Virginia football is on the verge of making program history, for both positive and negative reasons.

One of the positive reasons is that the Cavaliers continue to be featured on national television. Monday, the ACC announced that Virginia's Nov. 14 game against Cal will be a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ACC Network.

That means that 10 games into the 2026 season, the Cavaliers have only played one noon game (against SMU, which was nationally broadcast).

The Cavaliers have only appeared on one non-nationally broadcast game, which was their Friday night primetime blowout over Norfolk State back in September (ACCNX).

Let's dive into the upcoming game against the Golden Bears.

This game should be a late reprieve for Virginia after a 1-4 skid. These are two of just five ACC teams that currently sport a losing record overall (Stanford, Florida State and Georgia Tech are the others).

Cal, like the Cavaliers, will be coming off of a bye week before this game. However, the Golden Bears are more ablaze than Virginia.

The Golden Bears have lost three straight ACC games by 21-plus points. Strangely enough, before that streak, Cal upset Virginia Tech. But before then, the Golden Bears lost to UNLV and a struggling Clemson team.

Systemically, there are lot of issues with the Golden Bears (and Cavaliers, for that matter). Cal was expected to ascend this season under the leadership of sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele — but he has only thrown for 200 yards thrice this year.

That's a problem, especially because Cal ranks dead last in the ACC in rushing. It is the only team to average fewer than 108 rushing yards per game. The Golden Bears have averaged just 82.8 on a mediocre three yards per carry. Their quarterback hasn't been able to save them.

Since Sept. 20, Sagapolutele has accounted for exactly four total touchdowns. California now has the ACC's third-worst offense in terms of points per game. It's defense isn't great either, checking in at second-worst.

Virginia, meanwhile, is only seventh-worst on offense and ranks ninth defensively. If there was ever a time for the Cavaliers to escape a skid and get back on track, this Nov. 14 matchup would be it.

The hosts in Charlottesville must go 2-1 down the stretch to make a bowl game. Two of those games are against North Carolina and Virginia Tech. If Virginia loses to the Golden Bears, the season is officially on its last legs.