Tony Elliott firmly believes that if Brennan Armstrong can connect on the long ball early that it will back defenses off and open things up for the Cavaliers offensively.

“The Jerry Ratcliffe Show” welcomes Chris Graham to pepper the host with questions about UVA’s ACC road opener on Saturday at Duke. Jerry likes what the ‘Hoos have been doing on defense, but the big question is, can Tony Elliott get the offense to produce enough to get Virginia back into the ACC Coastal Division race?

Weather forecasts for Durham for the weekend include a chance of heavy rain – possibly 3-to-7 inches – and possible flash flooding from Hurricane Ian.

Virginia expects to have a couple of players back this week off the injured list, and Tony Elliott has made a couple of other changes as the Cavaliers brace for their third road trip of the season against Duke.

Former Cavalier Jelani Woods became the Colts’ first rookie tight end to haul in two or more touchdowns in a game since 1963.

Not long ago, Tony Elliott was taking a long, thoughtful look at Duke’s head coaching job. The Blue Devils were competing with Virginia for Elliott’s attention, and finally lost out to their northern neighbors.

Virginia senior Chico Bennett Jr. was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week on Monday. It marks the second-straight week a Cavalier has been recognized by the league it its weekly awards.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday the start time for Virginia’s Oct. 8 home football game against Louisville will be at noon. The game will be televised on ACC Network.

Who would have ever expected Virginia’s defense would be the strength of this football team after the first month of play this season? OK, John Rudzinski, your vote doesn’t count.

Virginia fought back from a 16-point halftime deficit, but a late penalty wiped out a golden opportunity in a 22-20 loss at Syracuse in the ACC opener Friday night.

Scattershooting around Virginia’s athletic program before kickoff with Syracuse …

“The Jerry Ratcliffe Show” welcomes Chris Graham to preview the UVA-Syracuse game on Friday night. Jerry then provides updates on UVA basketball coach Tony Bennett’s efforts on the recruiting trail.

It will mark just the second meeting between the schools as conference rivals since Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.

The obvious storyline of Virginia’s game at Syracuse on Friday night is the matchup between the Cavaliers and their former coaches Robert Anae and Jason Beck.

For the second game in a row, Virginia will be without one of the key figures in its pass-receiving corps, in slot receiver Billy Kemp IV.

Nobody is harder on Brennan Armstrong than Brennan Armstrong.

Virginia kicker Brendan Farrell was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Specialist of the Week on Monday. Additionally, Farrell was one of three kickers to be listed as a Lou Groza Award Star of the Week.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday the start time for Virginia’s Oct. 1 football game at Duke will be 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ACC Regional Sports Networks.

After not scoring a touchdown in a loss at Illinois a week ago, Tony Elliott quickly recognized something had to change.

Virginia kicker Brendan Farrell needed another chance. Actually, the Cavaliers were glad he had that opportunity after he missed a 36-yard field goal with 3:07 remaining in the game and the team nursing a 13-7 lead over Old Dominion.