers had plenty of opportunities to get a win at home against Duke in an ACC Championship rematch, but they could not cash in on those opportunities and lost at home to the Blue Devils. UVA is now 4-3 this season, and it is not a guarantee that they are going to be heading to a bowl game this postseason.

Things are not going to get easier this week and now UVA has to travel to Wake Forest, which is playing as well as any team in the conference not named Miami. The Demon Deacons have won three straight conference games by at least 24 points and look like a genuine contender for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

For the game next weekend, Virginia is opening as a 13.5-point favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook, and the over/under opened at 49.5.

Can UVA get an upset win?

Oct 23, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott looks on from the sidelines against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Given the way that both teams are playing, it would be a bit of a surprise to see the Cavaliers go on the road and get a win, but it is the ACC, and stranger things have happened.

For that to happen, UVA is going to have to play much better than they have been. In three of their past four games, they have failed to score more than 16 points on offense and that is not going to cut it against a team playing as well on offense as Wake.

Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez is playing as well as any quarterback in the ACC (maybe the country for that matter) and wide receiver Carolos Hernandez is going to be a tough cover for this UVA secondary that is down some key players.

If this game gets into a shootout, it is hard to see a path where Virginia is going to be able to win. Quarterback Beau Pribula is not playing well, the offenisve line is having all kinds of trouble, and the receivers are a non-factor.

Is it possible that Virginia opts to make a quarterback change for this game? After the loss to Duke, Tony Elliott says that there is more to it than that and that everyone has to play better, not just Pribula:

"We'll review him, all right," Elliott said. "But five sacks...we're putting that on the quarterback? And the guy's running with the ball and trying to get more yards. Now, ball security got to improve. And then you teach the quarterback, you die with the ball game on fourth down and protection breaks down. So we're going to evaluate the film just like we always do. But I'm not going to sit here and say that it's the it's the quarterback's. [We] got a lot of things to to improve all the way all the way around."

This is going to be a tough test for this team. Kickoff is set for 3:45 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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