National media discovered Virginia is no one-year wonder

It's not quite a bandwagon — at least not yet — but Virginia football is suddenly a hot topic among national media analysts. And if the Cavaliers' profile were a stock, a lot of talking heads would be buying.

"They probably were the most disrespected team this offseason," former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell said on Sunday's On3 Podcast, a day after the Cavaliers routed NC State 34-8 in their season opener.

"Just forgotten about, written off. Only got one vote to be in the Top 25. That is incredibly disrespectful. And I think Virginia absolutely just announced themselves on the scene as a very real player in the ACC race this year."

Overreaction is a staple of early-season analysis, and it tends to swing both ways.

It didn't hurt the Cavaliers' cause that they didn't face a lot of competition on Saturday — either on the field or in the media. They played on national TV, in the prime 3:30 p.m. time slot, in the only intraconference game between two Power Four schools.

So a lot of eyes were on them as they dominated a team that had beaten them a year ago, stifling a quarterback (CJ Bailey) who had previously given them fits.

So perhaps it wasn't surprising that — with the possible exception of North Carolina reviving Bill Belichick's job security by beating TCU in an ugly affair in Dublin — Virginia was a focal point of the week zero conversation.

Despite winning a school-record games and the ACC regular-season title in 2025, the Cavaliers were a preseason afterthought. They were picked to finish sixth in the ACC and were unranked in both major preseason national polls, getting one 25th-place vote in the 69-person Associated Press panel.

Saturday's result seems to have changed the narrative — and forced a few talking heads to do some public penance.

"Absolutely pulverized them," said Pat Forde, sporting a Virginia cap on Sports Illustrated's weekly 'Also Receiving Votes' podcast. "Pretty big makeover from last year for the Cavaliers after they won 11 games, and a lot of people said, ‘Well, they’ll never do that again.’"

"And then they just come out and poleax North Carolina State. Physical offensive line, Beau Pribula looking great as a dual-threat quarterback... Did we severely underestimate Virginia’s ability to come back with another big season?"

Time will tell, but the Cavaliers seem to have converted a lot more believers, especially after Pribula ran for 110 yards and threw two touchdown passes in his Virginia debut while a deep defense held Bailey to a career-low 84 yards passing and forced two turnovers.

"Hope you bought your Beau Pribula stock, or maybe you've been holding onto it since his days at Penn State," wrote CBS Sports' Cody Nagel. "The Virginia transfer put together a sensational debut in Charlottesville."

Pribula is one of 31 grad students on the nation's most experienced roster, which entered Saturday's game with an FBS-high 48,313 snaps returning from last season. A few analysts have begun noticing that Tony Elliott's recipe looks a lot like the one Curt Cignetti used to lead Indiana to an unbeaten run to the 2025 national title.

"If you want to find someone that fits the Indiana template, not necessarily 100%, but in a lot of ways, it’s Virginia. Historical loser. Has never really been good at football," Forde said, obviously forgetting that George Welsh led the Cavaliers to a No. 1 ranking in 1990 and 16 winning seasons in his 19-year tenure. "Probably more of a basketball school."

"Last year, break through, have a great season, win 11 games for the first time in school hstory. Everybody says it’s a fluke, they’ll never do it again. Just like Indiana won 11 games for the first time in school history in 2024, they come back this year with a very experienced team … I’m not saying they’re going 16-0. I’m not saying they’re gonna win the ACC, but some interesting similarities there."

Even the most delusional Cavalier fans aren't envisioning 16-0, and a lot could go wrong in the next 13 weeks, but the team's experience and forgiving schedule have fostered optimism not seen since Welsh's heyday in the early '90s. Getting back to the ACC championship game and contending for an FBS playoff spot are no longer pipe dreams.

But the national praise still comes with a caveat. Virginia didn't get quite as much attention for its efficiency as NC State got blame for its struggles. SI's Kevin Sweeney praised the Cavaliers but spent more time dwelling on the Wolfpack's ineptitude (much of which was caused by Virginia).

And many pundits are calling for NC State to end Dave Doeren's 14-year tenure as head coach, now declaring him on the same hot seat Elliott faced a year ago.

Of course, fame is fleeting A single misstep against West Virginia or Syracuse could mean the Cavaliers revert to national anonymity. And to be fair, not everyone is willing to anoint the Cavaliers as this season's Hoosiers — at least not yet.

"Virginia brings a lot of Indiana vibes into 2026, but I doubt second-tier ACC budgets are enough to win national championships," The Athletic's Ralph Russo wrote. "Maybe Virginia is the Next Indiana Lite."

That's still a compliment.

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