Tony Elliott is not trying to make Virginia’s next step feel complicated.
After a 2025 season that ended with an 11-win school record, a major bowl victory over an SEC opponent and a run that left the Cavaliers just a few plays shy of the College Football Playoff, Elliott has settled on a new simple message for 2026: “A-B-C-1-2-3.”
Last year, Virginia’s rallying cry was TLC to CLT - shorthand for “team, leadership and commitment will bring the Cavaliers to Charlotte for the ACC Championship game.” This time, Elliott says the emphasis is on keeping the program grounded while chasing something the school has only done twice.
“And this year, strategically, it started with ABC,” Elliott said on the MacLain and Gramlich Show. “Keep it simple, right?
We're not reinventing the wheel because of what happened last season. We're actually doubling down on just the simple things, and then it's A-B-C-1-2-3, and I know it sounds corny, but there's only been two ACC championships in school history, and that's what the 1-2-3 is for.
We want to be the third, right?
Virginia came painfully close to that third ACC title last season, then fell to underdog Duke in overtime at Bank of America Stadium. More than 50 players on the current roster were there that night, watching another team celebrate.
That memory is part of why Elliott believes this group is hungry.
“But in order to do that, we have to keep it simple, right?” Elliott said.
“We have to stay humble. We got to focus on the little things, because that's what produces success.
And really, last year was the product of work put in two years before.”
Elliott also pointed to the grind that shaped the program in 2023 and 2024, when his teams kept improving while navigating a difficult schedule. He noted that since the ACC’s latest expansion, the league has developed a wider gap between what qualifies as an “easy schedule” and a “hard schedule.”
Virginia’s slate this season is lighter than some around the league. The Cavaliers are scheduled to face only two teams expected to finish in the top half of the ACC - SMU and Cal - while Virginia Tech is set to play all of those teams except Louisville, including Miami, SMU, Virginia, Clemson, Cal, Pitt and Georgia Tech.
Still, Elliott isn’t interested in treating the schedule as anything more than a schedule. Once kickoff arrives, he knows the ACC can flip fast.
For him, the bigger issue is the program’s identity.
“I think it just starts with what is our approach, and so so for us, it's the why of the program, and and the why of the program is to help build champion men,” Elliott said. “It’s the pursuit of each one of us chasing excellence in everything that we do, and so with that, there's an expectation for the success to come, but then there's also a humility to know that you're not entitled to it. It has to be earned.”
In Other News...
Virginia Opener Could Feature A New Safety Look Fans Notice
Virginia football could soon look a little different on Saturdays, with the NCAA clearing the way for padded helmet attachments to be worn in games beginning in the 2026-27 season. The change applies to covers such as the Guardian Cap and SAFR Helmet Cover, which are designed to reduce head injuries and must be matched to a teams helmet color and design, making them less of a novelty and more of a possible part of the uniform.
At Virginia, Tony Elliott said any in-game use would be handled with health and comfort in mind, with the program leaning on its medical staff before leaving the final choice in a players hands. For a team always balancing appearance, safety and performance, it is the sort of small but noticeable shift fans could spot right away when the Cavaliers take the field. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia May Have One Answer For NC States Biggest Threat
Kam Robinson is trending toward being available for Virginia when the Cavaliers open the season in a rematch with N.C. State, a welcome development after the linebacker worked his way back from a torn ACL. Even if he is not ready for a full workload, his return gives the defense an athletic presence it can trust in a game that figures to demand discipline, speed and a lot of attention on the back end.
Robinsons value may be as much about matchups as volume, especially if Virginia wants someone who can help account for quarterback C.J. Bailey. The Cavaliers could lean on him in third-down and run-pass-option looks, using his quickness and past defensive versatility to help limit the kind of plays that can stretch a defense horizontally and force it into tough decisions. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Faces An Early ACC Test That Should Reveal Plenty
Virginias ACC opener arrives with a little extra intrigue after the game was shifted from Brazil back to Charlottesville, where the Cavaliers get an early chance to measure themselves against a familiar league foe. Virginia enters with one of the leagues more seasoned groups and a roster built around a heavy amount of returning experience, while NC State comes in with a different kind of foundation, leaning on quarterback CJ Bailey even after losing more of its proven pieces elsewhere.
Both teams were pegged in the middle of the preseason ACC discussion, which makes this the kind of September game that can quickly sharpen the picture for both sides. The series history adds another layer, too, since NC State has handled Virginia in recent years and has made a habit of leaving Charlottesville with a win, giving the Cavaliers a chance to see whether this version of the matchup finally changes the script. [Read more 🡒]