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2019 Virginia

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Bronco Mendenhall.

Schedule and results

Virginia in 2019, game by game: won at Pittsburgh 30–14; won vs. William & Mary 52–17; won vs. Florida State 31–24; won vs. Old Dominion 28–17; lost at No. 10 Notre Dame 20–35; lost at Miami 9–17; won vs. Duke 48–14; lost at Louisville 21–28; won at North Carolina 38–31; won vs. Georgia Tech 33–28; won vs. Liberty 55–27; won vs. No. 23 Virginia Tech 39–30; lost vs. No. 3 Clemson 17–62; lost vs. No. 6 Florida 28–36+35−45Won 30–14 at Pittsburgh+16PittsburghWon 52–17 vs. William & Mary+35William & MaryWon 31–24 vs. Florida State+7Florida StateWon 28–17 vs. Old Dominion+11Old DominionLost 20–35 at No. 10 Notre Dame-15No. 10 Notre DameLost 9–17 at Miami-8MiamiWon 48–14 vs. Duke+34DukeLost 21–28 at Louisville-7LouisvilleWon 38–31 at North Carolina+7North CarolinaWon 33–28 vs. Georgia Tech+5Georgia TechWon 55–27 vs. Liberty+28LibertyWon 39–30 vs. No. 23 Virginia Tech+9No. 23 Virginia TechLost 17–62 vs. No. 3 Clemson-45No. 3 ClemsonLost 28–36 vs. No. 6 Florida-8No. 6 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atPittsburghW 30–⁠1442%
Sep 6vsWilliam & MaryW 52–⁠1789%
Sep 14vsFlorida StateW 31–⁠2470%
Sep 21vsOld DominionW 28–⁠1783%
Sep 28at10Notre DameL 20–⁠3531%
Oct 11atMiamiL 9–⁠1752%
Oct 19vsDukeW 48–⁠1452%
Oct 26atLouisvilleL 21–⁠2863%
Nov 2atNorth CarolinaW 38–⁠3155%
Nov 9vsGeorgia TechW 33–⁠2876%
Nov 23vsLibertyW 55–⁠2776%
Nov 29vs23Virginia TechW 39–⁠3058%
Dec 7vs3ClemsonACC Championship GameL 17–⁠6219%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs6FloridaOrange BowlL 28–⁠3636%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida 36–⁠28 in the Orange Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 25
  2. Wk 4: 21
  3. Wk 5: 18
  4. Wk 6: 23
  5. Wk 7: 20
  6. Wk 15: 22

ACC Coastal champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
449–⁠380
Coach
Bronco Mendenhall
Elo
1610 +59 this season
SP+ rating
6.3 No. 43 of 130; offense No. 47, defense No. 50, special teams No. 30
SRS
6.6 No. 37 of 130 in FBS
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 52 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 39 roster talent No. 59 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Robert Anae
Defensive coordinators
Nick Howell and Kelly Poppinga
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense57th of 130
  • Defense76th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted37th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted84th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1246%1.1257th of 130
Defense0.1341%1.3476th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.13 def		47% off
42% def		—37th off
84th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 3421% allowed
Defense3.6own 2722% caused

CORE rating 1.8, 52nd of 130 (offense 4.2, defense 2.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBryce Perkins QB3,538 yds
Passing touchdownsBryce Perkins QB22 TD
Rushing yardsBryce Perkins QB769 yds
Rushing touchdownsWayne Taulapapa RB12 TD
Receiving yardsHasise Dubois WR1,062 yds
Receiving touchdownsJoe Reed WR7 TD
TacklesZane Zandier LB108 tkl
SacksJordan Mack LB7.5 sacks
InterceptionsJoey Blount S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Jowon Briggs DT★★★★No. 75
Hunter Stewart OLB★★★No. 513
Nick Jackson OLB★★★No. 547
Ben Smiley III DT★★★No. 557
Ja’quay Hubbard OT★★★No. 566

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.837
Running backs23.00.870
Receivers33.00.859
Offensive line43.00.852
Defensive line33.30.904
Linebackers43.00.863
Defensive backs33.00.843
Athletes and specialists23.00.852
Whole class233.00.861

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 5Joe Reed WRLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 5Bryce Hall CBNew York Jets

Roster 128

The 2019 roster

128 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠014–⁠12
Virginia6–⁠29–⁠5
Louisville5–⁠38–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Wake Forest5–⁠48–⁠5
Pittsburgh4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠46–⁠7
Miami4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠46–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
NC State1–⁠74–⁠8

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