Virginia Cavaliers stats, records, schedule, and standings

Cavaliers

Virginia Cavaliers

NCAAF – ACC

Virginia Cavaliers

2022-2023 TEAM LEADERS

Virginia Cavaliers News

The Cavaliers are the defending ACC Coastal Division champions, winning the title in 2019. In the most recent season, the conference played in divisions and then got stomped by Clemson 62 – 17 in the championship game. After a 5 – 5 record in 2020, Virginia returns seven starters on both sides of the ball including dual-threat quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who led the team in passing and rushing.

Bronco Mendenhall is in his sixth season as head coach and has turned around a program that was 15 – 33 with no winning records in the four seasons prior to his arrival from BYU. The Cavaliers face a tough schedule, with road games at North Carolina, Miami, and Pittsburgh.

Virginia Cavaliers Standings

The Virginia Cavaliers are another team to watch in the NCAAF standings. With a history of strong performances and a talented roster, they are a force to be reckoned with on the field. Their stats show a focus on a balanced approach to the game, utilizing a mix of passing and rushing attacks to keep their opponents guessing. As the season progresses, fans will be keeping an eye on the Cavaliers’ performance and their place in the standings.

Virginia Cavaliers Betting Trends

2020 Summary

After winning its opener against Duke, Virginia lost their next four games, culminating with a tough 19 – 14 defeat at Miami. They turned the season around and reeled off four consecutive wins before losing to rival Virginia Tech, 33 – 15 in the finale.

The team’s Achilles heel in 2020 was their pass defense, which gave up over 300 yards a game through the air, ranking last in the conference and 123rd in the FBS. The deficiency put their overall defensive ranking at 96th in the nation, despite a respectable run defense that was fourth in the ACC.

Armstrong threw for 18 touchdowns with 11 interceptions and ran for five more scores to lead the team in both categories for an offense that was barely in the top third of the FBS in production. Their lowest point totals came in losses to teams they need to find a way to defeat in 2021, scoring 14 against Miami and 15 at Virginia Tech.

Key Players

Clearly, Armstrong is at the top of the list, at least offensively as they rely heavily on both his arms and his legs to fuel the team. He gained 554 yards on the ground last year, averaging 4.4 yards a carry.

After getting scorched in 2020, the secondary needs to improve and three returning senior starters will be instrumental in the turnaround, with cornerback Nick Grant joined by safeties De’Vante Cross and Joey Blount. The trio combined for five interceptions and a pair of sacks last season and need to continue to develop for the Cavaliers to have a chance at the kind of success they had in 2019.

Key Additions

Oklahoma State transfer tight end Jelani Woods, at 6’7” and 275 pounds will help replace the departed Tony Poljan, who caught 38 passes for six touchdowns in 2020 and signed on as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens.

Two transfers will help build depth on the back end of the defense, with cornerbacks Anthony Johnson from Louisville and Josh Hayes from North Dakota State hoping to move up the depth chart should the Cavaliers continue to struggle against the pass.

Key Subtractions

The loss of a pair of linebackers will thin a defense that was already weak against the pass, with Charles Snowden’s six sacks and ten tackles for loss headed to Chicago as an undrafted free agent because of injury concerns. Zane Zandier had 2.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss and he is still hoping to attract interest from an NFL team as training camps progress.

In addition to the loss of Poljan, another frequent target of Armstrong’s was Terrell Jana, who caught 36 passes for 423 yards and a touchdown was the first receiver and 17th player chosen overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League (CFL) draft.

Divisional Outlook

The ACC Coastal is traditionally one of the most competitive divisions in college, evidenced by seven different winners, once by every team in the division, from 2013 – 2019. The conference abandoned the division structure for last season, when Notre Dame was included in the mix and lost to Clemson in the ACC Championship game, Clemson’s sixth victory in a row in the title contest.

North Carolina and Miami are considered the frontrunners in 2021, with both ranked in the top 15 in preseason polls. Both lost bowl games to end their 2020 campaigns but return a lot of talent, with Virginia Tech also in the conversation because of a more favorable schedule than the other two contenders.

Other than Pittsburgh, it’s unlikely for the other four teams to challenge for the division crown, but Georgia Tech and Virginia could easily influence the outcome, judging from recent history. Duke will have trouble escaping from the cellar after a dismal 2020 and few talented additions to the roster.

Virginia Offense

As Armstrong goes, so will the Cavalier offense, but he’ll need to have some new targets to throw to after losing a substantial portion of their receptions and yardage to graduation. Leading receiver Billy Kemp IV is back, but he was only able to into the end zone once in 2020, despite making 67 catches for 644 yards, both tops on the team.

The Cavaliers also need a second option to step up in the running game to keep the offense from having to rely so heavily on Armstrong, whose defenses will definitely be geared up to stop like Virginia Tech was able to do by limiting him to 23 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Virginia Defense

The defense returns seven starters plus the addition of a couple of capable transfers, but without a strong pass rush, they could be facing another long season against the pass. The biggest win in 2020 was against North Carolina, but the Tar Heels still lit up the Cavaliers for 41 points in a losing effort.

A balanced Virginia Tech attack exposed a lot of weaknesses on the Virginia defense that need to be addressed if they are going to make an improbable run to the division title. They may be able to plug one or two holes, but the stars may have to align just right for the whole defense to come together.

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