Grounds is flooded with students again, the Corner is alive once more and class is back in session for the fall semester. That means another season of Virginia football is on the horizon. The Cavaliers will start their season with a matchup against Richmond Saturday at Scott Stadium, where they will attempt to start off 1-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
The Spiders are not a pushover team. They are ranked 12th nationally in the preseason FCS Coaches poll and will have a significant chance to win their conference this year. Meanwhile, Virginia is coming off of a 3-9 2023 season where they suffered five one-score losses and left fans wondering what could have been. However, in this opening contest, Virginia should have the upper hand due to strong depth and a plethora of skilled playmakers across multiple positions.
Richmond certainly has a lot of experience on their team, something which could help them pull off the upset. Richmond Coach Russ Huesman has been leading the team for several years, posting many winning seasons and producing over twenty NFL Draft picks. They also are returning junior starting quarterback Kyle Wickersham, all three of their leading receivers and their leader in interceptions. With a lot of these players having gone against the Cavaliers before in 2022, expect the Spiders to battle through the pressure of an ACC road night game.
That being said, the talent gap between FBS and FCS is still notable, and this Virginia team is much better than their record from last season showed. There is big play ability on this roster, from sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea to senior wide receiver Malachi Fields to senior safety Jonas Sanker.
Another layer to look at this game is the quarterback competition in the Cavalier locker room. Colandrea was officially named the starter Saturday over graduate student Tony Muskett — the sophomore is now set to lead the offense with an incredibly aggressive playstyle as he looks to gain a tighter grip on the starting job.
With an absolutely stacked group of Cavalier receivers, Colandrea will have lots of help. The core of Fields, Notre Dame transfer Chris Tyree and North Carolina transfer Andre Greene Jr. has enough skill to blow up any defensive scheme and make life challenging for opponents. Going further, graduate student tight ends Tyler Neville and Sage Ennis — formerly of Harvard and Clemson, respectively — are additions to the list of transfers who look to succeed at Virginia, as the two of them both will get significant playing time in week one, specifically in any set with two tight ends.
The Virginia defense has also improved from 2023, with returning talent expected to perform better than 2023 — notably, Sanker is an early favorite to be an All-American selection. Other huge contributors for the Cavalier defense include sophomore linebacker Kam Robinson, graduate defensive end Chico Bennett Jr. and sixth-year defensive end Kam Butler. This Virginia squad has returned nearly a full 11 starters or contributors with heavy playing time in 2023, so they will be ready for whatever Richmond has to throw at them.
Another factor to recognize in this game is the stakes it has for Coach Tony Elliott. Since taking over the program, the team has yet to make a bowl game or even come close to that feat. The pressure is on for Elliott to win games and make Virginia a competitive team for the first time since they made the ACC Championship game in 2019. If the Cavaliers want to make a bowl game this year, they cannot afford to drop an early-season game like this to an FCS opponent. Therefore, expect Elliott not to take this game lightly and attempt to open the season with a statement win.
Overall, this game should go in favor of Virginia. They are bigger, more dynamic and overall a better team. Being the first home game of the year, there will be a swarm of fans at Scott Stadium to cheer on the Cavaliers like there was for the early-season match against James Madison last year. However, unlike against the Dukes, Virginia should take down their in-state opponent and start off on the right foot at home in 2024.
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