To this point, safety Quin Blanding has played and started every game of his four-year career. On top of having started 48 games as a Wahoo, the Virginia Beach native is now the school's all-time leading tackler and the top tackler among ACC defensive backs, too. Linebacker Micah Kiser, meanwhile, has started 36 games in a row and could leave Charlottesville as UVa's record holder for tackles in a season if he has as many in the team's bowl game as he had in the regular season finale. He's already leading the league again in that category and is third nationally.

In Friday night's 10-0 loss to Virginia Tech, Blanding and Kiser each put up career highs in tackles in their final game in Scott Stadium.

"I think it finally hit me that I'm finally leaving this place and all I could say is [that] this is why I came back," Blanding said later. "It's been an honor, it's been a blessing to be here playing with these guys and I'm just happy."

"Last year was miserable," Kiser said of the 52-10 loss in Blacksburg in 2016. "I told the guys, 'The feeling I have right now is not good but it's way better than last year.' We fought. We were competitive. They made more competitive plays than us, their defense outplayed us."

The duo, each named first team All-ACC this week for the third time, leaves the program in better shape than it was in when they each could have gone ahead to the NFL last winter. Losing to Tech, while obviously difficult, didn't deter them from being proud of what the program accomplished this year.

"You want to win, of course, but I'm really proud of the defense," Kiser said after the loss. "Giving up 10 points, we had our backs against the wall a lot of that game, we never quit. I'm not mad at my guys. We played our hearts out. I wanted to win, of course, but I'm really proud of the way we fought."

"I couldn't be more proud of my guys and I couldn't be more happy for them," Blanding added. "We went out there and we fought. Bottom line, sometimes things don't go our way but at the end of the day no one can tell me we didn't fight. We fought the whole game."

The fact that UVa qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2011 is a significant achievement and one that Blanding believes will help greatly as the program continues to build under Bronco Mendenhall.

"I think it's going to motivate them," Blanding said of bowl practices. "I think it's going to be something that drives them, something that they're going to put at a higher level. We reached that accomplishment this year and we should've checked it off winning this game too but it's the same thing for next year. The standard doesn't change.

"This standard is going to last a long time," he added. "It's the legacy we left."

To Kiser, the chance to hand the team over to the young guys feels most important.

"The next little bit is for the younger guys," he explained. "I'm really happy that we got to a bowl game but it just feels kind of like an end, like me and Quin being here, for some reason I don't know it just feels like the end of an era I guess. I'm passing the baton to Chris Peace and those guys really. I love that we made it to a bowl game but it's their team now really."

So how much progress did UVa make this year on D?

"A lot," Kiser said. "We're going to be better on defense next year too. We lose me, Quin, and Drew, but everyone else should be back. Malcolm might be gone too but everyone else is back. We get deeper on D-line, we are going to have a great DBs back, Jordan Mack is going to be a leader, Chris Peace is going to be a leader, you've got the twin towers with Charles (Snowden) and Elliott (Brown) stepping up after a year. Sky's the limit on defense.

"I'm proud of the guys," he added, "and like I said, I'm kind of passing the baton to Jordan and those guys."

To Blanding, the proof was right there on the field Friday night.

"We showed 'em who we are," he said. "They better be ready to bring their A game next year and I will always put my money on Virginia.

"We're always going to earn that respect," Blanding added. "We came in and earned every little drop of respect from each offense. After the games, people would come up [and say], 'Ya'll defense don't quit.' Our defense earned respect this year and they're going to keep earning respect until they're really dominant, until people are scared to play 'em.'

Kiser, a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, felt the emotions as he left Scott Stadium one last time.

"I looked around a little bit," Kiser said when asked about his final walking off the field. "I just hope everybody knows I gave my all these last few years for this program. I played as hard as I could, tried to lead the guys as best I can, and make this program the best I could. Wish we could've won more games, wish we could've won more games. But honestly, I couldn't give you guys anymore this year and over my career. Future is bright and I hope the fans saw the progress that we made this year and really get behind these guys next year because they need every bit of support they can get.

"I'm just proud of my guys," he added. "I'm just really proud I got to play with Jordan Mack for a whole year. Watching him develop, he's going to be better than me and has the potential to be one of the best. I love the kid. He plays hard."

Now, the UVa tandem will get a few weeks off before they head to their first bowl game in their last time in orange and blue.

"We've got one last ride together," Blanding said.

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