Where Will Virginia Be Ranked In The College Football Playoff Rankings Tonight?

Virginia is coming off a tough loss to Wake Forest on Saturday night in a 16-9 defeat. The Cavaliers didn’t give up an offensive touchdown last week, but couldn’t put the ball into the endzone. I think one of the biggest questions is how much the committee will take into consideration the Cavaliers losing their starting quarterback, Chandler Morris, who had a big impact in their offensive performance and only scored nine points. Morris has been a huge part of the success for the Cavaliers this season and has led a well-balanced attack in 2025.

Virginia had its highest ranking ever in the College Football Playoff Rankings last week, debuting at No. 14 in the newest poll. How much will they fall this week?

A deeper dive

The ACC didn’t get the benefit of the doubt in the latest poll, and although they had several teams ranked, no single team cracked the top 12, which is concerning. After unranked California knocked off Louisville and unranked Wake Forest finished off Virginia, the ACC is wide open with only a few weeks remaining in the season. The hope is that Virginia can crack the top 20 and finish its final two games of the regular season off the right way against Duke and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers still have a chance to make it to the ACC title game with only one loss, but they have to make sure they don’t lose another game this season. The committee will give us a good look at where they rank the Cavaliers with two losses and one in conference play.

Big Emphasis This Week

Virginia struggled with ball security last week, having its highest turnover output all season. The Cavaliers coughed up the ball three times in the loss and couldn’t put up the points to win the game. Their focus will be on taking care of the ball and using their stout defense to come out with a win over Duke.

“It was pivotal. I think they got six points off the fumbles, right? So six points off the fumbles, and seven points off a punt return, so special teams and ball security. We've been preaching it. Sometimes we have to learn. I think these guys got an opportunity to learn. I don't think anybody was trying to put the ball on the ground. You know, the ball got knocked out of, out of Danny's hands, but he's getting ready to pass, and, you know, he's going to get blamed for that,” said head coach Tony Elliot.

“But we've got to strain a little bit harder to make sure that the protection is cleaner so he can get that ball off. And then man J’mari, he's fighting, and a guy made a heck of a play. He's going down to the ground, you know? So we got to go back to work, and now, you know, where we are late in the season, when we do our drill work, man, we just got to be intentional with everything that we're doing. Uncharacteristic for us to put the ball on the ground and not get any turnovers.”

More Virginia Football News:

•No. 20 Virginia Opens As A Near Touchdown Underdog In Week 12 Matchup vs Duke

•Virginia Falls Eight Spots In The Latest AP Poll Rankings

•The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly From Virginia's 16-9 Loss vs Wake Forest

•PFF Grades and Snap Counts From Virginia's Loss To Wake Forest