Virginia heads to Texas this weekend with a little history, a ranked opponent and a long road streak all colliding at once.
Saturday’s trip to face No. 24 SMU is just the second meeting between the Cavaliers and Mustangs. The only previous matchup came in 2024, when 13th-ranked SMU rolled to a 33-7 win at Scott Stadium.
It also sends Virginia back to Texas for the first time since 2012, when the Cavaliers lost 27-7 at TCU. Those are far from UVA’s only Lone Star State memories, though. The program has also played at Texas twice in Austin, falling 68-0 in 1977 and 17-16 in 1995.
For Virginia, SMU is the first ranked opponent on the 2026 schedule and the first since the Cavaliers faced then-No. 25 Missouri in the 2025 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Another ranked road test is already waiting later this month, with newly-ranked Wake Forest set for Oct. 31.
The Demon Deacons debuted in the AP poll this week at No. 21.
The Cavaliers have had some success against ranked teams under Tony Elliott, though the road remains a brutal place to try to cash in. Two of UVA’s five road wins over ranked opponents since 2000 came with Elliott as head coach - at No.
10 North Carolina in 2023 and at No. 23 Pitt in 2024.
Even so, Virginia is just 14-76-1 all-time on the road against ranked foes.
There is recent evidence that the Cavaliers can rise to the moment. Virginia has won three of its last five games against ranked opponents, including both games against AP Top 25 teams in 2025: No.
8 FSU and No. 25 Missouri.
Saturday also brings an unusual kickoff time for this stretch of the schedule. Virginia will play at noon ET for the first time since Oct. 25, 2025, at North Carolina.
Dating back to last season, the Cavaliers have gone 12 straight games with a start time of 3:30 p.m. ET or later, and eight of those came after 6 p.m.
ET.
Both UVA and SMU enter the weekend among nine ACC teams with only one conference loss.
And beyond the league picture, this is one of nine Week 7 games pairing two Power 4 teams that each have at least four wins.
Through six games, Virginia has protected the ball better than almost anyone in the conference. The Cavaliers have turned it over only twice - one fumble and one interception - which is tied for the fewest in the ACC. They are also one of just 11 teams nationally with two or fewer turnovers, and their 1.0 average turnover margin is the best in the ACC.
In Other News...
Virginia Just Got The Kind Of ACC Hype Fans Crave
Virginia is entering the season with an unusual kind of buzz for a program that tends to let February do most of the talking. Forward Thijs De Ridder was picked as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year, and the Cavaliers landed second in the league's preseason standings behind Duke, with Louisville, Miami and North Carolina rounding out the top five. It is the kind of early conference respect that can turn a quiet October into a much louder winter in Charlottesville.
The recognition does not stop there, either, because point guard Chance Mallory also earned preseason All-ACC second-team honors. For Virginia, the combination of De Ridder's headline status and Mallory's inclusion gives the roster a little more sizzle before the games count, even if the real test will come once the league's favorite, and the teams chasing it, start sorting themselves out on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Defense Faces One Fixable Problem Before ACC Play Gets Ugly
Virginias defense has been uneven enough early in 2026 that the issue feels less structural than basic, which is often a better sign for a staff trying to clean things up before ACC play sharpens the edges. Missed tackles have piled up, and the secondary has had trouble holding up in one-on-one coverage, with Jacobie Henderson and Ethan Minter among the defensive backs finding those matchups tougher than the Cavaliers would like.
There is still a path to a steadier unit, though, if the tackling gets tighter and the pass rush starts turning pressure into sacks instead of just forcing hurried throws. Health matters here too, especially with Omillio Agard and Jason Hammond unavailable, because Virginia needs more bodies to make the back end less exposed and give the defense a chance to settle in before the conference schedule starts asking harder questions. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Faces A Brutal Early ACC Test In Dallas
Virginias trip to Dallas arrives with a familiar kind of early-season tension: a conference road test against a program that has quickly made itself uncomfortable to visit. SMU has become one of the ACCs tougher away assignments, and Virginia is heading into its first game in Dallas with only a handful of previous trips to Texas on its rsum, which gives this matchup a little extra weight beyond the standings.
The Cavaliers also have to navigate an SMU offense built around senior quarterback Kevin Jennings and senior running back Kendrick Raphael, two experienced pieces that have helped set the tone for the Mustangs since their arrival in the league. For Virginia, the bigger concern is not just the opponent in front of it, but the timing of the test, with a road atmosphere and a new setting combining to make this one of the more revealing games on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]