Virginia didn’t just beat NC State on Saturday. The Cavaliers made the Wolfpack offense look stuck in mud from the opening whistle, and the numbers told the story fast.
CJ Bailey came away calling it “bad luck,” but Virginia spent 60 minutes looking a lot more like the reason behind NC State’s misery. The Cavaliers rolled to a 34-8 win and limited Bailey to a career-low 84 passing yards while forcing two turnovers and collecting two sacks.
For Virginia, it started with disruption at the line and ended with a defense that never let NC State settle in.
“Collective effort by all three levels of the defense,” Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott said, “and also depth, preparation, guys communicating, being in the right spot and taking advantage of turnovers.”
The first big swing came early. Fisher Camac, listed at 6-foot-7, got a hand on a Bailey throw in the first quarter, and safety Brandyn Hillman dove for the interception at the Wolfpack 32. Four plays later, Xavier Brown powered in from a yard out to push Virginia ahead 10-0.
“Any time you can get your hands in the throwing lanes, that's as effective as getting to the quarterback,” Elliott said.
Hillman was back in the middle of things just before halftime, stripping the ball from Bailey’s right arm after the quarterback scrambled inside the Virginia 10. That ended NC State’s only real first-half threat.
“The defense came out and played with our hair on fire the first couple of drives,” Hillman said.
The Cavaliers’ front and secondary worked in tandem all afternoon. A year after giving up 214 rushing yards in a 35-31 loss to NC State in Raleigh, Virginia held the Wolfpack to 76 net rushing yards on Saturday. That helped force Bailey into passing situations Virginia could manage, especially with its veteran defensive backs waiting on the back end.
Virginia’s offense helped too, and Elliott was quick to point that out. The Cavaliers controlled the ball for 38 minutes, including a school-record 23-play touchdown drive that kept NC State on the sideline for more than 12 minutes.
“The defense wasn't on the field as long, so we could start rolling guys and keep fresh legs on the field,” Elliott said.
The performance was even more notable because Virginia did it without its top defensive player on the field. Preseason all-ACC linebacker Kam Robinson watched from the sideline while continuing to rehab a torn ACL suffered against Duke last November. Elliott said Robinson has made strong progress, but he didn’t sound convinced the linebacker was fully ready yet.
Even so, the Cavaliers didn’t blink. Junior linebacker Myles Brown stepped into the extra snaps and finished with a team-high eight solo tackles.
Virginia has now played four games since Robinson’s injury. In three of them - wins over Virginia Tech, Missouri in the Gator Bowl, and NC State - the Cavaliers have held the opponent to one touchdown.
“K-Rob is a beast,” Camac said. “He's one of the best players in the country.
But one of the things Coach E talks about a lot is competitive depth. There shouldn't be any dropoff [when] you got to 1, 2, 3s.
That's one thing we harp on is we go deep. We have a lot of guys, and anyone we put in can go and make a play.”
Maybe that’s why Virginia’s defense looked so dominant. And maybe why Bailey’s “bad luck” explanation didn’t quite hold up.
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Week 0 gave Virginia plenty to feel good about, and the Cavaliers made a clean early statement in their 34-8 win over NC State. The offense moved the ball with purpose, the defense kept the Wolfpack from ever finding a rhythm, and the opener had the kind of shape every team wants in late August when everyone is trying to figure out what is real and what is just opening-night noise.
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Virginias win over NC State had the feel of a checkpoint as much as a celebration, the kind of result that can change the way a season is viewed in Charlottesville. A 34-8 finish, paired with a strong showing on both sides of the ball, gave the Cavaliers their first home victory over the Wolfpack since 2006 and offered a convincing reminder that this team may be more than just a pleasant story early in the year.
Beau Pribula was right in the middle of it, piling up yards with his legs and arm while helping steady an offense that looked in control for much of the night. With the defense matching that energy, Virginia suddenly has something it has been missing in recent seasons: a believable path toward competing in the ACC race, and perhaps even a larger postseason conversation if this level of play holds up. [Read more 🡒]
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Week 0 gave Virginia a useful early snapshot of where it stands under Tony Elliott, and the opener against NC State was as encouraging as the Cavaliers could have hoped for. Virginia came out of the gate with authority, looking organized and sharp in a game that quickly separated it from some of the more uneven performances around the country, including close calls and shaky showings elsewhere on the opening weekend.
Elsewhere in the ACC and beyond, the early season also offered a reminder that first impressions can matter a great deal, especially for programs trying to reset their tone. Memphis, with Charles Huff in charge, gave its fans reasons to buy in right away with a promising debut, and Virginia will know that the next step is turning one strong start into something more durable once the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]