Virginia Football 2026 Schedule Breakdown and Analysis

The Good

Get by NC State to start the season, and the Cavaliers get a run of five out of six games against teams that didn't go bowling last year, and the outlier is Delaware.

Not to jump ahead to the Who's Missing section, but there's no Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Pitt, and ... Miami.

The Bad

There's a LOT of plane time early on. Yeah, going to Rio might be fun, but it won't exactly be cool and comfy in late August to face NC State in the ACC opener.

In all, there are six games away from Scott.

What ACC Teams Virginia Will Miss

Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Pitt, Stanford.

You can't ask for much more than the teams the Cavaliers are missing. Not playing Miami is the biggest, but there are plenty of other big teams being sidestepped.

Virginia’s Best and Worst Case Scenarios in 2026

Best Case: 4-0 before Florida State

NC State is a big win to kick things off, the Cavaliers play well against West Virginia, and it's a 4-0 start before dealing with Florida State. 

It isn't easy, and there are a few slips along the way, but they're in the ACC Championship hunt after Halloween.

Worst Case: The Rio trip is a disaster

The trips to Ireland over the last few seasons all but killed the seasons of Kansas State last year and Florida State the season before. 

Virginia loses the ACC opener, needs to win at Florida State, doesn't, and all of a sudden, the promising season is a fight in November just to go bowling.

Virginia Football 2026 Schedule

Aug 29 NC State (in Brazil)
Sept 5 OPEN DATE
Sept 12 Norfolk State
Sept 19 West Virginia (in Charlotte)
Sept 26 Delaware
Oct 3 at Florida State
Oct 10 Syracuse
Oct 17 at SMU
Oct 24 Duke
Oct 31 at Wake Forest
Nov 7 OPEN DATE
Nov 14 Cal
Nov 21 North Carolina
Nov 28 at Virginia Tech 

Games That Will Decide Virginia’s Season

1. NC State (in Brazil). To keep harping on this, the start of the season against NC State should mean everything in every way. Win this, and the tone is set for another big year.

2. at Florida State, Oct. 3. Last year, the win over the Seminoles was the moment when the program figured out that it can hang in the ACC. The Seminoles will want revenge.

3. at Virginia Tech, Nov. 28. Really? You're going to let James Franklin take control of the rivalry?