Virginia laid an omelet big enough to feed the Queen City on Saturday when the Cavaliers were embarrassed by 10-point underdog West Virginia.

Rich Rodriguez has been around the block, having been head coach at West Virginia (twice), Michigan, Arizona with a few whistle stops in between, so when he talks about the challenges of going up against a veteran Virginia team (Saturday night, 7:30 p.m., ACC Network) in Charlotte, fans tend to listen to what he says.

The Mountaineers defense is coached by Zach Alley, a protege of defensive wizard Brent Venables, and once the youngest defensive coordinator in the country.

UVA has been difficult to run against for most of last season and two games into the ‘26 campaign, ranking No. 35 nationally in rush defense after two games.

There were a lot of knocks on Beau Pribula after his season at Missouri. Critics questioned his arm strength, his accuracy, his decision making because of interceptions, and said he was more of a running quarterback than a passer.

Every week it seems Virginia is facing yet another mobile quarterback and this week is no different when the Cavaliers take on West Virginia in Charlotte on Saturday night (7:30, ACC Network).

Virginia place-kicker Will Bettridge knew that coming into last weekend’s game against Norfolk State that he might have a shot at breaking the Cavaliers’ career scoring record.

While UVA is ranked 14th in the 17-team ACC in passing yardage per game (192 ypg), the story dramatically changes when ranking pass efficiency.

Virginia has lost veteran starting defensive Jason Hammond for the foreseeable future after the senior suffered an arm injury against Norfolk State last weekend.

When I was asked to speak at former Virginia football coach Dick Bestwick’s memorial tribute at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta a few years ago, I was told a great Bestwick story by one of his assistant coaches, Jack Daniels.

On Wednesday evening, we welcome a very special guest to “The Jerry Ratcliffe Show:” Mr. Sean Perry, father of the late D’Sean Perry, one of the three Virginia football players who were tragically taken in the November 2022 shootings.

Week Two was a mixed bag of results for the ACC. A couple of solid wins for the league, as both Wake Forest and Duke went into Big Ten country and secured victories.

The Mountaineers are coached by Rich Rodriguez, who was the offensive coordinator at Clemson when Tony Elliott was a wide receiver there.

After Virginia manhandled Norfolk State on Friday, Tony Elliott said that he and his coaching staff were still trying to figure things out.

Three UVA signal callers combined for six touchdown passes on the night as the 25th-ranked Cavaliers cruised to 2-0 with a 59-3 victory.

By Jerry Ratcliffe Love him or hate him, Michael Vick will bring his Norfolk State Spartans to Scott Stadium tonight for Virginia’s second test of the season (7 o’clock, ACC Network Plus). To read the rest of this article and even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

By Jerry Ratcliffe One of the reasons why Virginia’s defense was so successful in handcuffing NC State Heisman candidate DJ Bailey two weeks ago was some of the tactics used by defensive coordinator John Rudzinski when it came to disguising coverages and pre-snap looks. To read the rest of this article and even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

By Jerry Ratcliffe It would be hard to imagine a secondary performing as well as Virginia did in its opener against NC State in Week 0. Defensive coordinator John Rudzinski would like to see the Cavaliers continue that type of dominance on Friday night when Michael Vick’s Norfolk State comes to Scott Stadium (7 p.m., ACC Network Extra). To read the rest of this article and even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” […]

By Jerry Ratcliffe Des Kitching’s offensive philosophy evolves around this mantra: You’ve got to run to win, but you’ve got to throw to score. To read the rest of this article and even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

By Jerry Ratcliffe One of the benefits of the early bye week this season was that several Virginia players had an extra week to heal and so Tony Elliott announced at his press conference that a handful of players will be ready for Friday night’s home game against Norfolk State (7 p.m., ACC Network Extra). To read the rest of this article and even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and […]