Grading every position group from Virginia's loss at Florida State

A devastating 38-7 smackdown at Florida State. The biggest walloping suffered by Virginia since the 2023 season. Questions and doubt continue to rise around the future of these 2026 Cavaliers.

For now, answers are few and far between, particularly as struggles infested the full starting lineup. Here are position grades for Virginia in its defeat:

Quarterback: C-

As a runner, Beau Pribula would deserve an F-. As a passer, it is hard to blame Pribula for more than a handful of missed throws. He suffered from six drops by his teammates, and heinously awful play from his offensive line. Poor play calls also should be noted. The quarterback play was not anywhere near the top of the list of Virginia's fatal flaws Saturday.

Running backs: D+

The running backs averaged just shy of four yards a carry — unideal, but not catastrophic. Jekail Middlebrook had a decent outing with 10 carries for 65 yards (although he dropped what would have been a big touchdown pass). On another front, pass protection was dismal from this group.

Wide receivers: D+

Drops, drops and more drops. The Cavaliers did record 10 first downs through the air, but no player had more than 41 receiving yards. Blocking was also terrible.

Tight ends: F-

Once again, the tight ends provided very little in the passing game. The only contribution was two catches for 22 yards by John Rogers. But that's not why this grade is so low. This grade is a mediocre one because the Cavalier tight ends lost their reps in pass protection and run blocking, more so than they have in over a year.

Offensive line: F--

"Worst performance in over a year" also applies to this offensive line. A unit that features five graduate players (all of whom are regarded as elite) simply looked outmatched physically. This was the ugliest performance by any offensive line in the country this week. Maybe the ugliest. Virginia allowed 10 sacks — it gave up just 18 all of last season.

Defensive line: D-

The defensive line generated three sacks. That is the sole reason this grade is not an F-. Time and time again, the Cavaliers were completely mauled in the trenches.

Linebackers: F

Missed tackles. Missed tackles. More missed tackles. That summarizes how Saturday went for Virginia's linebackers. Sixteen tackles (one TFL) and one quarterback hit seem solid, but there were far too many missed tackles to count.

Defensive backs: C-

Florida State only threw for 183 yards. If someone saw that before the game, they would assume Virginia shut down Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels. Wrong. Daniels ran all over this defense (as did Ousmane Kromah and Quintrevion Wisner), and the Cavaliers defensive backs missed several tackles. However, an interception from Corey Costner raises this grade. The cornerbacks and safeties were decent aside from a putrid performance from safety Ethan Minter.

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