CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – William and Mary’s week three trip to Charlottesville to play the Cavaliers ended like most would expect, a dominating performance by the University of Virginia (UVA) with a 55–16 win. The following week saw Virginia face Stanford at home, and with 590 total yards of offense, the Cavaliers scored more than 30 for the fourth consecutive week with the victory 48–20. This takes the team half way to their goal of six wins that they will need to make a bowl game for the first time under Tony Elliott. Virginia has not played in a bowl game since 2019 when they lost to Florida in the Capital One Orange Bowl, and that drought has been felt in Charlottesville over the past five seasons. The team’s quarterback Chandler Morris over the first four games has put up 1,050 passing yards, placing him fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference for passing yards along with eight touchdown passes. And Virginia does not just go through the air, they can go on the ground as well. J’Mari Taylor, the senior running back from Charlotte, North Carolina, has had a great season with 298 yards and six rushing touchdowns. While the offense has been firing on all cylinders for the Cavaliers, the offensive line is making all the touchdowns possible, only allowing one sack this season against Stanford.

The Cavaliers will be tested this week when the eighth ranked Florida State Seminoles come to Charlottesville, Virginia at 7 p.m. Friday. The Seminoles have a great win over Alabama who is currently ranked 17 in the Associated Press poll. Florida State has about a 60 percent chance of winning the game according to ESPN’s FPI metrics, and after FSU’s disastrous 2–10 season last year, Seminole fans will be watching closely. The Florida State–Virginia game has a lot of history to it. In 1995, Virginia became the first ACC team to beat FSU in a conference game since the Seminoles had joined the conference, sparking the rivalry. In recent years, Virginia has not played the Seminoles very frequently since they were in opposite divisions and then the schedules did not permit many meetings. The Friday night game will be the spotlight on ESPN and give Virginia their first Friday night game since 2023.

Elsewhere in the state, James Madison University (JMU) came off the bye this week and faced a Liberty Flames team who has struggled through their first 3 games. The game ended with JMU winning 31–13, demoralizing the Flames, a team who made it to a “New Year’s Six” bowl game just two years ago. With losses to Jacksonville State and Bowling Green in addition to the blow out loss that was Saturday’s game, the Liberty Flames are 1–3 for the first time since joining the FBS. Virginia Tech got their first win of the season versus Wofford 38–6, an FCS team from South Carolina with zero wins. Following the shocking loss to Old Dominion and the firing of Tech’s head coach, Tech is going to have to fight for every win. For the first time since 2019, it appears the best college football team in Virginia is the Virginia Cavaliers, but the season is young and only time will tell if any team from Virginia will get six wins.