CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In the first of its two Friday night games at Scott Stadium this season, 25th-ranked Virginia rolled to a 59-3 victory over Norfolk State, a determined but outmanned FCS team.
The Cavaliers led 28-3 at intermission, after which the coaching staff substituted liberally. Virginia’s backups shined, too, scoring four second-half touchdowns, the last coming on a 50-yard interception return by second-year linebacker Justin Rowe.
The Wahoos’ other second-half points came on a 30-yard field goal by fifth-year Will Bettridge, who earlier in the game had become the program’s all-time leading scorer.
“It was special, for sure,” said Bettridge, who passed Connor Hughes (332 career points from 2002-05) and now has 337 as a Cavalier.
The Hoos’ margin of victory was their largest since Sept. 22, 1990, when they demolished Duke 59-0 in Durham, N.C.
“When you watch them on film, they don’t try and trick you,” said Norfolk State head coach Michael Vick, a former All-America quarterback at Virginia Tech. “They line up, they believe in what they do, they’re well-coached, they’re where they’re supposed to be and you have to earn every blade of grass against them.”
This was the first-ever meeting between these programs. Matchups between FBS and FCS teams can sometimes get sloppy, but the Cavaliers’ focus rarely lapsed Friday night before an announced crowd of 46,918, and that allowed a host of seldom-used players to see significant time on the field.
“It’s about growing your team,” UVA head coach Tony Elliott said, “and I've been a part of games like this where you were hopeful to be able to grow your team and it didn't work out that way. But tonight, I’m really, really proud of the preparation from everybody involved, and that's what I told them postgame, that this is a team effort. It takes everybody and everybody's role is critical.
“Are there things that we gotta correct? Yeah, there's things that I gotta do better. There's things that the coaches want to do better. There's some things that the players want to do better, but overall, very, very pleased with just the effort, the intensity, the focus and the ability to go out and execute with as many guys as we played.”
Virginia opened the season on Aug. 29 with a 34-8 win over ACC rival NC State at Scott Stadium.
“That’s two weeks where I felt like the preparation was good,” Elliott said, “and now the key is to be able to stay humble, but it's huge for us to be able to play a ton of guys and then be able to illustrate that the standard didn't change.”
Friday night’s game fell on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Elliott addressed the occasion at the start of his postgame press conference.
“Every game is important, every game is meaningful,” Elliott said, “but certain games have significance tied around them. And so I thought it was only fitting that it was us that was chosen to play on this night, on this anniversary. And so for all those out there that were impacted by 9/11, just know that this football team stands with you, and we support you. We're playing for you, and hopefully tonight, by the way that we played, it brought some inspiration to [what is] maybe a very difficult day for some people.”
The Spartans are in their second year under Vick, whose staff includes former UVA standouts Elton Brown and Tim Smith. Norfolk State came out passing and picked up three first downs on the game’s opening possession, but the drive ended with the first of Virginia safety Brandyn Hillman’s two interceptions.
Hillman, a transfer from Michigan, returned his first pick 50 yards to set up the Hoos’ first touchdown. His second interception came on Norfolk State’s second possession and led to UVA’s second TD. Hillman also had an interception and forced a fumble against NC State.
“I'm just glad he's on my team,” Elliott said, “and he's just gonna continue to get better. That's the crazy thing, that he's just gonna get better, but what he does is, he makes everybody else around him better. He plays with such intensity, such passion and love for the game. He’s a natural playmaker.”
On a night when the Cavaliers’ offense totaled 466 yards, three of their quarterbacks threw at least one touchdown pass. Starter Beau Pribula threw two to Jacquon Gibson and one to fellow wide receiver Da’Shawn Martin.
Pribula’s backup, Eli Holstein, started the second half and threw two TD passes: the first to Ty’Lyric Coleman and the second to another wideout, Isaiah Robinson, who was making his 2026 debut.
Cole Geer took over for Holstein later in the third quarter, and early in the fourth he connected with tight end Hayden Rollison on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
In all, 12 players had at least one reception apiece for the Hoos.
“It was really, really good to play as many guys as we did,” Elliott said.
Led by second-year tailback Xay Davis, who carried 11 times for a career-high 107 yards, Virginia rushed for 237 yards and one touchdown. That came on a 3-yard run by Peyton Lewis late in the second quarter.
He didn’t crack the 100-yard mark, but another UVA tailback, Noah Vaughn, gained 81 yards on only eight carries.
Virginia’s defense was equally dominant. The Cavaliers lost starting defensive tackle Jason Hammond to an elbow injury late in the first quarter, but they’re as deep up front as they are at linebacker, and they held Norfolk State to 55 yards rushing Friday night.
Cornerback Jacobie Henderson led UVA with eight tackles, and linebacker Kam Robinson and defensive tackle Darrion Henry-Young added five stops each. For Robinson, the game was his first since he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Duke last November.
“I just couldn't wait to get back out there, being the first game in a long time,” Robinson said. “So getting back in Scott, I think I was definitely anxious at first, but once the game got on, I got more comfortable.”
This marked the third straight game that UVA held its opponent to fewer than 10 points, a streak that began in last year’s Gator Bowl.
“Just proud overall of the defense and just the mindset that they're showing up every single day with,” Elliott said.
UP NEXT: UVA renews its long-dormant rivalry with West Virginia next Saturday (Sept. 19) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. In a game to air at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network, the No. 25 Cavaliers meet the Mountaineers in the Duke’s Mayo Classic.
The home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, Bank of America Stadium is where UVA whipped No. 15 West Virginia 48-22 on Dec. 28, 2002, in the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl. The teams haven’t met since that game.
In a series that started in 1898, the Hoos hold a 12-10-1 lead.
WVU (1-0), which opened the season with a win over Coastal Carolina, hosts UT-Martin on Saturday afternoon.