Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia is No. 59 of 138 in the model after week 6 (4-2, 2-1 in conference play). Its projected final record is 6.6-5.4, with a 1% chance to win out and a 1% chance to make the playoff.

Updated · See Virginia in the full rankings

2026 at a glance

  • #59in the model (▼14 from last week)
  • 6.6-5.4projected final record
  • +1.4points vs. an average FBS team, neutral field
  • 1%chance to make the playoff

Scouting report: Virginia's best unit is its pass defense (No. 61 in FBS); its weakest is its pass offense (No. 90). Overall, the offense ranks No. 82 and the defense No. 63, adjusted for opponents. These ranks rest on 6 games, so expect them to move week to week.

Résumé: No. 65, by wins above what a typical top-25 team would expect against Virginia's schedule. That measures what the record is worth; the power rank (No. 59) measures how good the team is.

Deserved wins: playing the way it has, Virginia would usually have won 4 games; it has won 4.

Postseason odds: 1% to win the ACC, 1% to make the 12-team playoff, 0% to earn a first-round bye and 0% to win the national title. 79% to reach 6 wins. (Model estimates; how the playoff odds work.)

Rank by week: Wk 1: 21 → Wk 2: 9 → Wk 3: 27 → Wk 4: 27 → Wk 5: 45 → Wk 6: 59
Week 1: No. 21Week 2: No. 9Week 3: No. 27Week 4: No. 27Week 5: No. 45Week 6: No. 59

Rankings for weeks 1-6 were rebuilt after launch from games through each week; later weeks are published live.

Season stats

  • 32.8points per game
  • 19.2points allowed per game
  • 48%offensive success rate
  • 39%success rate allowed

Success rate: share of plays that keep an offense on schedule (half the yards needed on first down, 70% on second, all of it on third or fourth). Garbage time excluded.

Leaders

  • Passing: Beau Pribula, 1,080 yards, 13 TD, 1 INT
  • Rushing: Jekail Middlebrook, 337 yards on 67 carries, 3 TD
  • Receiving: Kameron Courtney, 18 catches, 204 yards, 2 TD

Schedule and win odds

WeekOpponentResult or win chancePlayed like
1vs NC StateW 34-899% win
2vs Norfolk StateW 59-399% win
3vs West VirginiaL 27-383% win
4vs DelawareW 42-398% win
5at Florida StateL 7-38<1% win
6vs SyracuseW 28-2596% win
7at SMU38% to win
8vs Duke45% to win
9at No. 22 Wake Forest23% to win
11vs California67% to win
12vs North Carolina47% to win
13at Virginia Tech39% to win

Win chances come from the model's current ratings, including home field. Played like: how often a team wins a game it played the way it played this one, based on the box score. Rankings shown are the model's.

ACC in the model

#TeamRecordConf.Projected
4Miami5-03-010.6-1.4
22Wake Forest5-13-19.5-2.5
32Louisville3-32-26.7-5.3
36Pittsburgh5-12-18.5-3.5
39Duke4-11-17.8-4.2
43North Carolina3-21-16.7-5.3
44Florida State3-31-26.1-5.9
50SMU4-12-17.7-4.3
52Clemson3-22-17.0-5.0
53Virginia Tech4-21-27.1-4.9
72Syracuse2-30-34.7-7.3
79California3-32-15.4-6.6
84Georgia Tech2-31-14.1-7.9
91NC State3-31-25.4-6.6
110Boston College2-30-23.3-8.7
112Stanford2-41-34.2-7.8

This week's picks and rankings

Every week's top 25, game of the week and picks are in the weekly breakdown. Latest: Week 7 college football picks and power rankings: the model's case for LSU.

How the model works: each team starts from a preseason rating (last season, returning production, roster talent), and every game moves it using the final margin and play-by-play efficiency, adjusted for opponents. Projections simulate the rest of the season 10,000 times. More on the method. Data from CollegeFootballData.com.