Remember how Virginia came into the season with the most experienced roster in all of FBS – one that the donors ponied up $40 million for Tony Elliott to put together?
Lotta good that’s done.
Wake Forest, which has to give out Burger King coupons in lieu of actual NIL, scored on its first nine possessions, and held the UVA offense to one garbage time touchdown, and 32 sack-adjusted rushing yards, in a 51-7 rout on Saturday in Winston-Salem.
This one was the third loss in a row for the ‘Hoos (4-5, 2-4 ACC), and would seem to force coach Tony Elliott’s hand with respect to his stubborn insistence to stick with Beau Pribula as his starting QB.
Pribula had good counting numbers – 20-of-29, 212 yards, one TD, one INT – but, as can be the case with numbers, his were deceptive.
Pribula was 7-of-10 for 97 yards and the TD after Virginia had already fallen behind 30-0 with 7:07 to go in the third quarter, which is to say, in garbage time.
Elliott finally went to Eli Holstein in relief, and Holstein, against Wake’s backups, was 12-of-16 for 102 yards.
The Virginia defense, which came into the game allowing 350.9 yards per game, got gashed – Wake put up 538 yards, 309 (!) on the ground.
No better time for a bye week.
Maybe we could just shut it down for the season.
Virginia at #14 Wake Forest | 3:45 p.m. ET
- Series: Virginia leads series, 35-18
- Last meeting: Wake Forest, 16-9 (2025)
- TV: ESPN2
- SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 185 / SiriusXM 235 / SiriusXM 272
- SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 959 / SiriusXM 982
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Game coverage
Update: 3:04 p.m. Availability report latest
In addition to Virginia not having lead tailback Jekail Middlebrook, one of the backups at tailback, Noah Vaughn, was listed as “out” on the 1:45 p.m. ET update to the availability report.
Other key guys out:
- S Brandyn Hillman
- S Corey Costner
- S Ethan Minter
- CB Omillio Agard
- LB Caleb Hardy
- DT Jason Hammond
- DE Devon Baxter
- WR Kam Courtney
- WR Rico Flores
Update: 3:56 p.m. Here we go again
Virginia gets the ball first, goes three-and-out: two runs, incompletion on third down, Beau Pribula a smidge late on a pass to Dakota Twitty, broken up.
Solomon Beebe, the dog abuser, missed a tackle at the end of the 49-yard Daniel Sparks punt, and the return went 30 yards, to midfield.
Quick drive: five plays, 51 yards, two big pass plays, converting a third-and-10, then setting up a first-and-goal.
Wake Forest 7-0, 12:29/1st
Update: 4:11 p.m. Pribula INT’d
Virginia moved the ball into Wake territory, but a false start on John Rogers on the first-down play set the ball behind the sticks.
On a fourth-and-5, Pribula was INT’d. There was contact on the receiver on the play, no call.
Josiah Abdullah was the intended receiver. He was already losing his balance before the contact. which is probably why there was no call.
Update: 4:20 p.m. Wake scores again
The short field from the INT leads to a short-drive field goal – 11 plays, 36 yards, 45-yard field goal from Connor Calvert.
It shouldn’t be a good thing that 11 plays, 36 yards feels like a win for the defense.
Wake Forest 10-0, 2:30/1st
Update: 4:31 p.m. Why PFF doesn’t assign all sacks to the OL
The color guy on ESPN2 noticed what we’ve been seeing for weeks: Pribula is good at turning clean pockets and open receivers into sacks.
Not the O line’s fault.
Da’Shawn Martin was open in the slot, twice, on that play.
Who does TE yell at after the failed third-down conversion? Da’Shawn Martin.
Update: 4:38 p.m. Wake scores … again
This one: 10 plays, 81 yards.
Total offense: Wake 168, Virginia 47
That sounds low.
Wake is 6-of-7 on third downs.
Average yards per play: Wake 6.7, Virginia 2.9.
Hey, at least you can get the kids out early for trick-or-treating.
Wake Forest 17-0, 11:33/2nd
Update: 4:54 p.m. Attacking more
Pribula has two completions on passes 10+ yards downfield: 2-of-2, 51 yards.
Update: 4:56 p.m. Direct snap doesn’t work
Virginia drives to the Wake 6. Fourth-and-short. Direct snap to the back, which has been working, when it was Jekail Middlebrook.
Middlebrook is out; Xay Davis fakes the pitch to Beau Pribula, which is part of the play design, but also, the back has not yet pitched the ball to Pribula on this play this season, so, you don’t have to respect it.
The fake, though, does slow down the momentum of the tailback, and gives the D a tick extra to get penetration.
Which was what we saw here.
No gain, turnover on downs.
Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, no points.
Update: 5:13 p.m. Four-for-four
Wake has had the ball on offense four times: 255 yards, two TDs, two field goals.
- Gio Lopez: 10-of-15, 149 yards, 9.9 yards/attempt, 150.1 passer rating; 9 rushing attempts, 68 yards, 7.6 yards/attempt.
- Beau Pribula: 12-of-18, 108 yards, 6.0 yards/attempt, 1 INT, 106 passer rating; 5 rushing attempts, 13 yards, 2.6 yards/attempt.
Virginia, averaging 161.6 rushing yards per game, has 23 yards on 12 rushing attempts.
Half: Wake Forest 20, Virginia 0
Update: 5:28 p.m. What do you do differently in the second half?
Oh-for-four on offense, oh-for-four on defense.
What do you do?
Well, I mean, you know, right, what you do, every single guy in here, just got to want it more, right?
Got to look at themselves in the mirror, the man in the mirror, got to take accountability, got to want to get it fixed.
Right?
This is what we all want, to be out here. Got to make plays.
I like the guys that we have on our team. They’re all good kids.
I like what we have to work with.
Just got to execute.
Update: 5:44 p.m. Five-for-five
Wake scores again, third field goal of the day.
Drive: 11 plays, 49 yards.
Their punter is the Maytag repairman today.
Looks like we need to keep working on getting it fixed.
Wake Forest 23-0, 9:59/3rd
Update: 5:51 p.m. Oh-for-five
Another three-and-out.
Then, a 60-yard punt.
Again, poor punt coverage. Kam Robinson had contain, missed the tackle at the end of the kick.
Then missed another tackle about 25 yards downfield.
A 60-yard punt ended up with a negative-4 net.
This staff should not only be fired, they should have to arrange for independent transportation back to Charlottesville.
Update: 5:55 p.m. Short field TD
Carlos Hernandez wide GD open on the corner route.
Hernandez: 8 catches/9 targets, 136 yards
Wake Forest 30-0, 7:07/3rd
Update: 6:01 p.m. It’s time!
Eli Holstein needs to get up in the bullpen.
Update: 6:04 p.m. Running clock?
It’s been a long time since I covered high school games, but a high school game over 35-0 in the second half means a running clock – on balls out of bounds, incompletions.
Initiate running clock.
Wake Forest 37-0, 4:24/3rd
Update: 6:15 p.m. Now we’re cheap shotting the QB
The TV guys were very generous there on the cheap hit by Matthew Fobbs-White on Gio Lopez. He went late and low. He’d be fined if he was in the NFL.
BTW, another Wake TD drive.
Five TDs, three field goals, a perfect 8-for-8 today.
Total offense: Wake Forest 452, Virginia 153
Wake Forest 44-0, 1:57/3rd
Update: 6:18 p.m. TE has good stats to point to for BP
Beau Pribula connects with Da’Shawn Martin for a 47-yard garbage time TD, the first of maybe a couple that will pad the stats.
Pribula: 20-of-29, 212 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Coulda had Eli Holstein in against Wake’s twos and threes to get that one, but, no, that would be something the rest of us could use to say, see?
Wake Forest 44-7, :50/3rd
Update: 6:36 p.m. Half a hundred
Wake’s backup QB leads the offense on a 75-yard TD drive.
Total offense: Wake Forest 527, Virginia 228
Rushing yards: Wake 298, UVA 16
This is a pants down ass-whuppin’.
Wake Forest 51-7, 9:08/4th
Update: 6:46 p.m. Eli Holstein
Eli Holstein goes 7-of-10 for 61 yards against soft zones from the Wake threes and fours, though, to be fair, he’s got Virginia’s two and threes on offense.
But, the drive stalled at the 5.
Proving TE right, that Holstein isn’t the guy.
/s
I love listening to the dips–t ESPN color guy talking about his “film study” indicating to him that Beau Pribula should have still been in the starting lineup.
“Film study.”
What did the guy watch, a BP highlight reel?
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Chris Graham
