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1989 Virginia

10–⁠3 (6–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by George Welsh, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Virginia in 1989, game by game: lost vs. No. 2 Notre Dame 13–36; won at No. 12 Penn State 14–6; won at Georgia Tech 17–10; won vs. Duke 49–28; won vs. William & Mary 24–12; lost at No. 15 Clemson 20–34; won vs. North Carolina 50–17; won vs. Wake Forest 47–28; won vs. Louisville 16–15; won at No. 18 NC State 20–9; won vs. Virginia Tech 32–25; won at Maryland 48–21; lost vs. No. 11 Illinois 21–31+33−23Lost 13–36 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame-23No. 2 Notre DameWon 14–6 at No. 12 Penn State+8No. 12 Penn StateWon 17–10 at Georgia Tech+7Georgia TechWon 49–28 vs. Duke+21DukeWon 24–12 vs. William & Mary+12William & MaryLost 20–34 at No. 15 Clemson-14No. 15 ClemsonWon 50–17 vs. North Carolina+33North CarolinaWon 47–28 vs. Wake Forest+19Wake ForestWon 16–15 vs. Louisville+1LouisvilleWon 20–9 at No. 18 NC State+11No. 18 NC StateWon 32–25 vs. Virginia Tech+7Virginia TechWon 48–21 at Maryland+27MarylandLost 21–31 vs. No. 11 Illinois-10No. 11 Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vs2Notre DameL 13–⁠3628%
Sep 9at12Penn StateW 14–⁠641%
Sep 16atGeorgia TechW 17–⁠1061%
Sep 23vsDukeW 49–⁠2869%
Sep 30vsWilliam & MaryW 24–⁠1287%
Oct 7at15ClemsonL 20–⁠3429%
Oct 14vsNorth CarolinaW 50–⁠1782%
Oct 21vsWake ForestW 47–⁠2879%
Oct 28vsLouisvilleW 16–⁠1572%
Nov 4at18NC StateW 20–⁠939%
Nov 11vsVirginia TechW 32–⁠2575%
Nov 18atMarylandW 48–⁠2165%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11IllinoisCitrus BowlL 21–⁠3156%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Illinois 31–⁠21 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 24
  2. Wk 11: 18
  3. Wk 12: 16
  4. Wk 13: 16
  5. Wk 14: 15
  6. Wk 15: 15
  7. Wk 16: 15
  8. Final: 18

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1989.

Atlantic Coast Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Duke

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 15
Points
371–⁠272
Coach
George Welsh
Elo
1639 +97 this season
SP+ rating
18.6 No. 18 of 103; offense No. 14, defense No. 25
SRS
13.7 No. 18 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Tranquill
Defensive coordinator
Frank Spaziani
Captains
Roy Brown, Shawn Moore and Ray Savage

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 6Marcus Wilson RBLos Angeles Raiders

All-ACC

4 first team, 6 second team

First team

  • Roy BrownOGAP-1
  • Bruce McGonnigalTEAP-1
  • Shawn MooreQBAP-1
  • Ray SavageLBAP-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1989 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1989 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia6–⁠110–⁠318
Duke6–⁠18–⁠4
Clemson5–⁠210–⁠212
Georgia Tech4–⁠37–⁠4
NC State4–⁠37–⁠5
Maryland2–⁠53–⁠7–⁠1
Wake Forest1–⁠62–⁠8–⁠1
North Carolina0–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.