Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Oct. 31, Charlottesville, NC

Virginia 2019 Record: 9-5, 6-2 ACC

Postseason: Lost to Florida in the Orange Bowl

Returning Starters: Offense 9, Defense 8

Head Coach: Bronco Mendenhall’s vision played out last season, as he led the Cavaliers to the Coastal Division title and spot in the Orange Bowl. UVa has won 17 games over the last two seasons and in Mendenhall’s four years at the helm is 25-27, including 14-18 in the ACC. Before that, Mendenhall (54) was the head coach at BYU, where in 11 seasons he guided the Cougars to a 99-43 record, five spots in the final AP rankings, and a 6-5 mark in bowl games.

3 Key Players: Charles Snowden, OLB (senior had 72 tackles5 sacks, 11 QBHs) is one of the most disruptive players in the ACC, Terrell Jana, WR (junior finished with 74 receptions for 886 yards), Joey Blount, S (third-team All-ACC, had 95 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 3 INTs).

Must Figure Out: How on earth does UVA function in the post-Bryce Perkins era? He was almost everything for this program the last two years. So, quarterback is the position UVA must figure out. Can Brennan Armstrong give the Cavaliers consistent production? That’s the biggest question about this team right now.

In Great Shape: Defense. UVA returns eight of its nine leading tacklers from 2019 and 15 defenders that started at least one game last season.

Looking Ahead: “With Bryce Perkins graduated, the Cavaliers will turn to a new signal caller. The obvious answer is rising redshirt sophomore Brennan Armstrong. The left-handed quarterback checks in at 6-foot-2 and weighs 220 pounds. (Bronco) Mendenhall compares Armstrong to Taysom Hill, who does a little bit of everything for the New Orleans Saints and starred for Mendenhall at BYU.” – Bennett Conlin, Charlottesville Daily Progress

History vs. UNC: UNC leads 64-57-4 though UVA has won three straight.

UVA’s ACC slate: Home: NC State, UNC, Louisville, Duke, Boston College; Away: Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, Miami, FSU.

Matchup with UNC: By the time the Tar Heels get to Charlottesville, the Cavaliers will have gone through that early road gauntlet on their schedule and will know if Brennan Armstrong is the QB they are hoping he is. If so, and the Wahoos manage okay with that early slate, this could be a sneaky tough game for the Tar Heels. Many fans are ignoring the Hoos right now, but they will be very good on defense, so if they are solid on offense, the Tar Heels will have a difficult task up there. UNC is favored now and should be when it gets there, if things go according to expectations, but this will be a battle, you can count on that.

Rivals site: CavsCorner.com