CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Beau does, indeed, know football.

Missouri transfer Beau Pribula threw for 155 yards and two scores and added another 110 rushing yards as Virginia dominated visiting North Carolina State for a 34-8 season opening win Saturday at sold-out Scott Stadium.

“When you’ve got a quarterback that’s not scared to stick his face in there and run the ball hard, I think that just brings energy,” running back Xavier Brown said.

Running back Xavier Brown scored a pair of touchdowns, one on a rush and one on a 45-yard pass reception. Virginia piled up 413 yards of total offense.

“I knew we were ready,” Pribula said. “Especially because going against our defense every day is going to prepare you really well.”

Playing without star linebacker Kam Robinson, UVA’s defense was stifling, holding the Wolfpack to 142 yards and didn’t allow a point until late in the third quarter. 

Michigan transfer safety Brandyn Hillman had four tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.

But in front of 62,779 – the eight largest crowd in stadium history – it was fellow transfer Pribula who stole the show.

After a season at Missouri that saw Pribula excel more as a runner than a passer, questions loomed about just how much UVA would have him throwing the ball. And Saturday, 30 of Virginia’s 33 first-half snaps were running plays, including seven carries by Pribula. 

“It was fun to watch him play,” UVA coach Tony Elliott said. “You felt like it was there in practice but it’s different when you’re doing it against somebody else.”

That early pounding of the rock helped soften up the State secondary, leaving it ripe for attack. Pribula connected with running back Xavier Brown on a 45-yard scoring pass in the second quarter and found wide receiver Da’Shawn for a 47-yard touchdown in the third. 

Pribula also became the first Virginia quarterback to run for 100 yards in a game since Brennan Armstrong in 2022.

A year ago, Robinson missed the State game and Bailey led the Wolfpack to a 35-31 win in Raleigh. Saturday, Robinson was in uniform and went through warm ups during the pregame, but his pads came off at kickoff and he did not play. 

The defense didn’t miss a beat.

Virginia forced two three-and-outs on State’s first two possessions. It took a 3-0 lead on a 47-yard field goal by Will Bettridge, equaling his career long, with 5:11 to go. 

On the Wolfpack’s third possession, defensive end Fisher Camac tipped a Bailey pass that Hillman intercepted at the 32.

That set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Xavier Brown, putting the Cavaliers ahead 10-0 before they gained a passing yard. 

For Virginia, 18 of its first 19 plays were runs, including six designed runs and a scramble from Pribula. Each of the Cavaliers’ first four drives started with a Pribula run. That softened up the Wolfpack secondary, priming it for what came next.

After hitting tight end Connor Cox for an 8-yard gain and his first UVA completion, Pribula found an open Brown for a 45-yard touchdown pass.

The Cavaliers went ahead 17-0. 

North Carolina State’s most promising first-half drive ended with a Bailey fumble at the UVA 7-yard line. Hillman forced the fumble that linebacker Landon Danley, playing in place of Robinson, pounced on. 

UVA didn’t let up any to open the second half. Pribula hit Ty’Liric Coleman for a 20-yard pass on a flea flicker. Then, two snaps later, found an open Dashawn Martin for a 47-yard touchdown that put the home team ahead 24-0 just 1:25 into the third quarter. 

North Carolina State didn’t dent the scoreboard until backup quarterback Will Wilson scored on a 1-yard keeper with 4:59 left in the third quarter, trimming the Cavalier advantage to 24-8.

A school record 23-play, 12:15 scoring drive, capped by a Xay Davis 1-yard touchdown score, put UVA ahead 31-8 with 7:44, ending any outside doubt about the outcome.

After the win, Pribula said he was thinking the offense needed to get off the field more quickly.

“I wanted to get off the field as fast as possible because those guys upfront our old,” Pribula joked. “They can’t take a beating like that. I think that’s kind of who we are, in a sense. That’s what we’re able to do. It just opens up so many things when you have guys like that upfront.”