Important Notes and Quotes from Tony Elliott After Ugly Loss at Wake Forest

Virginia fell 51-7 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Oct 31, 2026; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott on the sideline during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Virginia Coach Tony Elliott has had to answer some difficult questions this year.

They came after a 38-7 loss at Florida State. They came after a 19-16 loss against Duke. Even more came tonight after a historic 51-7 drubbing at Wake Forest. When asked about the status of his starting quarterback, he responded with a simple yet telling phrase:

"Everything's got to be evaluated."

Here are the most important takeaways from Elliott's postgame press conference.

Beau Pribula vs Eli Holstein

Elliott claims he thought Pribula was throwing the ball well. He said the same of Holstein.

"I think they were prepared and they did their job for the most part," Elliott said. "Where we got to do is we got to coach better to help the supporting cast, be able to bring it all together from that standpoint so it's not all on the shoulders of one man."

"Everything is going to be evaluated these next two weeks, as we go forward to try and put together the best opportunity to be able to win a football game down the stretch," Elliott said.

How to address a rare defensive meltdown

Virginia allowed 50 points for the first time since the 2023 finale. Wake Forest scored on every possession until late in the fourth quarter. Some of the defense's struggles, Elliott said, were due to allowing Wake Forest to extend plays.

"We got to coach better on some calls, because I thought we had some good calls in certain situations," Elliott said. "We got to coach the the young men to play those calls a little bit better than I think could have helped us in certain situations."

Where does Virginia go from here?

"At the end of the day, we acknowledge that we're a better football team than what our [4-5] record reflects," Elliott said." I don't think anybody in that locker room at the beginning of the season thought that we'd be in this situation, right? But we are, right?

The Cavaliers now enter a bye week before hosting California and North Carolina, then ending the regular season at Virginia Tech. Virginia must win two of those final three games to secure bowl eligibility.

"These choices that we made have gotten us to where we are, and so then, what's going to get us out are the choices we [make], going forward," Elliott said. "And it starts with how we clean that locker room up."