Virginia's season is not over. Fresh off of a blowout blunder at Florida State, the Cavaliers receive a chance to gain ground in the ACC standings. The latest opponent is Syracuse, visiting for a Saturday night primetime affair at Scott Stadium.

Virginia must get back to its identity

At their core, the Cavaliers are a team that relies on strength and experience, executing details properly and grinding out runs before hitting deep shots downfield. None of that was displayed against Florida State.

Coach Tony Elliott did warn his team. He said that the Seminoles have some of the best athletes in the country. Syracuse clearly does not — although Elliott is not the type of coach to say that out loud. Virginia should have a major advantage in strength, speed, athleticism and experience over the Orange.

The Cavaliers should be able to find success with inside zone runs against an overly aggressive unit that has missed some crucial tackles. Syracuse, like Virginia, runs a 4-2-5 defensive scheme — but it has been prone to making mistakes.

Beau Pribula has to be better

Pribula was far from the main reason Virginia was blown out, but he did little to help the Cavaliers' chances of a comeback. When plays broke down, Pribula often took hero sacks instead of throwing the ball away. Luckily for Virginia's quarterback, Syracuse just allowed 314 passing yards yards and three touchdowns to UConn.

The Orange were often burned downfield, and the coverage issues were present with most defenders. Pribula should be able to attack Syracuse all over the field. That unit has had some decent outings, but it was porous against the Huskies.

Be extremely aggressive against Amari Odom

The Orange benched quarterback Steve Angeli. He was expected to build upon a stellar start to 2025, but after his season-ending injury, he was never the same. Angeli threw more interceptions than touchdowns, and the keys to the offense were handed to Odom.

Odom, a Kennesaw State transfer, is a mobile quarterback with a cannon of an arm. The key to stopping him is to send varied blitzes, and force him into ill-advised throws. Odom will often try to force plays downfield when receivers are not open, which leads to interceptions.

He was destroying UConn aside from two interceptions that the Huskies turned into points. Virginia must learn from its mistakes against Michael Hawkins Jr. and Ashton Daniels — generating pressure is beyond paramount. Linebackers must also be ready if Odom takes off, and will have to be productive on delayed blitzes as well as in pass coverage.