# 2018 Virginia Cavaliers football team

The 2018 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by third-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at Scott Stadium. They competed as a member of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

## Previous season

Virginia ended the 2017 season with a 6–7 overall record, 3–5 in the ACC, to finish in a tie for fourth place in the ACC Coastal Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl, where they were defeated by Navy.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Juan Thornhill | S | SR |
| Fred Biletnikoff Award | Olamide Zaccheaus | RB | SR |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Juan Thornhill | S | SR |
| Paul Hornung Award | Joe Reed | WR/KR | JR |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | Bryce Perkins | QB | JR |

### ACC media poll

The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018.
Media poll (Coastal) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Miami | 998 (122) |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | 838 (16) |
| 3 | Georgia Tech | 654 (8) |
| 4 | Duke | 607 (1) |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 420 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 370 (1) |
| 7 | Virginia | 257 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Richmond* | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCN Extra | W 42–13 | 40,524 |
| September 8 | 7:30 p.m. | at Indiana* | | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | BTN | L 16–20 | 35,492 |
| September 15 | 4:15 p.m. | vs. Ohio* | | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN2 | W 45–31 | 5,438 |
| September 22 | 12:30 p.m. | Louisville | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCRSN | W 27–3 | 34,446 |
| September 29 | 12:20 p.m. | at NC State | | Carter–Finley StadiumRaleigh, NC | Raycom | L 21–35 | 57,600 |
| October 13 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 16 Miami (FL) | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPN2 | W 16–13 | 42,393 |
| October 20 | 12:30 p.m. | at Duke | | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC | ACCRSN | W 28–14 | 20,277 |
| October 27 | 12:20 p.m. | North Carolina | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry) | Raycom | W 31–21 | 43,000 |
| November 2 | 7:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh | No. 25 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPN2 | L 13–23 | 36,256 |
| November 10 | 3:00 p.m. | Liberty* | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCRSN | W 45–24 | 41,485 |
| November 17 | 3:30 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA | ACCRSN | L 27–30 $^{OT}$ | 37,543 |
| November 23 | 3:30 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (Commonwealth Cup) | ABC | L 31–34 $^{OT}$ | 60,776 |
| December 29 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. South Carolina* | | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, NC (Belk Bowl) | ABC | W 28–0 | 48,263 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 30 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
* ↑ Moved from Scott Stadium in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

## Roster
### Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Joey Blount
* De'Vante Cross
| WLB | BLB | MLB | SLB |
| Chris Peace | Malcolm Cook | Jordan Mack | Charles Snowden |
| Matt Gahm | Rob Snyder | Zane Zandier | Elliott Brown |
| ⋅ | C.J. Stalker | ⋅ | Noah Taylor |
* SABRE
* Juan Thornhill
* Brenton Nelson
* CB
* Tim Harris
* Darrius Bratton
| DE | NT | DE |
| Mandy Alonso | Eli Hanback | Aaron Faumui |
| Aaron Faumui | Jordan Redmond | Tommy Christ |
| ⋅ | Dylan Thompson | ⋅ |
* CB
* Bryce Hall
* Nick Grant
Offense :
* WR (X)
* Joe Reed
* Ben Hogg
* Cole Blackman
* WR
* Olamide Zaccheaus
* Tavares Kelly
* Chuck Davis
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Ryan Nelson | R.J. Proctor | Dillon Reinkensmeyer | Jake Fieler | Marcus Appliefield |
| Bobby Haskins | Chris Glaser | Gerrik Vollmer | Ben Knutson | Ryan Swoboda |
* TE
* Evan Butts
* Tanner Cowley
* WR (Y)
* Hasise Dubois
* Terrell Jana
* Ugo Obasi
* QB
* Bryce Perkins
* Brennan Armstrong
* Lindell Stone
* Key reserves
* KO Brian Delaney
* BB Jamari Peacock
* BB Chris Sharp
* RB
* Jordan Ellis
* PK Kier
* Lamont Atkins
* Special teams
* PK Brian Delaney
* PK Hunter Pearson
* P Lester Coleman
* KR Joe Reed KR PK Kier
* PR Chuck Davis PR Tavares Kelly
* LS Joe Spaziani
* H Nash Griffin

## Game summaries
### Richmond

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spiders | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Cavaliers | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |

### At Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| Hoosiers | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 |

### vs Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Cavaliers | 21 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 45 |

### Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 27 |

### At NC State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Wolfpack | 3 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 35 |

### Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Hurricanes | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 16 |

### At Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 28 |
| Blue Devils | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tar Heels | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Cavaliers | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| No. 23 Cavaliers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |

### Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Flames | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Cavaliers | 14 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

### At Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Cavaliers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
| Yellow Jackets | 13 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 30 |

### At Virginia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 0 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 31 |
| Hokies | 0 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 34 |

### Vs. South Carolina (Belk Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Gamecocks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | RV | RV | 22 | — | RV | RV | — | — | |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## 2019 NFL Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 2 | 63 | Juan Thornhill | S | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 6 | 198 | Tim Harris | CB | San Francisco 49ers |