Virginia’s Tony Elliott sent reality check on Wazzu, North Carolina, Cal, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia Tech

Virginia Cavaliers football coach Tony Elliott is in a position that he might not have expected to be in during his fourth season as a head coach: expected to win every game for the rest of the season after a 5-1 start. And in the ACC title hunt.

USA Today For The Win’s Tyler Nettuno expects the Cavaliers to be the favorite in each of their remaining games, if not five of their final six. UVA takes on the Wazzu Cougars, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and Virginia Tech Hokies at Scott Stadium, and the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, the Cal Golden Bears in Berkeley, and the Duke Blue Devils in Durham.

“This team certainly has its flaws, but at the end of the day, it's 3-0 to start ACC play. Given what's ahead for the Cavaliers, it doesn't seem ridiculous to start putting them in the playoff conversation,” Nettuno wrote.

“Virginia won the ACC schedule lottery. After a bye, it hosts a struggling Washington State team before wrapping up league competition with games against North Carolina, Cal, Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers will almost certainly be favored in five of those and could be favored in all six.”

The Athletic’s Dan Santaromita shared the same sentiment on Virginia before the Cavaliers defeated the Louisville Cardinals 30-27 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium this past Saturday.

“The Seminoles fell out of the top 10 with the loss at Virginia, but this one should still play a major role in the ACC race. If Miami wins, FSU will have an uphill climb to get into the ACC title game,” Santaromita wrote.

“Speaking of Virginia, the Cavaliers earned another big game by beating the Seminoles. They jumped into the AP Top 25, but are still a touchdown underdog at undefeated Louisville. The winner of this game is in a great position to make the ACC title game, especially if it’s Virginia, which doesn’t have another ranked team on its schedule the rest of the way. The Cardinals have won the last three in the series.”

UVA was 11-23 the last three years. Now, Elliott has the Cavaliers on the brink of being nationally relevant and even in the College Football Playoff hunt.

Some “basketball school” out there on the gridiron, Virginia is.