Wake Forest Football Opponent Preview: Virginia Cavaliers
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It's put-up or shut-up time for head coach Tony Elliott and the Virginia Cavaliers. Entering Year 4, Elliott has yet to produce a six-win season–something UVA was able to do in five straight years prior to his arrival–and neither side of the ball appears to be improving. But Elliott isn't going down quietly, adding a slew of promising transfers on both offense and defense. The Hoos need bowl eligibility, and they might have the schedule to get that done.
Your Wake Forest Demon Deacons visit Charlottesville the second Saturday of November. We'll preview Wake Forest at Virginia when the game gets closer, but right now, let's take a look at the Cavaliers and what we might expect from them this coming fall.
We're nearing kickoff for the 2025 college football season, and that means tune in every week with Wake Forest on SI for an extensive preview on every foe the Demon Deacons will play this season.
2025 Virginia Football At A Glance
- Name: Virginia Cavaliers
- Stadium: Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, VA (capacity: 61,500)
- Head coach: Tony Elliott (4th season)
- Offensive coordinator: Des Kitchings
- Defensive coordinator: John Rudzinski
- 2024 record: 5-7 (3-5 ACC)
Virginia Football In 2024: Progress?
In Year 3 under Tony Elliott, Virginia improved its win total from three to five. The team was favored in five games, up from last year's two (one against an FCS team). So, there was a marginal improvement. But was it enough of an improvement?
Looking at the season-long stats, Virginia really plateaued, finishing 102nd in defensive points per drive (108 in 2023), and the offense regressed to 114th in points per drive (97 in 2023). Elliott's background comes in offense, so this decline was concerning. The Hoos' five wins came against Richmond (FCS), Wake Forest, Coastal Carolina, Boston College, and Pitt (amid a six-game losing streak). The honest truth here is that UVA won five games behind an advantageous schedule, and in all other games against better opponents, it was rarely competitive.
QB Anthony Colandrea had shown gunslinger-like abilities in 2023 and captured the attention of the nation. But when he had the reins to the offense, Colandrea floundered, completing 62% of his passes for just 13 touchdowns against nine interceptions. An absent receiving room didn't help much, and the run game was virtually nonexistent (96th in yards). The offensive line wasn't great, and when faced with a tough offense, the defense was terrible.
So, yes, Virginia improved on its win total and, yes, it was playing for a bowl spot in Week 15 against rival Virginia Tech. But few phases of UVA football actually improved in Year 3 under Elliott, putting him firmly on the hot seat.
Virginia Cavaliers Offense Preview
Out goes Colandrea, and in comes FBS veteran Chandler Morris (Oklahoma, TCU, North Texas). The sixth-year signal caller provides both a higher ceiling and more consistent play for the Hoos offense and is, overall, an upgrade from the previous passers. Likely, Morris is the best QB to suit up for Virginia since Bryce Perkins (2019). To bolster the receiving corps, Elliott landed James Madison transfer Cameron Ross and 6-foot-3 Purdue transfer Jahmal Edrine. Trell Harris is the leading returning receiver with just 15 receptions for 221 yards.
Running back Xavier Harris showed promise in limited action last season, rushing for 6.1 yards per carry. He also exhibited a dual-threat ability out of the backfield, catching nine balls for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Behind him is transfer J'Mari Taylor, who rushed for over 1,800 career yards at NC Central. Veteran Harrison Waylee (Wyoming) is also in the room.
Two starters from last year's offensive line return, and two additional FBS starters transfer in. Center Brady Wilson (UAB) brings 31 starts over five seasons, and Makilan Thomas (Arkansas State) started 35 times in four years. It's an experienced group that combines for 182 career starts that should be one of the more improved fronts in the ACC.
This year, Virginia has some intriguing pieces that bring optimism to a dreadful Hoos scoring unit over the last three years. If the offense doesn't get it done under Morris, there's a more foundational and more significant problem, likely rooted in Elliott's offensive scheme.
Virginia Cavaliers Defense Preview
Virginia's defense started off fine enough, holding five of its first six opponents to less than 30 points (including Louisville to just 24!). But in a stretch that included Clemson, Notre Dame, and SMU, the defense folded, allowing 35+ in four of its final six games. For the last five-plus seasons, UVA's story has been similar – against moderate or worse competition, the defense holds up. (Mostly, it allowed 30 to Wake Forest and 41 to North Carolina.) Against better competition, it gets walked over.
Fortunately for the Hoos, there's not much better competition that's immediately evident on the schedule. There's no Clemson, no SMU, and no Notre Dame. UVA might not face a top-40 offense until October and a top-20 caliber offense all season. But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves.
Eight starters return, including both linebackers in James Jackson and Kam Robinson. Ninety-eight tackles will need to be made up with the departure of top tackler Jonas Sanker, and Louisville/Baylor transfer safety Devin Neal looks to make up a large part of that lost production. Both outside linebackers, Mitchell Melton (Ohio State) and Ja'son Prevard (Morgan State, FCS), are transfers, too.
Rush end Fisher Carmac will be a player to watch for and not one difficult to find – he stands 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds. The UNLV transfer earned All-Mountain West honors thanks to the dual ability to rack up TFLs and, also thanks to his length, knock down passes at the line of scrimmage. Overall, this is a good-sized defense with some potential on paper.
Best Case Scenario For Virginia
"On paper" is really the moniker for Virginia football in 2025. On paper, the upgrade at QB and added playmaking potential at the skill positions–combined with the experience along the offensive line–should make Virginia a decent scoring threat. And on paper, size and explosiveness combined with moderate experience and a manageable schedule should see the Hoos improve significantly on defense.
You can point to five exceedingly winnable games on the schedule and a few more possible wins. A bowl berth is well within reach if Virginia is even an average ACC team, which, on paper, they should be. UVA's three toughest opponents come on the road in NC State, Louisville, and Duke, but those are pretty evenly spaced out.
Should Morris get this offense kickstarted, even if the defense lags behind, Virginia is a threat to a spring a high-scoring upset over teams like Louisville and Duke. It's just a matter of whether Elliott can call the right plays in the right situations to help Morris and this transfer-heavy receiving corps out.
A reasonable ceiling here calls for a 7-5 Virginia Cavaliers team in 2025. A good Morris season combined with an upset or two could even peak at 8-4. But that requires a lot of change from last year and a lot to go right.
Worst Case Scenario For Virginia
There's one very big IF for this season – if Tony Elliott can make it happen. Through three seasons, he hasn't made it happen. It's true that this is the best overall roster Elliott's had in Charlottesville, and the schedule is pretty favorable. But there's been some pretty big dud games from UVA over the last three years: a 27-13 loss to Maryland (2024), a 45-17 blowout loss to Georgia Tech (2023), and a 37-7 no-show against Pitt (2022). That's not to mention consecutive blowout losses to rival Virginia Tech, in which UVA lost a combined 92-34.
So while games against Florida State, Washington State, and Cal all appear to be "manageable," we can't count out a complete stinker of an offensive game plan even under a better quarterback.
The other big issue comes at the line of scrimmage defensively. UVA was pushed around, finishing nearly last in the FBS in line yards gained and havoc caused (turnovers, sacks, TFLs). This was a bad rushing defense, no matter the caliber of offense faced. Carmac is a solid upgrade along the defensive line, but if this defense is to improve by any measure, it cannot get pushed around up front.
Confidence in Elliott is fairly low heading into 2025. But given the schedule, it's just hard to see a full collapse to 3-9. The floor is somewhere between 4-8 and 6-6 – the former likely being enough to find a new coaching staff for 2026. Even a consecutive 5-7 campaign could beckon the winds of change.
2025 Virginia Cavaliers Schedule
Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
Aug. 30 | Coastal Carolina |
Sept. 6 | at NC State |
Sept. 13 | William & Mary (FCS) |
Sept. 20 | Stanford |
Sept. 27 | Florida State |
Oct. 4 | at Louisville |
Oct. 11 | BYE |
Oct. 18 | Washington State |
Oct. 25 | at North Carolina |
Nov. 1 | at Cal |
Nov. 8 | Wake Forest |
Nov. 15 | at Duke |
Nov. 22 | BYE |
Nov. 29 | Virginia Tech |
Wake Forest Opponent Previews
- Week One - Kennesaw State
- Week Three - NC State
- Week Five - Georgia Tech
- Week Six - Virginia Tech
- Week Seven - Oregon State
- Week Nine - SMU
- Week Ten - Florida State
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Brett is the ultimate college football traveler, currently en route to experience a game day at every FBS stadium. He is a former Division I recruiter at Bowling Green and Texas State, and his writing background includes analyzing NCAA betting markets. Also a high school football coach, Brett lives and dies by the gridiron. Follow along on all socials: @ roadtocfb.