Virginia began its season with an incredible 34-8 win over NC State. Postgame, Coach Tony Elliott took questions from the media. Here are three important notes from Elliott and Saturday's win.

Experience and a perfect response

NC State scored a touchdown and two-point conversion. Suddenly, the Wolfpack were two touchdowns (with conversions) away from tying a game that Virginia firmly controlled. Virginia’s response, according to Elliott, was ideal. The Cavaliers went on a historically long scoring drive, eating over half of a quarter and extending their lead.

“I thought the guys did a really good job of just not playing to the circumstance and just going out and playing ball,” Elliott said. “Their energy picked up, and we had some fourth down situations that were short yardage. We were able to convert, kept the drive alive, and then before you know it, [we scored]. And to be honest with you, I didn't even know it was 23 plays when we were in it.”

Beau Pribula runs wild and dissects the Wolfpack

Virginia has a hypermobile quarterback. Elliott liked what he saw from new starter Beau Pribula in his Cavaliers debut.

“He's diving forward, and he's running through arm tackles, he's running tough, running, running physical,” Elliott said. “It forced NC State to make some adjustments and walk their safeties down a little bit tighter to keep him from extending drives by getting those extra yards, and it created opportunities to throw the ball over the top.”

Elliott said Pribula runs like a running back, with incredible speed. 

Pribula’s rushing ability took center stage, but his passing efficiency was just as notable. He completed nine of 11 attempts for 155 yards and two touchdowns. His final game rating was an astounding 260.2. 

“So I thought he was very decisive, very efficient with the ball,” Elliott said. “He protected it, didn't put it in jeopardy for the most part. He was looking for his checkdowns if it wasn't there, or he was pulling it down, keeping us ahead of the chains, getting four or five yards, getting down, and going on to the next play. So it was fun to watch him play again.”

Elite running and offensive line

Virginia outpossessed NC State by over 16 minutes of game time. That resulted in fewer opportunities for the Wolfpack offense, along with complete control for the Cavaliers. The possession discrepancy was primarily due to Virginia’s running backs and offensive line grinding out medium gains more often than not.

“Just proud of that whole group,” Elliott said. “I thought they all did a good job and contributed throughout the course of the game, and we're going to need all five of those guys throughout the course of the year. I love how Beau runs, but you know, 15 carries every game is probably not the way that we want to make a living but it's what was required today to win the game.”

Virginia ran for 258 net rushing yards (compared to 76 by NC State). Six Cavaliers ran for at least 10 yards, led by Pribula’s total of 110 yards with a remarkable 7.3 yards per carry.

The domination on the ground was fueled by an elite offensive line performing as advertised.

“You'd like to be able to feature the backs a little bit more, but just really proud of the offensive line,” Elliott said. “They had the most scrutiny all off season. They also were praised the most. So keeping those guys humble was a challenge for us. But they found a way and showed up and they led the way. And we were able to run the ball the way that we needed to to find a way to win.”

Elliott challenged his offensive line to build upon the successful outing and earn their external praise. 

“I know everybody talks about the amount of starts and snaps and all of that, but this is the first time that all five of them [linemen] have played together in a game,” Elliott said. I like where we started, but not ready to say that's who we are yet. That's who we desire to be, and we took one step in the right direction this afternoon.”