Virginia had a truly historic season in 2026, winning a school-record 11 games and getting to the ACC Championship game. 2025 was the kind of turnaround season Coach Tony Elliott needed after being on the hot seat. So, that leads to the biggest question, was the 2025 season a fluke? Can Virginia be as successful in 2026?
I like to compare this to 2019. 2019 was the first season that successful for Virginia in a long time, going 9-3. Virginia had really not seen that kind of success since the early Al Groh days in the early 2000s. It was the only season in my lifetime that Virginia beat Virginia Tech and got to the ACC Championship, where the ‘Hoos would lose brutally to Clemson.
2019 was a breakthrough season for the Bronco Mendenhall led Cavaliers. The success poised the program for a lot of hope years to come as it could only be up from there, right? Well, 2020 was a very weird season in itself where Virginia played 10 games and went 5-5. Then when things went back to normal in 2021, Virginia would go 6-6 before having its bowl game canceled in light of Covid. Before the bowl game was even canceled it was announced that Bronco Mendenhall was stepping down and would no longer be at the helm.
Seven years later, Virginia finds itself in a remarkably similar situation. While no pandemic is happening (That we know of), Tony Elliott has a major task to sustain the success and prove last season not to be a fluke. AD Carla Williams and donors have shown confidence in Elliott by giving him a contract extension through 2030.
Virginia has another favorable ACC schedule, avoiding Miami, Louisville, and Clemson. Getting back to Charlotte is not an unrealistic feat for UVA at all but will not be easy. In light of circumstances last season, the ACC has announced new tiebreakers for 2026, which will hurt Virginia more than help. The new metric is “Body of work,” which is a computer system that takes into account strength of schedule, time of year certain teams were played, and more. Commissioner Jim Phillips mentioned that it is the same metric that is used to determine the College Football Playoffs, and it will ensure the two best teams will get in this season. Realistically, body of work will not favor Virginia due to strength of schedule, making it more important than ever to get every ACC win possible.
The Cavaliers have a refined roster with multiple pieces to avoid another regression. Transfers coming in from big schools like Missouri, Michigan, and Tennessee, while others come from group of 6 schools looking to prove themselves and fill the gaps. Of course, multiple names who are young and coming off of freshman seasons looking to get on the field to make a statement, and finally, a core of returners who have been through the highs and lows of the program, with a couple even being around for the tragedy in 2022.
Many quality pieces on the roster, a consistent coaching staff, and one mission, Tony Elliott knows the task at hand and is ready to embrace it. “The way we have to (Handle success) is acknowledge what we were able to accomplish last year, but we have to have a very clear understanding that what happened last year doesn’t automatically carry over to this year,” Elliott explained, “And you’re not entitled to having that same level of success on the field.”
Head Coach Tony Elliott has the correct mindset; he must establish that mentality in the locker room. If there is one thing he has been best at every season, it is getting his team to buy into the mentality it takes to be a winner. With a good amount of ACC wins, maybe a victory at Virginia Tech for the first time since 1998, and maybe, just maybe a return trip to Charlotte to finish what last season’s team started, we can be looking at a Virginia team that has sustained success.