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By Cedric | Big Party Sports — Every game is a big party.
So I’ve been working so much these past few years that I haven’t been able to partake in college or pro football the way I want to. This year is different. I’m focusing on my health, my wellness, and my business — content creation — and I just launched this sports site because I absolutely love sports. And my favorite college team? The Virginia Cavaliers. Born and raised in Virginia, baby. So what better way to kick off the season than watching my Hoos host NC State in the opener?
Spoiler: it was a beatdown. Virginia 34, NC State 8. And it wasn’t even that close.
Last Year Set the Table
It took me a minute to recall last season — that’s what nine years of workaholic delivery life will do to you — but once I looked at the schedule it all came back. Virginia was on fire in 2025: 11 wins, big victories over an always-talented Florida State, Louisville, and Duke in the regular season. The offense was humming and the defense was decent to good.
What spoiled it were the heartbreakers. A home loss to Wake Forest — a team that’s tough at THEIR place, but we lost at OURS. Very disappointing. Then, after beating Duke 34-17 in the regular season, we turned around and lost to that same Duke team 27-20 in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. Brutal ending. But I’m proud of this team, and coming into 2026 we are poised to make some noise.
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A Full House for the First Time in Almost 20 Years
Here’s what got me hyped before kickoff even happened: Scott Stadium was SOLD OUT. The announced crowd was 62,779. People are genuinely excited about this team, and honestly, the last time I remember this kind of fanfare around Virginia football was back in the Al Groh days — we’re talking 2007. Almost 20 years.
We finally found a coach who is THE GUY. Tony Elliott’s offense looks great, he’s getting real talent into the school, and the fan base can feel it. Every game is a big party, and Saturday, Charlottesville threw one.
Fun fact I learned during the broadcast: this game was originally scheduled to be played in Brazil before logistics moved it back to Charlottesville. NC State probably wishes it had stayed overseas.
The Game: A 38-Minute Mugging
By halftime it was 17-0 and Virginia had outgained the Wolfpack 220 yards to 83. NC State didn’t even pick up a first down until its fourth possession. The final numbers are just nasty:
- Total yards: Virginia 413, NC State 168
- Time of possession: Virginia 38:03 — a punishing 38 minutes of ball control. Just sick.
- Turnovers: NC State 2, Virginia 0
- Fourth downs: Virginia went a perfect 4-for-4
And here’s a stat that jumped off the page at me: NC State’s 168 total yards were the fewest Virginia has allowed a Power 4 opponent since 2006, when Duke managed just 100. The Wolfpack averaged four plays and 16 yards per drive. Their third-quarter touchdown was the first score against this UVA defense in 96 minutes and 57 seconds of game time, dating back to last season’s Gator Bowl. And all of this WITHOUT star linebacker Kam Robinson, who sat out with a knee injury.
One more piece of history: this was the 700th win in Virginia football program history. It came with style points.
Beau Pribula: Better Runner Than Passer? He’s Both
The announcers gave a scouting report on our new transfer quarterback before kickoff — said he could really run, maybe even a better runner than passer. Let me tell you, they were right about the running. I saw him shaking and baking in the second quarter and thought, “Oh, we’ve got something here.”
The stat line, verified: 9-of-11 passing for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 110 rushing yards on 15 carries. He became the first Virginia quarterback to run for 100+ yards in a game since Brennan Armstrong in 2022.
Now do the math with me, because I love the numbers. That’s 14.1 yards per pass attempt. The national average per attempt in college football typically sits around 7 yards — he DOUBLED it. Add 7.3 yards per carry on the ground, and the run game opened up the pass all day. NC State was off balance from the opening drive.
And my stat of the game: Virginia attempted only 11 passes the entire game. Eleven! When you’re rushing for 258 yards as a team and holding the ball for 38 minutes, you don’t need to throw it. That’s imposing your will.
(Side note: Pribula sounds like a prebiotic ingredient. “New from Super Life Club: now fortified with Pribula for gut health and ACC championships.” Yikes. Moving on.)
Shoutout also to Xavier Brown — two first-half touchdowns, including a 45-yard catch-and-run score, in his first game back since tearing his ACL last October. He said he shed a few tears before the game. That’s what this sport is about.
Full Disclosure: Are We Cheating a Little Bit?
To be honest, I think we’re cheating a little bit — but so is everybody. Our offensive line has the most snaps together in college football. We’ve got linemen who’ve been in college six and seven years thanks to pandemic eligibility rules. Virginia retained four veteran starters up front — McKale Boley, Drake Metcalf, Noah Josey, and Monroe Mills — and it showed. That’s an advantage we probably shouldn’t have, but other teams have the same kind of players, so what’s fair is fair. This is the modern game.
The AI Question & Answer Segment
I’ve been a workaholic — not a lot of time for ball. So I asked AI to help me brush up on my details. Here’s what I learned.
First of all, what IS a Cavalier? And what does “Go Hoos” mean? Who’s who? Wonk wonk.
A Cavalier was a sword-carrying royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War in the 1600s — dashing, loyal, ready to fight. Virginia, being a colony with strong royalist ties, adopted the identity, and UVA made “Cavaliers” official in the 1920s. As for “Wahoos” — legend has it that Washington and Lee baseball fans taunted Virginia players as “Wahoos” back in the 1890s, and UVA fans embraced it. The wahoo is a fish that, according to campus lore, can drink twice its own weight. Students being students, the nickname stuck. “Hoos” is just the short version. So: Go Hoos!
When was Al Groh the coach? What was his greatest success? Did he win the ACC?
Al Groh — a UVA alum himself — coached the Cavaliers from 2001 to 2009, going 59-53. And here’s the answer to my own memory question: no, he never won the ACC. His best year was 2007, when Virginia went 9-4 and shared the Coastal Division lead but lost the tiebreaker to Virginia Tech. He did win ACC Coach of the Year twice (2002 and 2007). His teams were a legit NFL pipeline, though — four first-round draft picks in a four-year span: tight end Heath Miller (2005), tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (No. 4 overall, 2006), defensive end Chris Long (No. 2 overall, 2008), and tackle Branden Albert (2008). So the fanfare I remember was real — it just never turned into a championship.
Who is Virginia bringing back of note? Who did we lose? Who came in through the portal?
The big losses: quarterback Chandler Morris graduated after the 11-win season, and receiver Trell Harris — who led the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns — left through the portal. The returners: that veteran O-line core, running backs Xavier Brown and Noah Vaughn, and star linebacker Kam Robinson (once that knee heals). And Elliott went shopping: 29 transfer additions, headlined by Pribula, who started his career at Penn State and played last season at Missouri. Third team, first time looking like THE guy.
Who did NC State lose in the portal, and where did they go? The cupboard seems pretty bare.
Bare is right. Roughly 20 Wolfpack players entered the portal this past offseason. The headliners: running back Hollywood Smothers — 939 rushing yards and 6 TDs in 2025 — committed to Alabama, then flipped to Texas to pair with Arch Manning. Receiver Terrell Anderson went to USC. Receiver Noah Rogers went to Alabama. Starting left tackle Jacarrius Peak went to South Carolina. When I heard all the preseason fanfare about CJ Bailey being due for a breakout, my first thought was: breakout to WHO? He was 12-of-23 for 84 yards Saturday — his lowest passing output in 23 career starts. This is the NIL era. Bigger schools came with bigger offers, and that’s part of the game now. Sorry, Raleigh.
Other interesting facts from the game
We found out during the broadcast that CJ Bailey and Virginia’s Jamiah Wright played on the same high school team — small world. And Bailey’s old high school circle reads like a five-star reunion: Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Jojo Trader and Chance Robinson (Miami), Ryan Mack (Miami). Should he have gone to Miami?? I’m just asking questions.
My Analysis: Where This Season Goes
Look, this is not a great measuring stick. This is not the same NC State team that played us to a 35-31 thriller last year — a game so fun I forgot I usually DON’T enjoy watching either of these offenses. They lost too much talent, and it showed. But I will take a 34-8 statement win all day.
Beau Pribula is a very good college quarterback. He can help us challenge for the ACC — but it has to be a team effort, and he has to stay as efficient as he was Saturday. The real tests are coming: Is Miami the class of the conference? Is Louisville still decent? Is Florida State renewed? Duke is always tough — and after that championship game, we owe them one.
Next up: after an open date, the Hoos host Norfolk State — coached by Virginia Tech legend Michael Vick — on Friday night, September 11. A Hampton Roads team coming to Charlottesville? You already know Big Party Sports will be locked in on that one.
Our team is exciting. We are genuinely good for the first time in a long time. We have something to cheer for, and Saturday, we took care of business. Go Hoos.
Now I want to hear from you: Did you see the game? What were your impressions of both teams? What do you think Virginia will do this year — and does NC State have a chance to do anything special? Drop it in the comments. Every game is a big party — pull up a chair.
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