Virginia’s 2026 schedule opens with a clear divide in the preseason AP Poll: one ranked opponent, a couple of vote-getters, and a long list of teams that didn’t get a single nod.
SMU is the only opponent on the Cavaliers’ slate to crack the top 25, landing at No. 16 after a 9-4 season. The Mustangs are also one of only three ACC teams in the poll, alongside No.
7 Miami and No. 24 Louisville.
Virginia itself received just one vote in Monday’s release, which puts the Cavaliers in a tie for No. 47 overall. That leaves them behind teams like Oklahoma State, Minnesota, James Madison, Louisiana, Auburn, Memphis and Western Michigan.
Two more opponents - Virginia Tech and Cal - picked up more votes than Virginia. The Hokies are coming off a 3-9 season, while Cal went 7-6. Their spots in the vote count are based on preseason expectation rather than what they did in 2025, and some observers may be surprised to see Virginia Tech placed ahead of Georgia Tech and Virginia, both of which showed up in some of the top non-Playoff bowl games.
The rest of Virginia’s opponents came up empty in the poll: NC State, Norfolk State, West Virginia, Delaware, Florida State, Syracuse, Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina.
That means nine of Virginia’s 12 regular-season opponents got no votes at all, an unusual setup for a Power Four team. Preseason polls don’t tell the full story, but this one does suggest the Cavaliers won’t be dealing with the toughest schedule on paper.
That lines up with Virginia being slotted ninth in the conference, a surprisingly low placement for a team coming off an 11-win season, bringing back the most experience in the country and facing a relatively light schedule.
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Virginia enters the season with one of the clearer paths in the ACC conversation, and the reason is continuity. While other league contenders are sorting through coaching changes or a longer reboot, the Cavaliers can lean on a roster and structure that already know what the staff wants. That kind of stability matters in a conference where the margin between a top-four finish and the middle of the pack can be thin, especially when the goal is to stay in the title hunt from the opening weeks.
NC States situation adds to the contrast, with Justin Gainey beginning a rebuilding phase that gives Virginia a chance to separate itself early in the league race. The Cavaliers do not need the rest of the conference to wait around for them, but this is the sort of matchup and stretch of the schedule where they can make a real ACC statement if the pieces fit the way they should. [Read more 🡒]
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Tony Elliott Sees One Encouraging Sign As Virginia Nears Week 0
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Elliott came away encouraged by what he saw, pointing to the groups progress and the competitive edge showing up in practice. For Virginia, that kind of steady climb matters as much as any individual rep right now, with the focus on turning preseason repetition into something more dependable once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]