Virginia's Road to the College Football Playoff: Three Toughest Matchups Remaining For UVA

The rest of UVA's schedule is not too impressive, given that they have already faced Florida State. California is an interesting team because they have shown flashes but have stumbled a bit near the middle of the season. Cal's passing offense ranks in the top-10 of the ACC, led by true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, but he has hit some bumps in the road as of late. We will see just how good California is over the next two weeks when they take on North Carolina and Virginia Tech: two programs that I think are barometers for potentially entering the top half of the conference. Also, Virginia has to travel across the country to take on the Golden Bears, so that will definitely factor into their preparedness and rest going into the game.

Duke (Away)

According to FPI, Duke is currently ranked the 33rd best team in the country. Those marks put them three spots above the Hoo's. Duke's offense has proven too powerful for most of their opponents this season, with quarterback Darian Mensah averaging 306 passing yards per game. The Tulane transfer has also thrown multiple touchdowns in every game this season for the Blue Devils. Duke's defense is another story, allowing the fourth most yards in the ACC. Duke's pass defense is very suspect, allowing 252 yards per game through the air. History does favor the Hoo's in this matchup. According to Duke Athletics, UVA is currently winning the series, 41-34. Virginia won the last meeting, 30-27, back in 2023.

Virginia Tech (Home)

Virginia Tech is in a shady spot as a program this season. Head Coach Brent Pry was fired after a disappointing 0-3 start to the season. Quarterback Kyron Drones has begun to clean it up recently, but he has not been too impressive. Two wins in a row, albeit against mediocre opponents, had VT trending in the right direction before dropping this past game to Wake Forest. Now at 2-4, the Hokies have a rough second half of their schedule ahead of them. VT still has yet to face No. 4 Miami, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 19 Virginia, No. 25 Florida State, and Louisville.

Virginia's game against Virginia Tech definitely has more meaning as a rivalry game. UVA should take a lot of pride in the late-season matchup because VT is dominating them, as of late. Virginia has not beaten the Hokies since 2019 (the last season the Cavaliers were ranked). Before 2019, Virginia had not defeated VT since 2003.