Virginia Football Receives First Win Total Projection For 2026

The Virginia Cavaliers made significant moves in the transfer portal during the offseason, bringing in prolific players like Beau Pribula, Peyton Lewis and Jekail Middlebrook, among a surplus of other notable athletes. Each addition is expected to bring immense talent and skill to the field, which should help propel the Cavaliers forward in their upcoming campaign.

FanDuel's Projection for 2025-26

Virginia Cavaliers Maddox Marcellusrunning and celebrating. — Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Maddox Marcellus | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Virginia holds a win total of 7.5. Outside of UVA, here's how things are looking for the rest of the ACC:

1. Miami Hurricanes: 10.5
2. SMU Mustangs: 8.5
3. Clemson Tigers: 7.5
4. Louisville Cardinals: 7.5
5. Pittsburgh Panthers: 7.5
6. Virginia Cavaliers 7.5
7. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: 6.5
8. NC State Wolfpack: 6.5
9. Florida State Seminoles: 6.5
10. California Golden Bears: 6.5
11. Virginia Tech Hokies: 6.5
12. Duke Blue Devils: 5.5
13. Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 5.5
14. North Carolina Tar Heels: 4.5
15. Syracuse Orange: 4.5
16. Stanford Cardinal: 3.5
17. Boston College Eagles: 3.5

Notable Transfers Bring Help to UVA

Virginia Cavaliers Will Bettridge running to kick a football — Virginia Cavaliers kicker Will Bettridge | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Hope is held high for the Cavaliers as they enter this next chapter. Head coach Tony Elliott wrapped up a phenomenal 2025 season, and he navigated the transfer portal in such a way that the Hoos should be able to find themselves back in the ACC Championship Game.

Virginia lost a handful of reliable players, including Daniel Kaelin, Trell Harris, J'Mari Taylor and Ja'son Prevard. But as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. With that, Elliott was able to welcome aboard some critical players who should thrive with UVA.

Most notably, Missouri transfer Beau Pribula was the key acquisition here. During his 2025 campaign with the Tigers, he completed 182 of 270 passes for 1,941 yards at 67.4% with 11 touchdowns. With former starter Chandler Morris off the table right now, adding Pribula to the mix was the best-case scenario for the program. Not to mention, Elliott also pulled quarterback Eli Holstein out of the portal.

During Holstein's latest campaign with the Panthers, he completed 77 of 125 passes for 1,081 yards at 61.6%, logging 12 touchdowns along the way. Between these two powerhouse signal callers, the Cavaliers are undeniably in good shape heading into this next season.

While they certainly aren't expected to lead the ACC, as evidenced by their win projection, the Hoos have surprised fans before.

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