Virginia football takes care of FCS Norfolk State to improve to 2-0

The Virginia Cavaliers did not mess around on Friday night, taking care of Norfolk State, 59-3. As expected, the ‘Hoos overmatched the Spartans for 60 minutes, allowing all sorts of reserves to get live reps in the second half.

Three different UVA quarterbacks threw touchdown passes. Beau Pribula, who played the first two quarters, was once again ultra efficient, throwing for 162 yards on 12-of-14 passing with three touchdowns. Of note, Pribula did not have a single designed rushing attempt; offensive coordinator Des Kitchings chose to keep him upright and allow him to sling the rock from the pocket instead.

Backups Eli Holstein and Cole Geer ultimately had limited passing attempts, but both had one impressive throw to build on. Holstein opened the second half with a beautiful goal line fade to Ty’Lyric Coleman in the back corner of the end zone, while Geer found high school teammate Williem Thurber on a tight window up the seam for 28 yards in the fourth.

At the skill positions, wide receiver Jacquon Gibson got himself on the board with two touchdown catches from Pribula, after failing to reach the end zone a single time with UMass in 2025. Meanwhile, sophomore Xay Davis showcased his burst out of the backfield, totaling 107 ticks on 13 attempts.

On the defensive end, Kam Robinson made his way back to the field (in a limited capacity), a welcomed sight for the Cavalier faithful. The first-team secondary looked particularly strong, with Brandyn Hillman hauling in his second and third interceptions of the season, and Jacobie Henderson displaying some playmaking ability of his own. Sophomore linebacker Justin Rowe added a pick six in the final minutes for good measure.

And, of course, a special congratulations to Will Bettridge, whose 30-yard field goal and seven PATs propelled him to the very top of the all-time UVA scoring leaderboard.

The Cavaliers did exactly what they needed to do against an FCS opponent — play dominant, sound football in all three stages. Now, the page gets turned to West Virginia where the Wahoos hope to make better memories in the Queen City next weekend.