Two of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s worst teams from a season ago will seek a fresh start in league play when Virginia visits Wake Forest on Saturday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Demon Deacons finished last with a 1-7 record in the ACC in 2023, just behind the Cavaliers and two other schools at 2-6.
Both Virginia and Wake Forest are coming off season-opening wins against FCS opponents last Saturday, with Wake Forest rolling over North Carolina A&T 45-13 and Virginia beating Richmond 34-13.
The Cavaliers are looking for their first 2-0 start under third-year coach Tony Elliott, who expects a tough challenge from Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson’s squad.
“We get to evaluate where we are because they play extremely hard, and they’re very, very well-coached,” Elliott said. “(Those) guys have a lot of confidence and they understand the identity of who they are, and those are all things that we’re trying to establish here.”
Virginia scored on its first five possessions against Richmond. Anthony Colandrea completed 17 of 23 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score. Kobe Pace gained 144 yards from scrimmage and rushed for a TD, and Malachi Fields caught five passes for 100 yards.
Defensively, the Cavaliers collected seven tackles for loss, recovered a fumble and allowed the Spiders to convert only 3 of 15 chances on third down.
Wake Forest trailed North Carolina A&T 10-7 early in the second quarter before ripping off 31 unanswered points. Hank Bachmeier threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns, and Demond Claiborne rushed for 135 yards and a TD. Taylor Morin gained 100 yards on six receptions and added a 73-yard punt-return TD.
Clawson was not as pleased with his team’s defensive effort, however.
“I thought we missed a lot of tackles, which sometimes happens in Game 1,” he said. “That’s something we got to get cleaned up.”
Wake Forest is 3-0 against Virginia since Clawson became the coach in 2014. The Demon Deacons have won the last five meetings overall, with the Cavaliers’ most recent victory coming in 2007.
