By Scott German
JerryRatcliffe.com Staff Writer
NC State had recent history on its side heading into Saturday’s Week 0 game against Virginia, having won the last four games in the series.
The Wolfpack entered Scott Stadium with high expectations for the 2026 season, as some publications labeled State an ACC “sleeper.”
Instead, the Wolfpack was put to sleep early by the Cavaliers, suffering their first season-opening loss since 2017 in a 34-8 butt-kicking.
In plain English, NC State was taken to the woodshed by Virginia, and that wasn’t something Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren tried to deny.
“My team simply wasn’t ready for this game; give them (Virginia) credit, they came out, punched us in the face, and we totally didn’t respond,” said Doeren.
If you want 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!
NC State wasn’t supposed to leave Charlottesville with a win. The “wiseguys” in Vegas had the Wolfpack about a 5-point underdog, and most thought that was being generous.
But losing 34-8 was far from what anyone was expecting.
Doeren said what almost everyone in the sellout crowd of 62,000 would agree with: “Virginia was more physical. They won the line of scrimmage and the turnover game, and that’s on me. I told my team, ‘That’s on me.’ I always take how we play personally, and today was personal; we weren’t ready.”
Saturday, State was beaten in every aspect of the game, on both sides.
Virginia finished with a 413-168 advantage in total yards.
“You know, it wasn’t like we didn’t know coming in how dominant Virginia’s offensive line could be; I think the rest of the league is soon going to find that out,” said Doeren outside a very quiet Wolfpack locker room.
Doeren continued to talk about UVA’s offensive line play. “Ok, we knew their offensive line was going to be good; we knew it was going to be a tough battle, but to be honest, it wasn’t really the tailbacks that hurt us; their run game was about the quarterback (Missouri transfer Beau Pribula).”
That may go down as college football’s understatement of the year.
Virginia dominated NC State from the start, and it started with Pribula, who provided much of the Cavaliers’ offense in the first half, accounting for 80 of the team’s 164 rushing yards before intermission.
Pribula also took to the air as well, using the punishing run game to open the door for a few deep passing plays.
After a ball fake to a receiver on a route, Pribula connected with Xavier Brown out of the backfield, who was wide open in the middle of the field for a 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 11 minutes left in the second quarter, giving Virginia a 17-0 lead.
In the third quarter, Pribula had a similar scoring strike, finding Da’Shawn Martin, who had snuck behind the State defense, for a 48-yard touchdown that all but sent the Wolfpack packing, making it 24-0.
Doeren on Pribula: “No doubt about it, he made us pay dearly on both those plays. Give him a ton of credit. While they were both defensive lapses by us, he made the throws when he needed to.”
Indeed, it was a very impressive start to Pribula’s one-year UVA career.
In his single season at Missouri, the rap on Pribula was his inconsistency as a passer.
Prior to playing at Missouri, Pribula was primarily used as a backup quarterback at Penn State, mostly as a runner.
Saturday, Pribula finished 9-of-11 passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 110 yards on 15 carries.
“You know, we just have to correct these mistakes and come out next week against Richmond ready to play, more focused. That’s on me,” said Doeren.
Another positive for Doeren and NC State: I doubt the Spiders have another Pribula-type quarterback on the roster.
If you want 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!
