Virginia’s latest win was decisive enough to keep the Cavaliers in the national conversation, but not decisive enough to move them.
After a 59-3 rout of Norfolk State, Virginia remained No. 25 in both the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association polls released Sunday afternoon. The Cavaliers are 2-0, and while they picked up more support than they had a week ago, it still wasn’t enough to climb.
Virginia drew 182 points in the AP poll and 249 from the coaches, up from 89 and 157 the previous week. Even so, the ranking held steady in a weekend that featured few major upsets and gave voters little reason to reshuffle the bottom of the Top 25.
The blowout itself went exactly as expected. Norfolk State, an FCS team that finished 1-11 in 2025 in Michael Vick’s first season as head coach, never threatened.
Virginia finished with a 466-223 edge in total yards and a 25-11 advantage in first downs. The Cavaliers also spread the production around, with touchdown passes coming from three different quarterbacks and catches recorded by a dozen players.
That kind of performance, though, only goes so far with poll voters when the opponent is overmatched.
Virginia had already learned that lesson in the preseason, when it was left out of both polls despite a school-record 11-win 2025 season. The Cavaliers received just one 25th-place vote in the preseason AP poll.
It took the 34-8 win over NC State in the opener to get them into the rankings at No. 25 in Week 2. Beating Norfolk State as a 44.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel, was enough to stay put, not enough to rise.
The next chance to make a stronger impression comes Saturday night against West Virginia in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. The Mountaineers are also 2-0, with a 52-7 win over Tennessee-Martin after opening with a 31-24 victory over Coastal Carolina.
Under Rich Rodriguez in his second tenure as head coach, West Virginia is averaging 41.5 yards per game behind dual-threat quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who leads the team in passing yards with 287 and rushing yards with 199. Transfer running back Cam Cook is close behind with 194 rushing yards, and he, too, has scored three touchdowns.
Virginia and West Virginia have not met since the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, now the Duke's Mayo Bowl, and their last regular-season meeting came in Morgantown in 1985, when the Cavaliers won 27-7. Virginia is a 9.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel.
At the top of the polls, Texas moved into No. 1 in both rankings after rallying from a 20-point deficit to beat previously top-ranked Ohio State on Saturday night. The loss dropped the Buckeyes to No.
- Virginia Tech, also 2-0, received 11 votes in the AP poll after beating Old Dominion 44-21.
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Virginia Is Building A Case Fans Havent Seen In Years
Virginias 59-3 win over Norfolk State did more than keep the Cavaliers unbeaten and tied atop the ACC. It also came with a wide spread of contributors, as several players found the end zone for the first time in their careers while the offense kept rolling behind a sharp outing from quarterback Pribula, who completed 12 of 14 passes for three touchdowns with one interception.
The larger theme, though, is that this is starting to look like a team with both momentum and depth. The defense held Norfolk State to just one score, continuing a run of dominant play that has helped carry Virginia through the early part of the season, and the program also got a milestone moment from Will Bettridge along the way, the kind of development that gives a team plenty to feel good about even before the schedule gets more demanding. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia's Hot Start Now Comes With A Bigger Tony Elliott Test
Virginias start has been as convincing as it gets, and the AP voters kept the Cavaliers in the No. 25 spot after the rout of Norfolk State. The bigger picture is even better for Tony Elliotts team: Virginia is 2-0 and has overwhelmed its first two opponents, putting up early numbers that have turned a tidy September opening into something that starts to feel more like momentum.
Elliott, though, has been careful not to let the ranking or the margin of victory change the message inside the building. His point has been simple enough for a team riding this kind of start: the standard and the focus have to stay the same. Virginia now moves into a tougher-looking test against West Virginia, and that is where a hot start starts asking a different kind of question. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Is Back In The Top 25 Conversation Again
Virginia kept its unbeaten start rolling with a 59-3 win over Norfolk State, and now the conversation around the Cavaliers is shifting from early-season momentum to where they may land in the AP Top 25. After another convincing result, Virginia is sitting at 2-0 and has at least put itself back into the mix as voters sort through a busy first few weeks of the season.
The ranking picture remains fluid, with the AP poll likely to move depending on what happens around the country, including the situations involving Oregon, Washington, Iowa and Michigan. Michigans win over Oklahoma has already changed the landscape and put the Wolverines on track to return to the rankings, leaving Virginia to watch and wait as the next set of ballots takes shape. [Read more 🡒]