Virginia Football Season Preview: Schedule

Breaking down the 2021 Virginia Cavaliers football schedule

In the first four years of Bronco Mendenhall’s tenure as head football coach at Virginia, the Cavaliers increased their win total each year from 2-10 in 2016, to 6-7 in 2017, to 8-5 in 2018, to a 9-4 run in 2019 that included an ACC Coastal title and a trip to the Orange Bowl. In 2020, that stretch of continued improvement came to an end as the Hoos went 5-5 and ended the season with a disappointing loss against Virginia Tech. With a brand new season right around the corner and UVA looking to continue to establish a winning football program, it is time to preview the 2021 Virginia Cavaliers football season. In this four part series, we will break down the UVA offense, defense, special teams, and schedule.

Note: This is part four of the four-part analysis of the 2021 Virginia football season. Check out part one, part two, and part three.

In the final part of our series previewing the 2021 Virginia Cavaliers football season, we will break down UVA’s schedule of opponents.

September 4th, 7:30pm vs. William & Mary (FCS)

Virginia opens its season at home against in-state FCS opponent William & Mary. UVA and W&M have met 37 times with UVA holding a 30-6-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Cavaliers have won the last four meetings, including their last matchup, a 52-17 victory in 2019. William & Mary did not play any football last fall and played only three of six games on their spring schedule and turned in a record of 1-2. The Tribe will be led by junior quarterback Hollis Mathis, who led the CAA in total offense per game last season.

September 11th, 11:00am vs. Illinois

Virginia will face Big Ten opponent Illinois in another home game in Week 2. The Cavaliers and Illini have met only twice before and Illinois prevailed in each game. Both of those meetings were in bowl games, so this morning matchup will be the first time these two programs have played each other in the regular season. Illinois went 2-6 in an abbreviated 2020 season and are in the midst of a rebuild under new head coach Bret Bielema.

September 18th, 7:30pm at North Carolina

In Week 3, Virginia and North Carolina will renew the South’s Oldest Rivalry. In 115 all-time meetings, North Carolina holds a 62-49-4 edge, but the Hoos are riding a four-game winning streak against the Heels, including a 44-41 victory over then 15th-ranked UNC last season. The Tar Heels had the fifth-ranked offense in the country in 2020 led by quarterback Sam Howell, who had 3500 passing yards and thirty touchdowns. Yet, UNC struggled defensively and ended up going 8-4 and lost to Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl. This season, Sam Howell is back as perhaps the ACC’s best returning quarterback, but he has lost some weapons including the dynamic running back duo of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams as well as wide receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome. Despite the losses, North Carolina, ranked No. 10 in the AP preseason poll, is still the frontrunner to win the ACC Coastal Division and contend with Clemson for the ACC Championship. The Hoos have been the Achilles' heel (pun not intended) of UNC for the last four years. In a prime-time road matchup against a likely top 10 team looking for revenge, the Cavaliers will certainly have their work cut out for them. Circle September 18th on your calendars, folks. It should be a fun one.

September 24th, 7:00pm vs. Wake Forest

Virginia returns home for a Friday night matchup with Wake Forest in Week 4. Virginia leads the all-time series with Wake, 34-16, but the Demon Deacons have won the last three games, including a 40-23 Wake victory last season with Lindell Stone filling in at quarterback for the injured Brennan Armstrong. UVA was one of Wake’s four wins last year, which all took place in the month of October. Wake Forest went 4-5 in 2020 and ended the season with a 42-28 loss to Wisconsin in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Demon Deacons bring back starting quarterback Sam Hartman, their entire starting offensive line, and preseason Third-Team All-American wide receiver Jaquarii Robinson.

September 30th, 7:00pm at Miami

The Cavaliers return to Hard Rock Stadium for the third season in a row to face the Miami Hurricanes in a Thursday night showdown on ESPN. In 18 all-time meetings, Miami leads with a record of 11-7. UVA has just one win against the Canes since 2014, a 16-13 victory at Scott Stadium in 2018. Miami went 8-3 last year and lost to Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl, 37-34. The Hurricanes, who are ranked No. 14 in the AP preseason poll, are led by quarterback D’Eriq King, widely considered to be the second-best returning quarterback in the ACC behind UNC’s Sam Howell. In their third consecutive prime-time game, the Wahoos will look to snap a two-game losing streak at Miami.

October 9th, Time TBA at Louisville

Virginia stays on the road in Week 6 for a matchup at Louisville. Virginia is 4-5 all-time against the Cardinals, but UVA has taken two out of the last three meetings, including a 31-17 victory in 2020. Louisville went 4-7 last season, with wins over Western Kentucky, Florida State, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. The Cardinals are coached by Scott Satterfield, who won ACC Coach of the Year in his first year as Louisville’s head coach in 2018 after leading the Cards to a second place finish in the Atlantic Division just one year after finishing 2-10 to start the post-Lamar Jackson era. Satterfield is hoping that dynamic quarterback Malik Cunningham can have a similar development arc as the Heisman-winning and NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

October 16th, Time TBA vs. Duke

Just as Virginia is playing at Miami for the third straight season, UVA will host Duke for the third consecutive season when the Blue Devils come to Scott Stadium in Week 7. Virginia leads the all-time series with Duke, 39-33, and has won six games in a row over the Blue Devils, including a 38-20 victory in the season opener in 2020. Duke had a dismal season last fall, turning in a 2-9 record with their only wins coming against Syracuse and Charlotte.

October 23rd, Time TBA vs. Georgia Tech

Virginia will stay at home in Week 8 for a matchup with Georgia Tech. In 42 all-time meetings, the two programs are nearly even, with the Yellow Jackets holding a very slight 21-20-1 advantage. UVA and GT have alternated winning the last six matchups, with the Hoos winning the last meeting in 2019 by a score of 33-28. Georgia Tech went 3-7 in 2020 with wins against Florida State, Louisville, and Duke and are still rebuilding under third-year head coach Geoff Collins heading into the 2021 season.

October 30th, Time TBA at BYU

Week 9 will be quite the special non-conference road trip for Bronco Mendenhall, who returns to Provo, Utah, to coach against BYU, a program where he coached for over a decade, including ten years as head coach. In just five all-time meetings, UVA leads BYU 3-2, but the Cougars won the last meeting, 41-33, in 2014 when Mendenhall was still the BYU head coach. BYU went 11-1 in 2020, including a perfect 7-0 record at home, and concluded the season with a 49-23 victory over UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl. Bronco Mendenhall’s homecoming to BYU will certainly be a momentous day, but the game between the Cougars and Cavaliers ought to be an entertaining one as well.

November 13th, Time TBA vs. Notre Dame

After a bye week, Virginia hosts Notre Dame in Week 11. Though the Cavaliers and Fighting Irish have met only three times, the two programs have some recent dramatic history. In 2019, UVA and Notre Dame met in South Bend as ranked opponents. Bryce Perkins and the Cavaliers had a strong first half and led 17-14 at halftime, but the Irish blitzed the Hoos in the second half and prevailed 35-20. In 2015 at Scott Stadium, the Cavaliers were leading No. 9 Notre Dame with only seconds remaining. DeShone Kizer then threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller to give the Irish the lead with just 12 seconds left. It was a heartbreaking finish and one that UVA fans are not likely to forget, even if they really want to. Notre Dame officially played the 2020 season in the ACC, going undefeated in the regular season, including a double overtime victory over No. 1 Clemson when the Tigers were without Trevor Lawrence. Notre Dame lost to Clemson, 34-10, in the ACC Championship Game and then lost to Alabama, 31-14, in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Back as an independent this season, Notre Dame could very well be making a push towards another CFP appearance when the Irish arrive in Charlottesville in the middle of November. I can’t think of a better opportunity for Virginia to get its first ever victory over Notre Dame.

November 20th, Time TBA at Pittsburgh

Virginia plays its final road game of the regular season in Week 12 at Pittsburgh. The Cavaliers trail the Panthers 4-8 in the all-time series, but UVA defeated Pitt in their last meeting, a 30-14 Virginia victory in 2019, which also snapped a four-game losing streak against Pittsburgh. Pitt went 6-5 overall in 2020, with wins against Austin Peay, Syracuse, Louisville, Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech. Pittsburgh was picked to finish 4th in the ACC Coastal Division in the ACC preseason poll, one spot ahead of Virginia.

November 27th, Time TBA vs. Virginia Tech

In the regular season finale, Virginia will host Virginia Tech in the latest edition of the Commonwealth Clash. As always, there will be no love lost between these two archrivals. Virginia currently trails Virginia Tech in the all-time series, 33-59-5. UVA snapped a fifteen-game losing streak to the Hokies in 2019 with a 39-30 victory at Scott Stadium, which also clinched the Cavaliers’ first ACC Coastal Championship in program history and sent the Hoos to the ACC title game. Virginia Tech defeated Virginia last year, 33-15, in Blacksburg and the Hokies finished the 2020 season with a 5-6 record. While the Commonwealth Clash is always the most important game of the year, the Wahoos will be especially eager to avenge last season’s loss in Blacksburg and stop the Hokies from beginning another winning streak in this rivalry.

There are plenty of winnable games on Virginia’s slate in 2021 as well as a few opportunities for major victories over big-time programs. The Hoos certainly have the talent on their roster to have a successful season, but as always, there are no guarantees in college football. We will just have to wait nine days until the Cavaliers take the field for the first time.