Cavaliers Now

Virginia Football Bowl Projections Heading Into Week 9

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletics
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Despite losing each of their last two games - a 24-20 loss at home to Louisville followed by a 48-31 defeat at Clemson - to drop to 4-3 overall on the season, the Virginia Cavaliers are still projected to go bowling at the end of the year in most of the college football bowl projections.

In order to reach the required six wins to become bowl eligible, UVA will have to win at least two of its final five games, a five-game stretch that represents the 21st most difficult remaining strength of schedule in all of college football and third-toughest in the ACC. Three of Virginia's final five games are against ranked opponents and two of those games are on the road.

Still, Tony Elliott's Cavaliers have a decent shot at reaching bowl eligibility for the first time since 2021 and play in a bowl game for the first time since 2019. Let's see which bowl games the Virginia Cavaliers are projected to play in heading into week 9 according to various college football media outlets.

Patrick Andres of Sports Illustrated has Virginia playing in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Saturday December 28th, and taking on Memphis at Fenway Park in Boston.

Both of ESPN's college football bowl projections still have the Hoos going bowling. Kyle Bonagura is predicting UVA to take on North Texas in the Camellia Bowl on Saturday, December 14th at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. Mark Schlabach has Virginia facing Florida in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Friday, December 20th at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Erick Smith of USA Today has Virginia headed to the Military Bowl to battle Memphis on Saturday, December 28th at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

Similarly, Brett McMurphy of Action Network also has UVA headed to the Military Bowl in what would be a true road game, taking on the Navy Midshipmen on their home field in Annapolis.

Bleacher Report's David Kenyon is projecting Virginia to take on Oklahoma in the Birmingham Bowl on Friday, December 27th at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama.

ESPN's College Football Power Index (FPI) is giving Virginia a 46.3% chance to reach the required threshold of six wins in order to reach bowl eligibility. UVA is expected to be favored in only one game the rest of the way, its next game against North Carolina at home on Saturday.

ESPN's matchup predictor is giving Virginia a:
- 56.5% chance to beat North Carolina
- 33.5% chance to beat Pittsburgh
- 7.3% chance to beat Notre Dame
- 24.4% chance to beat SMU
- 26.2% chance to beat Virginia Tech

Virginia will look to get back in the win column and take the next step towards bowl eligibility when the Cavaliers host North Carolina on Saturday at 12pm at Scott Stadium.

More Virginia Football News

UVA Football Week 9 Injury Report: James Jackson, Antonio Clary, Ty Furnish

Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. North Carolina | Takeaways, Analysis

Virginia Football Opens as Home Favorite vs. North Carolina in Week 9

UVA Football Report Card: Handing Out Grades for Virginia vs. Clemson

By the Numbers: Breaking Down Virginia's Loss to Clemson

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.