# 2019 Virginia Cavaliers football team

The 2019 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by fourth-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at Scott Stadium. The team competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Coming off an 8–5 season in 2018, Virginia was considered the favorite to win the Coastal Division. The Cavaliers began the season with four straight victories, but then lost three games in a four-game stretch to Notre Dame, Miami, and Louisville. The team rebounded with four straight victories to close out the regular season, including a win over rival and 24th-ranked Virginia Tech to secure Virginia's place in the ACC Championship Game. It was Virginia's first win over Virginia Tech since 2003, and it was the school's first appearance in the conference title game, concluding a seven-year stretch in which all seven members of the Coastal Division won the division. In the Championship Game, Virginia lost to Clemson, 62–17. The team received an invitation to the Orange Bowl to play Florida, where they lost 36–28, to end the season with a 9–5 record.
Virginia was led on offense by quarterback Bryce Perkins, who finished with 3,530 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, and was named second-team all-conference. Perkins also led the team in rushing, finishing with 769 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Wide receiver and return specialist Joe Reed was named first-team all-conference as an all-purpose back. On defense, the team's leading tackler and sacks leader was linebacker Zane Zandier.

## Preseason
### Preseason media poll

In the preseason ACC media poll, Virginia was predicted to win the Coastal Division, but received just one vote out of 173 to win the ACC Championship Game.
Media poll (Coastal Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Virginia | 1003 (82) |
| 2 | Miami (FL) | 992 (55) |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 827 (20) |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 691 (8) |
| 5 | Duke | 566 (6) |
| 6 | North Carolina | 463 (1) |
| 7 | Georgia Tech | 302 (1) |
Media poll (ACC Championship) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Clemson | 170 |
| 2 | Syracuse | 2 |
| 3 | Virginia | 1 |

## Regular season

* In September, the Cavaliers defeated the Seminoles for the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy.
* In early November, the Cavaliers defeated the Tar Heels in the South's Oldest Rivalry.
* In late November, the Cavaliers defeated the Hokies for the Commonwealth Cup.
Bronco Mendenhall became the first coach to bring both trophies to Charlottesville at the same time. The Jefferson-Eppes Trophy may remain in Cavalier hands until at least 2025, as FSU does not appear on the ACC schedules for Virginia through 2024.
As projected by the pre-season media, Virginia won the Coastal division for the first time despite an early season-ending injury to the team's highest NFL prospect, Bryce Hall, in the game against Miami.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:30 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ACCN | W 30–14 | 47,144 |
| September 6 | 8:00 p.m. | William & Mary* | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCN | W 52–17 | 45,250 |
| September 14 | 7:30 p.m. | Florida State | No. 25 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (Jefferson-Eppes Trophy) | ACCN | W 31–24 | 57,826 |
| September 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Old Dominion* | No. 21 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPN2 | W 28–17 | 44,573 |
| September 28 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 10 Notre Dame* | No. 18 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | L 20–35 | 77,622 |
| October 11 | 8:00 p.m. | at Miami (FL) | No. 20 | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL | ESPN | L 9–17 | 54,538 |
| October 19 | 3:30 p.m. | Duke | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCN | W 48–14 | 52,847 |
| October 26 | 3:30 p.m. | at Louisville | | Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ACCN | L 21–28 | 48,689 |
| November 2 | 7:30 p.m. | at North Carolina | | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry) | ACCN | W 38–31 | 50,500 |
| November 9 | 12:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCRSN | W 33–28 | 44,596 |
| November 23 | 12:00 p.m. | Liberty* | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ACCRSN | W 55–27 | 37,329 |
| November 29 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 24 Virginia Tech | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup) | ABC | W 39–30 | 52,619 |
| December 7 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Clemson | No. 23 | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, NC (ACC Championship Game) | ABC | L 17–62 | 66,810 |
| December 30 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 9 Florida* | No. 24 | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl) | ESPN | L 28–36 | 65,157 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

Staff as of 2019.
| Name | Position |
| Bronco Mendenhall | Head coach |
| Nick Howell | Defensive coordinator, secondary coach |
| Kelly Poppinga | Co defensive coordinator, Outside Linebackers coach |
| Shane Hunter | Inside linebackers coach |
| Vic So'oto | Defensive line |
| Robert Anae | Offensive coordinator, inside receivers coach |
| Mark Atuaia | Running backs coach |
| Jason Beck | Quarterbacks coach |
| Marques Hagans | Wide receivers coach |
| Garett Tujague | Offensive line coach |
| Ricky Brumfield | Special teams coordinator |

### Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Joey Blount
* De'Vante Cross
| WLB | BLB | MLB | SLB |
| Noah Taylor | Zane Zandier | Jordan Mack | Charles Snowden |
| Matt Gahm | Robert Snyder | Nick Jackson | Elliott Brown |
* SABRE
* Brenton Nelson
* Chris Moore
* CB
* Nick Grant
* Jaylon Baker
| DE | NT | DE |
| Eli Hanback | Jowon Briggs | Richard Burney |
| Mandy Alonso | Jordan Redmond | Aaron Faumui |
| ⋅ | ⋅ | Tommy Christ |
* CB
* Bryce Hall
* Heskin Smith
Offense :
* WR (X)
* Terrell Jana
* Terrell Chatman
* Billy Kemp IV
* WR
* Joe Reed
* Tavares Kelly Jr
* Chuck Davis
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Ryan Swoboda | Ryan Nelson | Olusegun Oluwatimi | Chris Glaser | Dillon Reinkensmeyer |
| Bobby Haskins | Joe Bissinger | Tyler Fannin | Ja'Quay Hubbard | Derek Devine |
* TE
* Tanner Cowley
* Grant Misch
* WR (Y)
* Hasise Dubois
* Dontayvion Wicks
* Dorian Goddard
* QB
* Bryce Perkins
* Brennan Armstrong
* Lindell Stone
* Key reserves
* KO Brian Delaney
* RB
* Wayne Taulapapa
* PK Kier
* Lamont Atkins
* Special teams
* PK Brian Delaney
* PK Justin Duenkel
* P Nash Griffin
* P Brian Delaney
* KR Joe Reed KR Perris Jones
* PR Chuck Davis PR Tavares Kelly Jr
* LS Lee Dudley LS Enzo Anthony
* H Nash Griffin

## Game summaries
### At Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 10 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 30 |
| Panthers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### William & Mary

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tribe | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Cavaliers | 21 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 52 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| No. 25 Cavaliers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 31 |

### Old Dominion

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Monarchs | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 21 Cavaliers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |

### At Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Cavaliers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| No. 10 Fighting Irish | 14 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 35 |

### At Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Cavaliers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Hurricanes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 17 | 24 | 7 | 48 |

### At Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |

### At North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cavaliers | 7 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 38 |
| Tar Heels | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 31 |

### Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Yellow Jackets | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Cavaliers | 14 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 33 |

### Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Flames | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
| Cavaliers | 10 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 55 |

### Virginia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Hokies | 3 | 3 | 21 | 3 | 30 |
| Cavaliers | 13 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 39 |

### Clemson (ACC Championship game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 23 Cavaliers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| No. 3 Tigers | 14 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 62 |

### Vs. Florida (Orange Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Cavaliers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| No. 9 Gators | 14 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 36 |

## 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 | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | 25 | 21 | 18 | 23 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | RV | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 18 | 22 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 25 | 25 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | 23 | 24 | Not released |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 5 | 151 | Joe Reed | WR | Los Angeles Chargers |
| 5 | 158 | Bryce Hall | CB | New York Jets |