Virginia and No. 14 Wake Forest arrive at today’s matchup on very different tracks, and the gap between them has only widened over the last few weeks.
Virginia opened the season looking solid enough, but that changed fast. The loss to West Virginia set off a rough stretch in Charlottesville that included a blowout defeat against Florida State, a close road loss to SMU, and another loss to Duke in a game the Cavaliers seemed to let slip away with missed chance after missed chance.
Wake Forest, meanwhile, has been rolling at the right time. The Demon Deacons are coming out of a bye week after winning their last three ACC games by at least 24 points apiece. They have a clear route ahead to Charlotte and a shot at the ACC Championship, and Virginia is trying to throw that plan off course.
That is a tall order for the Cavaliers, especially with Wake Forest favored heavily and carrying one of the nation’s top offenses. Gio Lopez has been playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and Carlos Hernandez has become one of the ACC’s toughest receivers to handle. With Virginia’s defense banged up, it is hard to see the Cavaliers finding enough answers to keep this one tight.
The expectation here is a lopsided finish, with Wake Forest controlling the game and winning something along the lines of 42-17.
There is also reason to think Virginia quarterback Pribula could at least put up better passing numbers than he has lately. He has been struggling over the past month and has only one game this season with more than 200 passing yards, and that came against Delaware. He has not topped 200 yards against an FBS opponent this year.
Still, a few factors point toward a bigger day through the air. Jekail Middlebrook is out with an injury, Wake Forest’s pass defense has been a bit of a weakness, and Virginia is expected to be chasing the game for most of the afternoon. That combination could force Pribula into more volume than usual.
The ground game, though, looks like a tougher problem. Wake Forest has an underrated defensive front, and Virginia’s identity as a team that wants to run the ball and lean on physicality has not really shown up consistently this season. If the Cavaliers cannot get anything going on the ground, whether from a running back or from Pribula, the offense is likely to stall in familiar fashion.
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Tony Elliott Faces A Virginia Question That Suddenly Feels Urgent
After a 51-7 loss to Wake Forest, Tony Elliott spent his postgame comments trying to steady a Virginia program that suddenly has very little margin left. He addressed the play at quarterback, talked through the defensive problems that helped the game get away, and made clear that the next stretch is about more than one bad afternoon. With California, North Carolina and Virginia Tech still ahead, the Cavaliers are entering a stretch where every detail matters.
Elliott said the staff will spend the next two weeks evaluating everything, from coaching to the choices the team is making on the field, as Virginia tries to turn the page quickly. The urgency is obvious now, because the Cavaliers need better results fast if they want to keep their bowl hopes alive. For a team that has already taken a hard hit, the remaining schedule leaves little room for another slip. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia's Defense Is Unraveling In A Brutal First Half Hole
Wake Forest spent the first half putting Virginia on its heels, piling up more than 250 yards of offense and turning that production into a steady stream of points. The Cavaliers did manage a few defensive bright spots, including an interception and some resistance on fourth down, but the overall picture was bleak as the game moved through the opening 30 minutes.
Gio Lopez helped keep the pressure on, and Ty Clark III was especially effective on the ground, finishing drives and giving Wake Forest a cushion Virginia never seemed close to erasing. Even with the defense getting a couple of key stops, the Cavaliers were left trying to dig out of a hole that kept getting deeper, and the question became whether they could finally slow Wake Forest long enough to change the tone. [Read more 🡒]