Virginia
Virginia is 4-5 and No. 54 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 2.7 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: lost 51-7 at Wake Forest in Week 9.
Week 11: vs California, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Virginia is No. 54
- Virginia's rating is 2.7: the machine's estimate that Virginia is 2.7 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 54 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 7.9, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 5.2.
- The biggest weekly moves: −4.2 after Week 5 (L 7-38 at Florida State) and −3.8 after Week 3 (L 27-38 vs West Virginia).
- Its record is 4-5. The 5 losses were to No. 18 Wake Forest, No. 25 SMU, No. 28 Duke, No. 32 Florida State, No. 59 West Virginia, by 19.8 points on average. The 4 wins came by 31.0 points on average; the best was over No. 60 Syracuse. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 50 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 53 Arkansas (2.9); just below is No. 55 Vanderbilt (2.4).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Tony Elliott is in his 5th season at Virginia (since 2022). This season: 4-5. At Virginia overall: 26-31, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 166-255 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1914 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 18-3 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.5No. 68 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 8.9%No. 105 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 9.6%No. 132 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 352-1309 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 3.7No. 117 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 12.4%No. 106 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 17.7%No. 78 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 25.9No. 89 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.34No. 109 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 30.0%No. 134 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 60.6%No. 75 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 6No. 17 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 23.1No. 55 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 5.47No. 67 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 6.9No. 59 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 4.4No. 92 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 6.4%No. 49 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 9No. 110 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 36.6%No. 55 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Beau Pribula139-212, 1587 yds, 14 TD, 3 INT
- Eli Holstein24-34, 282 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Cole Geer3-7, 45 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
- Jekail Middlebrook105 carries, 513 yds, 4 TD
- Xay Davis55 carries, 240 yds, 2 TD
- Beau Pribula96 carries, 195 yds, 2 TD
Receiving
- Dashawn Martin26 catches, 372 yds, 6 TD
- Kameron Courtney18 catches, 204 yds, 2 TD
- Jacquon Gibson14 catches, 176 yds, 2 TD
Tackles
- Maddox Marcellus45
- Jacobie Henderson42
- Montino Williams39
Sacks
- Matthew Fobbs-White5
- Fisher Camac2
- Kamren Robinson2
Interceptions
- Brandyn Hillman3
- Keke Adams2
- Corey Costner1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Beau PribulaMost passes in the last game9 games212 attempts84%
- Eli Holstein3 games34 attempts13%
- Cole Geer2 games7 attempts3%
Carrying
- Jekail Middlebrook8 games105 carries43%
- Xay Davis8 games55 carries22%
- Xavier Brown9 games36 carries15%
- Noah Vaughn6 games28 carries11%
Catching
- Dashawn Martin9 games26 catches16%
- Kameron Courtney5 games18 catches11%
- John Rogers6 games15 catches9%
- Jacquon Gibson7 games14 catches8%
Tackling
- Maddox Marcellus9 games45 tackles7%
- Jacobie Henderson9 games42 tackles7%
- Montino Williams9 games39 tackles6%
- Fisher Camac9 games35 tackles5%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 34–8 vs NC State. The passing game was the strength: 14.1 yards an attempt, 6.7 more than NC State usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 2 W 59–3 vs Norfolk State. Norfolk State is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 3 L 27–38 vs West Virginia (neutral site). The passing game struggled: 5.9 yards an attempt, 5.5 less than West Virginia usually allows. The most yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 4 W 42–3 vs Delaware. The pass defense was the strength: Delaware got 2.6 yards an attempt, 5.8 under what it usually gains. The offense gave up 5 sacks.
- Week 5 L 7–38 at Florida State. The run game struggled: 0.9 yards a carry, 4.7 less than Florida State usually allows. The offense gave up 10 sacks.
- Week 6 W 28–25 vs Syracuse. The passing game struggled: 6.0 yards an attempt, 1.9 less than Syracuse usually allows. Its most yards a carry of the season.
- Week 7 L 13–23 at SMU. The pass defense was the strength: SMU got 6.8 yards an attempt, 2.7 under what it usually gains.
- Week 8 L 16–19 vs Duke. The run defense was the strength: Duke got 3.7 yards a carry, 1.3 under what it usually gains. The machine had Virginia by 0.9 (53%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.
- Week 9 L 7–51 at Wake Forest. The run game struggled: 0.8 yards a carry, 2.1 less than Wake Forest usually allows. Its fewest yards a carry of the season.