In just over three minutes, Virginia pushed its way down the field and took a 7-0 lead. The Cavaliers (3-2, 1-1 ACC) struck first and looked ready to play.

Looks can be deceiving. 

After taking an early lead, Virginia was outscored 38-0 — the largest swing of unanswered points allowed in the Tony Elliott era. The Cavaliers were completely curbstomped for most of the game and ultimately lost 38-7 at Florida State. 

Virginia had a strong first quarter, winning the yardage battle 101-38. But for some reason, the Seminoles (3-2, 1-1 ACC) came roaring back and never relented. After the first quarter, the Cavaliers lost the yardage battle 464-205.

The mistakes were abundant, and they came in multiple flavors. 

Perhaps the biggest demerit was missed tackles — Virginia’s defense repeatedly hit their hosts at (or behind) the line of scrimmage or line to gain. Nearly every single time, Florida State turned those stops into gains. 

The Cavaliers were constantly outmuscled, with several reliable players missing routine tackles. “Outmuscled” also aptly describes what happened to Virginia’s vaunted offensive line. Quarterback Beau Pribula was sacked 10 times. This offensive line only allowed 18 sacks in 14 games last season. 

Virginia was totally outclassed in terms of athleticism, muscle and effort. The Seminoles averaged 6.1 yards per carry, while the Cavaliers averaged 0.9. That figure would be even more ugly if the touchdown drive is factored out.

There were errors inflicted by the coaching staff — Elliott was overly aggressive instead of settling for field goals, and offensive coordinator Des Kitchings called questionable plays on key downs — but in the grand scheme of this football game, those choices made little difference. This game was lost in the criteria of strength, speed, game execution and tackling.

The question is, where does Virginia go from here?

In their three losses last season, the Cavaliers fell by a combined 18 points. They just lost by 31 today, and also lost by 11 against West Virginia. Tonight was the first time Virginia lost by 31 since the nightmarish 2023 finale against Virginia Tech.

These Cavaliers were completely destroyed just two weeks after suffering a bad loss — and the schedule contains what should be some highly difficult games against SMU, Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia Tech.

It will be difficult to flush this result quickly. But that is what must be done. Virginia will host Syracuse Saturday at 7:30 — in need a rebound now more than ever.