Slate begins to take shape as UVa gets night games to start
On Thursday afternoon, ESPN and the ACC released the kickoff times for the first three weeks of the regular season along with some select games throughout the schedule.
UVa fans have been used to early kickoffs thus far in the Tony Elliott era, having yet to play a Saturday night game in two years since switching coaches. But this fall, the Wahoos will get football under the lights, with their first two home games kicking off at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. respectively.
Virginia’s schedule looks challenging on paper and is back-loaded with road games, but also features a number of opportunities to build on last year’s win total. And while Cavalier fans are still several months away from loading up their tailgate gear and heading to Charlottesville for a night-game opener, it’s never too early to take a broad look at UVa’s 2024 slate, and where they might be able to find some wins, and where they might run into trouble.
August 31st: Richmond
UVa will open the 2024 season under the lights at Scott Stadium against a familiar in-state foe. Virginia and Richmond will open the campaign in Charlottesville on Labor Day Weekend in what has become a regular early-season clash. The Spiders’ trip to Charlottesville this year will be their second in three years and their eighth since 2008.
The Spiders are coming off of back-to-back 9-4 seasons. They went 7-1 in CAA play before beating NC Central in their playoff opener and ultimately losing to No. 5 Albany in the quarterfinals. Richmond’s expectations will be relatively high again heading into the fall, and UR has already been ranked No. 13 in one preseason media poll. The Spiders will be looking to go out on top in their final year in the CAA before moving to the Patriot League next season. Regardless, UVa will be big favorites here in what is a must-win game for Elliott and his staff.
September 7th: at Wake Forest
Virginia goes right from the season opener to the conference opener, traveling down Route 29 to Winston-Salem for a date with Wake Forest (7 p.m., ESPN2). And while UVa had a rough go of it last fall, the Deacs did too. Wake started the year 3-0, including a big win over Vanderbilt, but the wheels fell off soon after. Wake Forest limped to a 1-7 record in league play, with the only triumph coming at home against 3-9 Pittsburgh. The Deacs finished the year 4-8 overall, their first losing season since 2020.
Wake might be picked to finish near the bottom of the league, like Virginia will be. The quarterback battle will be interesting to track, as former Boise State and Louisiana Tech QB Hank Bachmeier has transferred in to compete with incumbent Michael Kern. And while this game looks winnable, UVa has had a rough go of it against the Demon Deacons of late. Wake beat UVa in 2020 in Winston-Salem when Brennan Armstrong was out with an injury, and won in Charlottesville the following year. UVa hasn’t beaten Wake since 2007.
September 14th: Maryland
The Wahoos return home for another night game the following week, when former ACC rival Maryland comes to town. The Hoos and Terps will get together on the back half of a home-and-home series, with Maryland rolling to a 42-14 win with a big fourth quarter last fall. The Terrapins started the season 5-0 before losing four straight and eventually regained their footing and finished 8-5 with a Music City Bowl win over Auburn.
Maryland’s trip to Charlottesville will be its first since 2012, a couple of years before the program left for the Big Ten. Mike Locksley has done a good job getting DMV area talent to stay home, and the Terps should be competitive again this year, but will face a daunting schedule in the expanded B1G. They’ll also be looking to replace multi-year starting QB Taulia Tagovailoa, with NC State transfer M.J. Morris now in the program.
September 21st: at Coastal Carolina
UVa goes back on the road to end September with a trip to Myrtle Beach to take on the Chanticleers. UVa and Coastal were supposed to get together in Charlottesville in 2022, but the game was ultimately canceled after the tragic shooting deaths of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry. Coastal will come to Charlottesville to open the 2025 season, but first, UVa will have to try and go to Brooks Field and come out with what will be a hard-earned road victory.
Coastal Carolina has quickly become a formidable G5 program and has been competitive in a very good Sun Belt Conference. The Chanticleers went 8-5 last fall in their first year under head coach Tim Beck, who was previously the OC at NC State. Beck’s top goal this offseason will be to replace star quarterback Grayson McCall, who left for NC State in transfer portal. UNC’s Tad Hudson just committed to Coastal this spring, and Chesapeake native Ethan Vasko, who started his career at Kansas, should compete for the job, too.
October 5th: Boston College
After their first bye week of the season, the Wahoos return to action on October 5 against BC. Virginia shipped up to Boston last year for what ended up being a disappointing loss that dropped the Cavaliers to an 0-5 start, despite having two separate two-touchdown leads in the game. BC used that game as a springboard, winning five straight and ultimately making it to the postseason, beating SMU in the Fenway Bowl.
The offseason took a dramatic turn for BC, though, when coach Jeff Haftley resigned to become the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator. The Eagles have turned to former Penn State and Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien to take over. O’Brien is fortunate to inherit a quality quarterback in Thomas Castellanos, who can make plays through the air and with his legs. This will be BC’s first trip to Charlottesville since the COVID season (2020), a game that the Hoos won.
October 12th: Louisville
Virginia stays home the following week for what looks like an uphill battle in league play. Louisville comes to town and should be picked near the top of the league standings after a very good 2023 season, and some quality offseason additions. Jeff Brohm hit the ground running in his first year at his alma mater, going 10-4 and making it to the ACC title game.
Despite their success, the Cards escaped by Virginia in their November contest. UVa trailed 14-0 early before a big rally saw them in the lead in the fourth quarter, before the Cardinals rallied themselves for a victory. That loss was one of several close defeats for the Hoos this season, and if they’re going to turn their fortunes around this season, they’ll have to find a way to sneak out with some wins in those toss-up games. The Cards won at UVa two years ago, their second win in Charlottesville since joining the ACC, and their first without Lamar Jackson.
October 19th: at Clemson
It will be a homecoming for Elliott, returning to his alma mater and former employer for this mid-October showdown. UVa and Clemson last got together early in the 2020 season and the talented Tigers didn’t face much resistance in a comfortable victory. Clemson hasn’t quite been at its best in the years since, and we’ll see this season if the Tigers can wrestle back control of the ACC from FSU, Louisville, and others.
This one should be tough for the Hoos, in what figures to be an emotional contest. UVa hasn’t had a lot of luck in Death Valley overall, and trips have been relatively infrequent, too. Clemson will once again have a talented roster and will look to make strides in the second year of the Garrett Riley (OC) and Cade Klubnik (QB) pairing.
October 26th: North Carolina
UNC travels north to Charlottesville in late October, with revenge on its mind to be sure. UVa stunned the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill last year, upending their unbeaten season at 6-0 with a 31-27 win. The win on the road was the first W over a team ranked in the top 10 in program history and the biggest point-spread upset of the season.
UNC still has plenty of skill talent and should be a pretty good team this year, but the Heels have a lot to prove as well. Drake Maye is off to the NFL and was replaced by Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson, who has had a solid career but hasn’t been as prolific as UNC’s last two signal callers. And Carolina teams of the recent past have wilted down the stretch, and UVa catches them right around that time this season. At least Mack Brown won’t have to worry about his winless run in Charlottesville, as he ended that streak in his last trip to UVa in 2022.
November 9th: at Pittsburgh
Virginia heads to the Steel City after its second bye week of the campaign. After years spent as division rivals, UVa and Pitt didn’t play last season, and after this meeting, aren’t scheduled to meet again until 2027 in Charlottesville. UVa lost their last meeting at Pitt in 2022, but did win at Acrisure Stadium in the 2019 season opener.
The Panthers are coming off of a rough season where they finished 3-9 just two years removed from playing in the ACC title game. They did pick up a 17-point win over Louisville, though, which looks all the more odd when looking at the results of their entire season. Pitt did grab former Alabama QB Eli Holstein out of the portal, and hired young OC Kade Bell from Western Carolina in an attempt to jump start their offense. Still, don’t be surprised if Pitt is picked in the bottom half of the ACC after a 3-9 2023 season.
November 16th: at Notre Dame
Virginia makes its second trip to South Bend since the Irish entered into a scheduling agreement with the ACC. The Wahoos pushed Notre Dame in 2019, leading at halftime, playing as a 4-0 team. The Irish would smother their offensive line in the second half en route to a comfortable win, but UVa played a competitive game most of the way.
The Irish didn’t quite live up to the preseason hype last year but still won 10 games, with all three losses coming at the hands of ranked teams (Clemson, Louisville, and Ohio State). Notre Dame will have high expectations again this year, as the Golden Domers bring in offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock from LSU and Charlottesville native Mike Brown to coach the receivers. And while Notre Dame loses veteran QB Sam Hartman, the Irish went out and got another quality ACC starter to replace him, landing Duke’s Riley Leonard.
November 23rd: SMU
UVa welcomes the Mustangs to the ACC and to Charlottesville in their home finale on November 23rd. SMU joins the conference this year along with Cal and Stanford, and has a chance to be competitive right out of the gate. The Mustangs went 11-3 in the AAC last year, going 9-0 in conference games and beating Tulane in the conference championship game. After all that though, they lost their bowl game to Boston College.
SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee runs a wide open offense and averaged 38.7 points per game last year. They return quarterback Preston Stone, the younger brother of former Cavalier QB Lindell Stone; the younger Stone threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns last fall as a sophomore. This will be a tough contest for the Hoos, part of a difficult November stretch that features just one home game in their final four contests. And in that home finale, they’ll have to find a way to slow down what should be one of the best offenses in the conference.
November 30th: at Virginia Tech
UVa’s finale opponent needs no introduction. The Hokies obliterated the Hoos in Charlottesville last fall, winning 55-17 in what seemed like a relative toss-up heading towards the kick. November’s blowout was the first meeting between Elliott and VT head coach Brent Pry, who were both wrapping up their second seasons at their respective in-state programs.
While UVa’s expectations remain modest heading into the summer, Tech is expected to have a breakout year by many in the media and the oddsmakers in Vegas, who have set their over/under for wins at eight. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, we’ll know if Virginia Tech’s rise has continued after returning to the postseason last year of if the hype was premature.
Regardless, this will be a tough one for the Cavaliers, who haven’t won in Blacksburg since 1998. This will also be the first time UVa has played in Blacksburg in front of fans since 2018.
