# 2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team

The 2017 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at Scott Stadium. They competed as members of the Coastal Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they lost to Navy.

## Roster
### Coaching changes

* On June 21, 2017 Vic So'oto was hired as defensive line coach. So'oto replaces Ruffin McNeill who joined the University of Oklahoma coaching staff.

### Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Quin Blanding
* Joey Blount
| WLB | BLB | MLB | SLB |
| Chris Peace | Jordan Mack | Micah Kiser | Chris Moore |
| Elliot Brown | C.J. Stalker | Zane Zandier | Malcolm Cook |
* SABRE
* Brenton Nelson
* Nick Grant
* CB
* Juan Thornhill
* De'Vante Cross
| DE | NT | DE |
| Juwan Moye | Eli Hanback | Andrew Brown |
| Steven Wright | James Trucilla | Christian Baumgardner |
* CB
* Bryce Hall
* Darrius Bratton
Offense :
* WR (X)
* Andrew Levrone
* Terrell Jana
* WR (Z)
* Doni Dowling
* De'Vante Cross
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Jack English | John Montelus | Dillon Reinkensmeyer | Jake Fieler | Brandon Pertile |
| Ryan Nelson | Ben Knutson | Jake Fieler | RJ Proctor | Chris Glaser |
| Osiris Crutchfield | ⋅ | Tyler Fannin | Jack McDonald | ⋅ |
* TE
* Evan Butts
* Richard Burney
* Tanner Cowley
* WR (Y)
* Joe Reed
* Hasise Dubois
* QB
* Kurt Benkert
* Lindell Stone
* Key reserves
* WR (H) Olamide Zaccheaus
* BB Jordan Ellis
* BB Jamari Peacock
* KO Brian Delaney
* KO Andrew King
* RB
* Daniel Hamm
* Jordan Ellis
* Chris Sharp
* Special teams
* PK A.J. Mejia
* PK Andrew King
* P Lester Coleman
* KR Daniel Hamm KR Joe Reed
* PR Daniel Hamm PR Chuck Davis PR Juan Thornhill
* LS Joe Spaziani LS Richard Burney
* H Nash Griffin H Lester Coleman

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 3:30 p.m. | William & Mary* | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCN Extra | W 28–10 | 38,828 |
| September 9 | 3:30 p.m. | Indiana* | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPNU | L 17–34 | 38,993 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | UConn* | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPN2 | W 38–18 | 33,056 |
| September 22 | 8:00 p.m. | at Boise State* | Albertsons StadiumBoise, ID | ESPN2 | W 42–23 | 33,947 |
| October 7 | 12:20 p.m. | Duke | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCN | W 28–21 | 38,638 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | at North Carolina | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry) | ACCRSN | W 20–14 | 50,000 |
| October 21 | 12:30 p.m. | Boston College | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCRSN | L 10–41 | 39,216 |
| October 28 | 12:30 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ACCRSN | L 14–31 | 30,889 |
| November 4 | 3:00 p.m. | Georgia Tech | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCRSN | W 40–36 | 38,448 |
| November 11 | 3:30 p.m. | at Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ESPNU | L 21–38 | 46,787 |
| November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 2 Miami (FL) | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL | ABC | L 28–44 | 63,415 |
| November 24 | 8:00 p.m. | No. 24 Virginia Tech | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup) | ESPN | L 0–10 | 48,609 |
| December 28 | 1:30 p.m. | at Navy* | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD (Military Bowl) | ESPN | L 7–49 | 35,921 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
Source:

## Game summaries
### William & Mary

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tribe | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hoosiers | 0 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |

### UConn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

### At Boise State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| Broncos | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
The Cavaliers came in as thirteen point underdogs against the Broncos and quickly went down 7–0 within the first three minutes. After this shaky start, the Cavaliers took a 21–14 lead into halftime led by success in the passing game on offense. To start the second half, the Cavaliers took just 3 plays to score, stretching the lead to 28–14. Virginia pressed its advantage to 42–14 before Boise State made it 42–23 on a late safety and touchdown. The win has been hailed as Virginia's "most impressive win" so far under Coach Mendenhall.

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### At North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Tar Heels | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |

### Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 17 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |

### At Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Panthers | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |

### Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Yellow Jackets | 7 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 36 |
| Cavaliers | 3 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 40 |

### At Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |

### At Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| No. 2 Hurricanes | 7 | 7 | 17 | 13 | 44 |

### Virginia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Hokies | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### At Navy (Military Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Midshipmen | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

## 2018 NFL Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Micah Kiser | Los Angeles Rams | 5th | 147 | LB |
| Andrew Brown | Cincinnati Bengals | 5th | 158 | DE |