2019 Virginia Cavaliers football team

2019 Virginia Cavaliers football
ACC Coastal Division champion
Orange Bowl, L 28–36 vs. Florida
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 25
Record9–5 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRobert Anae (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorNick Howell (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorKelly Poppinga (2nd as co-DC; 4th overall season)
Home stadiumScott Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 2 Clemson xy$^   8 0     14 1  
Louisville   5 3     8 5  
Wake Forest   4 4     8 5  
Florida State   4 4     6 7  
Boston College   4 4     6 7  
Syracuse   2 6     5 7  
NC State   1 7     4 8  
Coastal Division
Virginia x   6 2     9 5  
Virginia Tech   5 3     8 5  
Miami (FL)   4 4     6 7  
Pittsburgh   4 4     8 5  
North Carolina   4 4     7 6  
Duke   3 5     5 7  
Georgia Tech   2 6     3 9  
Championship: Clemson 62, Virginia 17
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

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.[1] 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.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference preseason poll was invoked but never defined (see the help page).