What did we learn from Virginia's loss to West Virginia?

Most teams are not as good as they look when they win, or as bad as they look when they lose. The reality is somewhere in between.

After projecting a veneer of dominance in blowing out NC State and Norfolk State, Virginia stumbled for the first time this season Saturday night in Charlotte. A 38-27 setback exposed several vulnerabilities that need to be remedied if the Cavaliers hope to rebound and contend for a second straight ACC regular-season title.

It's been said that coaches learn more about their teams in defeat (and how they handle them) than in victory. So Tony Elliott and his staff had plenty to address as the Cavaliers prepare to host Delaware this Saturday. Elliott claimed on Tuesday that he couldn't eat or sleep on Saturday night.

The still-evolving story of Virginia's 2026 season will hinge on how the team responds to adversity. Regardless, here are four things we learned about the Cavaliers on Saturday night:

1. Defense is vulnerable to chunk plays

Through two games, Virginia's defense hadn't allowed a run longer than 13 yards, and only two pass plays of over 20 yards — and only one total touchdown. It was a totally different story against WVU.

On their second possession of the night, the Mountaineers ripped off runs of 23, 17 and 13 yards to take a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. also had a 21-yard carry and completed passes of 42, 38, 29 (twice), 21 and 17 yards. There was also a third-down 15-yard pass interference call against Omillo Agard that gave WVU new life on its first scoring drive.

"The first seven plays on defense, man, we were swarming, we were everywhere we needed to be," Elliott said Tuesday. "And then we gave up a pass interference call. That creates a 15 yard explosive play, right? And then now we let him score and then there's other pictures where man, we're playing good ball and then we hit the back in the backfield and we don't wrap up and then now it's an explosive play."

It didn't help that standout safety Brandyn Hillman played sparingly after having a tooth extracted during the week. But with Delaware's potent passing game coming to town this Saturday, the Cavaliers need to avoid a repeat of last week's performance.

2. Depth is good, but there's a dropoff

As mentioned, the Cavaliers clearly missed having Hillman on the field for the entire game, with Montino Williams filling in. The offensive line also struggled after preseason all-ACC guard Noah Josey left with an ankle injury, allowing three sacks of Beau Pribula on the night.

Elliott focused on adding depth to his roster in the offseason, and the Cavaliers have multiple candidates at nearly every position. But there's a reason why Hillman and Josey are team leaders, and athletic teams like WVU can find ways to exploit their absence.

3. Opponents will dare Beau Pribula to pass

Virginia rolled up 157 rushing yards against the Mountaineers, but nearly a quarter of that total (39 yards) came on the Cavaliers' first drive, which ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by Jekail Middlebrook.

After that, WVU sold out more against the run, daring Beau Pribula to beat them with his arm. He threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns (including a cosmetic score with 21 seconds left), but suffered three sacks and four hurries.

Rico Flores caught one 26-yard pass in his Virginia debut after missing two games with hamstring issues. But unless he regains full health and makes a big difference, the receiving group may not overwhelm anyone, and opponents will take their chances on stuffing the run and taking their chances on pass defense.

4. Losses don't sit with this team

It didn't affect the final score, but a late eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive showed there's no quit in the Cavaliers. This is a different team from 2025, but that possession may turn out to be psychologically important as Virginia hopes to reprise its reaction last year's response to an early loss with a seven-game win streak.

On Tuesday, Elliott said he liked his veteran team's reaction to the loss.

"There's no sad shoulders," he said. "People aren't sitting low in their chair, man, they're up there attentive. And then when you get out to practice, man, guys are flying around. So definitely seeing the response that you wanna see. ... There's an expectation, we've created that. Now, the problem is we gotta feed that monster. We gotta keep it going. And the way that we do that is to take ownership, don't make excuses, right? Tip your hat to your opponent for making the plays and then going back to work."

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