2015 record: 4-8, 3-5 in the ACC (6th in the Coastal Division)
Head coach: Bronco Mendenhall (1st season)
With a new coaching staff and several playmakers returning, Virginia has a chance to end its steak of four straight losing seasons in 2016.
The hiring of head coach Bronco Mendenhall—who won eight games in nine of his 11 years with BYU and never had a losing season—has fans in Charlottesville excited, but the Cavaliers will likely struggle unless they can find consistency at quarterback.
In the past 12 seasons, the Cavaliers have had 11 different signal callers start a season opener, and that trend will continue this year. Mendenhall recently named East Carolina transfer Kurt Benkert the starter ahead of returning starter Matt Johns in new offensive coordinator Robert Anae's up-tempo system.
In order for the Cavaliers to improve their offensive attack—which ranked 12th in the ACC last season with 25.8 points per game—they will need another big year from senior running back Taquan Mizzell. A third team All-ACC performer, Mizzell broke the ACC record for most receiving yards out of the backfield with 721. Virginia will also likely look to junior wide receiver Doni Dowling to make up for the departure of former leading wideout Canaan Severin.
Mendenhall has also overhauled the Cavaliers' defense, which ranked last in the ACC a year ago in points allowed per game. Virginia will play a 3-4 scheme in 2016 to allow All-ACC linebacker Micah Kiser and All-American safety Quin Blanding to make more plays in space. Defensive lineman Andrew Brown—a former five-star recruit who has struggled his first two seasons—could also be a playmaker this season for Virginia.
Although the Cavaliers have back-to-back nonconference road games at No. 24 Oregon and Connecticut this year, they avoid ACC powerhouses Clemson and Florida State.
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