Virginia's high-scoring offense to be tested against No. 8 Florida State

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia will be looking to prove its record-setting offense is no fluke when No. 8 Florida State visits on Friday night.

“This is a great opportunity to go ahead and tell the fanbase, ‘Hey, we’re real,’” tight end Sage Ennis said this week.

Virginia, off to a 3-1 start, is hosting a top-10 opponent for the first time since 2021 and its highest-ranked league opponent since 2016. Its chances of upsetting Florida State could lean on an offense that ranks among the nation's best. The Cavaliers are coming off a 48-point outing in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener against Stanford.

Virginia ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense at 45.5 points per game, second in the ACC only to Florida State (58.0). The Cavaliers are also fifth in the Bowl Subdivision ranks by averaging 564.5 yards, also second only to the Seminoles (628.7) among league teams.

Virginia remade its roster through the transfer portal going into this potentially make-or-break year for fourth-year coach Tony Elliott.

Additions included quarterback Chandler Morris (North Texas), running back J’Mari Taylor (North Carolina Central), wide receivers Jahmal Edrine (Purdue) and Cam Ross (James Madison) and center Brady Wilson (UAB). That overhaul appeared to give Virginia the pieces to have an offense that could be both balanced and explosive.

“We felt like we were capable of achieving this as an offense with the pieces that we have, but it all looks good on paper,” said Ennis, who transferred from Clemson before last season. “That’s why you’ve got to play it on the field. You have to go do it. You can’t just talk about it.”

Through four games, albeit against teams with a combined 8-8 record, Virginia has certainly done it. It has posted more than 500 yards of total offense in three straight outings, including a 35-31 loss at N.C. State — an unusual nonconference game among ACC teams — along with lopsided home wins against William & Mary of the Championship Subdivision and Stanford.

Against William & Mary, Virginia set a program record with 700 yards of total offense, breaking a mark that had stood since 1968.

“Truthfully, still kind of figuring them out, right? Each week has been a little bit different, and so each week you learn a little bit more about each of the guys that you have,” Elliott said.

“Credit to (offensive coordinator Desmond Kitchings) and the offensive staff of really just tailoring it to what those guys’ skill sets are. Now this week, we’re going to learn a lot more about where we are going against this front and secondary and linebackers of Florida State. But we felt like we had a lot of really good ingredients and had to bring it all together.”

The Seminoles are giving up an ACC-low 10 points per game to rank 12th nationally in a season that began with a spotlight-grabbing win against Alabama. They've rolled against overmatched opponents in two games since, outscoring East Texas A&M and Kent State by a combined score of 143-13.

For Kitchings, that means Virginia’s offense must not only score, but also keep the ball away from FSU.

Running the ball and converting on third down figure to be paramount. The Cavaliers have excelled in both categories to date, ranking 13th nationally in rushing (251.5) and 12th in third-down percentage (57.6%) while ranking seventh in time of possession (an ACC-best 34:36).

“Just kind of do what we believe we can do to go out and score points and not get caught up in looking at what they’re doing,” Kitchings said. “That’s who we are and who we believe we are.”

On Friday night, that identity should get its stiffest test of the season.

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