In UVA’s 48-20 victory over Stanford on Saturday night, if all someone had seen was the final score, you would think that sounds like a perfect win.
But there’s plenty of work to be done in the six days between a defeat of the Cardinal and a Friday night date with the Seminoles of FSU.
Special teams need help. The offense left, at a minimum, 15 points on the field. The secondary could be a little tighter, but there are potential reasons for some of the lapses on Saturday evening that I’ll address.
The only other issue that I’m certain infuriated the coaching staff was the multiple “no talent required” penalties. In case you are wondering what these are, they are penalties like holding when you’re 15 yards away from the play, offsides, delay of game and false starts. Virginia had three of the delay and false start variety and one holding that cost the Cavaliers a touchdown run.
However, the fact remains that with the penalties, the issues with special teams and some secondary lapses, UVA still put on a dominating performance.
The task will get tougher this week against FSU. This game will give coaches and fans the opportunity to get a sober look at where the 2025 Virginia football team stands.
Operations Breakdowns
Offense Game Recap & Game Grade: 95.62 (A)
This was undoubtedly Chandler Morris’s best game as a Cavalier. He made big plays, he extended plays, and his decision-making was excellent. While there were some kinks in the team’s effort, especially at the end of the first half, the offense continues to gel in both the passing and run game.
The ‘Hoos scored 182 points in their first four games of the year. That point total was last accrued by a UVA offense in 2021, when Virginia scored 182 points over a five-game stretch against Louisville, Duke, Georgia Tech, BYU and Notre Dame.
For the second consecutive week, all four offensive units recorded championship level grades (A), and three units netted their highest marks of the season.
Leading the operation was the wide receivers with 20 catches for 355 yards, averaging 17.75 yards per catch (YPC) and scoring four touchdowns. Their receiving grade was 98.47 and their overall mark was 97.64.
The quarterback unit came in second with a 96.1, followed by the offensive line and the running backs.
Defense Game Recap & Game Grade: 89.3 (B+)
Virginia’s defensive brain trust appeared to make the decision to completely stall the Cardinal running game. Stanford came into the weekend averaging 136.3 yards per game rushing, 3.9 yards per carry and had scored two rushing TDs.
John Rudzinski kept the safeties close to the line of scrimmage early in the game, and they were aggressive against the run. That might have been part of the reason for some of the long pass gains, essentially putting the corners in man coverage, but it allowed the UVA tempo offense to get a couple-score lead and force the “limit possessions” offense of Stanford to speed up the game.
I thought this was UVA’s best tackling game of the season, and clearly it was the best pressure game of the year. The ‘Hoos posted five sacks for -47 yards, six quarterback hurries (QBH) and seven QBHits.
For the third consecutive week, the defensive line led the operation with the highest grade of 91.35. The linebacking corps came in with an 88.505, and the defensive backs netted an 88.02.
One note on the linebackers: Maddox Marcellus, James Jackson and Kam Robinson all had a solid coverage game.
Special Teams Recap & Game Grade: 82.45 (B-)
Virginia’s kickoff coverage unit led the way with their highest grade of the season, delivering a championship level 90.414.
Punt coverage came in second at 88.97 followed closely by the kickoff return unit.
The short 25-yard field goal miss by Will Bettridge cost the place-kicking unit their lowest grade of the season with a 79.53.
Stanford Grades & Notes
Offense – Grades: 95.62 (A)
- Quarterback: 96.1 (A)
- Running backs 93.02 (A)
- Wide receivers & tight ends: 97.64 (A)
- Offensive line: 95.74 (A)
Offense – Quick Takes & Notes
Highlights: UVA’s offense has notched 50 percent-plus in third-down conversions in every game this season. The Cavaliers last exceeded 50 percent conversion in three consecutive games in 2021. That was also the last year the ‘Hoos converted over 50 percent in five games overall. They will have the opportunity to tie that mark this weekend.
Not so bright: I hate to rant and cover the same topic multiple times in an article, but “no talent penalties” are a blight on the game of football. Do I make errors or forget something in my job? I do. Am I human? Yes. But really, three delay and false start penalties?
Notes & Stats
- Virginia is currently ranked 11th in the nation in scoring offense with a 45.5 points per game mark. That will ensure that two of the top 11 scoring teams in the NCAA will face off on Friday night in Charlottesville.
- The ‘Hoos have produced 13 rushing TDs this season and 23 overall. UVA is tied for seventh in most TD scored this season. Florida State will come into Scott Stadium this weekend having not surrendered a rushing TD in 2025.
- Des Kitchens’s rushing attack is currently 12th in the NCAA in rushing with a 251.50 yards per game average.
- Even though Virginia allowed its first sack of the season, the Hoos remain in second place for the fewest sacks nationally. They own a 0.25 sack-per-game rate.
- The Wahoo offense continues delivering inside plus territory. Against the Cardinal, they posted 5.33 points per possession inside the Stanford 40-yard line. In UVA’s first four games they have averaged 4.74 points per 40+ possession. A team’s chance of winning that puts up between 4.5 and 5.00 points inside the opponent’s 40 is 62.6 percent.
Defense – Grades: 89.29 (B+)
- Defensive line: 91.35 (A-)
- Linebackers: 88.505 (B+)
- Secondary: 88.02 (B+)
Defense – Quick Takes & Notes
Highlights: The return of safety Antonio Clary, linebacker Kam Robinson, and defensive end Mekhi Buchanan is a much welcome highlight.
Not so bright: Stanford’s offense and their quarterback Ben Gulbranson gave Virginia’s secondary fits at times on Saturday. As noted earlier, some of that could be attributed to the defensive alignment coach Rudzinski deployed with the low safeties to force the visitors out of their possession-limiting offense and to the sky. When they did, their deep attempts off play-action were relatively successful. With that, there still seems to be some lapses and confusion with alignment that need to be cleaned up.
Notes & Stats
- Stanford entered the UVA week having forced four turnovers in 2025, scoring touchdowns off all four. Stanford recorded 21 points off BC TOs. Virginia had zero TOs vs. the Cardinal.
- Despite being ranked 101st in total defense, the Cavaliers rank 48th in scoring defense, allowing just 19.5 points per game in 2025.
- Stanford was the first opponent to break the 15 percent third-down conversion percentage this season. The Seminole offense currently has a 66.67 percent conversion rate.
- After a fairly disjointed end of the first half where a fifth first-half touchdown had been called back due to a holding penalty (the penalty was called on the wrong player as well), the UVA offense opened the second half with a seven-play, 68-yard drive for a touchdown and a three-score advantage. Virginia’s defense took over and shut down Stanford with a three-and-out and a drive that ended seven yards back from where it started. Which brings me to a concern. The defense has surrendered an average of 11.3 points in the third quarter this season. Hopefully, that is changing as UVA only allowed six points in third quarter on Saturday but none thereafter. In fact, the Cavaliers have not allowed a single point in the fourth quarter this year.
- STANFORD HAVOC Info – PBUs – 5; QBH – 6: QBHits 7; TFL – 7; Sacks – 5; Runs Stuffed – 6
Special Teams – Grades: 82.73 (B-)
- Kickoff return: 86.7 (C)
- Kickoff coverage: 90.41 (A-)
- Place kicking: 79.53 (C+)
- Punt return: 66.62 (D)
- Punt coverage: 88.97
Special Teams – Quick Takes & Notes
Highlights: Cam Ross’s 32-yard kickoff return can be included, and Elijah Slibeck’s two punts of 53 and 48 yards are encouraging if he is needed long-term this season.
Not so bright: Not sure what’s happening with the field goal operation but there’s a lot of mistakes that I am certain the coaching staff is working to correct.
Notes & Stats
The Cavaliers are still ranked sixth nationally in punting and second in kickoff returns.
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