AP poll results prove that Virginia will always be Virginia Tech's Little Brother

Going into the 2026 season, the vibes with the Virginia football team are high. In what was a big year for head coach Tony Elliott in 2025, the Cavaliers took advantage of a down year for the ACC by getting to the ACC Championship Game against Duke after winning a crazy tiebreaker with a handful of other teams. Virginia was the regular-season ACC champ after going 7-1 and steamrolled Duke in the regular-season meeting in Durham.

So, based on all of that and the fact that Virginia didn't have to play Miami, the Cavaliers must have won the ACC Championship Game and earned a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, right? Think again. They lost the ACC Championship Game in overtime to the Blue Devils, but rebounded with a Gator Bowl win over Missouri out of the SEC. It was an impressive win to close out the season after losing a month earlier to Duke, finishing with an 11-3 record.

Is Virginia turning the corner on the grindiron under Elliott, or was it a one-year thing and they are going to revert to being irrelevant again? You would think that they have been Alabama and Ohio State on social media for the last couple of decades, but I guess being relevant for one year will make a fan base think that after years of being the punching bag in the ACC.

Virginia fans were thinking big before the Associated Press Top 25 poll was released on Monday, but just after it was released at noon, reality was setting in that they are not as thought highly regarded outside of Charlottesville as fans want to believe.

AP poll throws shade at Virginia and their fans

When the poll was released, there was no UVA to be found in the Top 25. Three ACC schools, Miami, SMU, and Louisville, were ranked. Were they just outside the Top 25? Nope. That spot belongs to Clemson. How about right near the top of the other receiving votes? No. A closer look down showed that Virginia was No. 47 with one vote. One. In fact, to add insult to injury, Virginia Tech was higher with 6 points in the poll. What a kick in the you-know-what.

Virginia goes 11-3, and Virginia Tech goes 3-9, and the Hokies receive more love from the voters than the Cavaliers. In fact, with a veteran roster and, to add even more insult to injury, Missouri- which UVA beat in their bowl game and then landed their quarterback in the Transfer Portal- is ranked No. 25.

Some Virginia fans are suggesting that Elliott use the preseason rankings as bulletin board material for the Nov. 28 trip to Blacksburg for the Commonwealth Clash with the Hokies. Imagine needing bulletin board material to go play your rival on the road that you beat for the first time in years, and the worst team they put together in decades? Such a Little Brother take. For the record, Virginia Tech holds a 62-39-5 advantage in the rivalry. Little. Brother.

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