CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – A year ago, Virginia suffered an early-season loss in the state of North Carolina, falling 35-31 to North Carolina State in Raleigh on Sept. 6. The Cavaliers then won their next seven games on their way to a record-setting 11-3 season.

“They went on a run to respond the right way,” UVA coach Tony Elliott said Saturday night after his team’s 38-27 loss to West Virginia. 

Elliott brought that up to emphasize that one September defeat doesn’t need to derail the entire season.

“All of our goals are still on the table,” Elliott said. “We’ve got an opportunity to continue to control our own destiny in the league. And I think the ultimate objective is to get back here in December.”

Losing a neutral-site, non-conference game like Saturday night’s Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte, N.C., has no impact on the Cavaliers’ ACC championship game hopes. At 1-0 in league play, UVA (2-1) is still in position to make a run at returning to the league title game in Charlotte for a second straight year, even if the Queen City hasn’t been kind to it as of late.

Last season, Virginia lost 27-20 in overtime in the championship game at Bank of America Stadium, falling to a Duke team it had just beaten convincingly three weeks earlier.

“Same locker room we took a loss in twice,” offensive lineman Monroe Mills noted. “But hey, everything’s in front of us still.”

That’s certainly true. But while Saturday’s loss won’t factor into UVA’s chances of getting back to Charlotte, what does matter is whether some of Virginia’s struggles against West Virginia (3-0) were one-offs or will be issues as the season progresses. 

The Cavaliers return to action Saturday night at Scott Stadium against Delaware.

Here are three key takeaways from Saturday night’s loss to the Mountaineers.

The defensive line struggled

Playing without defensive tackle Jason Hammond and facing a WVU offense designed to move so quickly it makes substituting difficult, UVA’s defensive front had a rough night against the Mountaineers. 

Hammond underwent elbow surgery after being injured against Norfolk State on Sept. 11 and is out indefinitely. 

Saturday, WVU piled up 247 rushing yards, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. UVA got just one sack on Mountaineers quarterback Michael Hawkins, who ran for 123 yards and three scores. But not only did the Cavaliers fail to pressure Hawkins when he was passing – he threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns – they also couldn’t contain him when he was scrambling, allowing him to break contain multiple times.

Hawkins and running back Cam Cook each had runs for over 20 yards in the game.

UVA struggled with WVU’s blitzes

One of the strengths of Virginia’s offense is its experience. But Saturday night, quarterback Beau Pribula struggled to identify West Virginia’s blitzes and adjust UVA’s offensive calls. Pribula was sacked three times and hit on multiple other plays.

Beau Pribula
Beau Pribula

“I blame myself,” Pribula said. “Could’ve gotten us out of some bad plays, at times, and just kept us on schedule.”

Things only got worse for the Cavaliers when left guard Noah Josey got knocked out of the game in the second quarter. Ben York and Jon Adair played in Josey’s spot the rest of the game. That appeared to coincide with UVA’s offense falling out of sync. The Cavaliers scored two first-quarter touchdowns, then were outscored 31-13 the rest of the way.

“Obviously he’s a huge leader for us. Missed his presence,” Pribula said. “I thought the way the other guys stepped up, it’s a deep offensive line room, and I don’t feel any drop-off when that happens.”

Rico Flores Jr. makes a big play in his debut

Flores, the UCLA transfer, was the most ballyhooed of UVA’s wide receiver additions this offseason. The 6-foot-2, 211-pound California native started his career at Notre Dame in 2023 and then spent two seasons with the Bruins. In all, Flores caught 65 passes for 853 yards and two scores over those years. 

This season, he had been hampered by a hamstring injury and didn’t play in either of Virginia’s first two games, wins over North Carolina State and Norfolk State.

But with one impressive fourth-down catch Saturday night in Charlotte, Flores showed why his coaches are so high on him. 

On fourth-and-10 at the WVU 34-yard line, trailing 21-14, Virginia decided to go for it. Despite tight coverage from Mountaineers’ cornerback Wilson, Flores went up and made a contested catch at the 8-yard line for a 26-yard gain. 

“Rico did a great job making a play at a time we needed it,” Pribula said.

The Flores play set up a game-tying touchdown reception for Jekail Middlebrook. 

“We needed to make that play,” Elliott said. “And it was good to see our guys respond.”