The Virginia football team navigated through an unusual offseason full of changes and an extended preseason due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but kickoff is in sight for the 2020 season. The Cavaliers missed spring practice, spent hours on Zoom calls, and returned to Charlottesville for roughly 12 weeks of preseason preparations to get to this point. Now, they’re just eager to play football.

The first chance to do that comes against Duke on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Scott Stadium where the stands will be mostly empty. Before the Hoos start this atypical season, however, let’s take a look at some of the big questions for the team this year (pandemic-related questions excluded). If you have other questions, share them in the comments or on the message boards!

Offense

Brennan Armstrong – Boom, Bust, Or Between?

Bryce Perkins spent just two seasons in a Virginia uniform, but he made an immense impact. Perkins set the UVA career record for total offense with 7,910 yards, tied Matt Schaub for No. 2 all-time with 17 quarterback wins, threw for 47 touchdowns, rushed for the most yards ever by a Cavalier QB with 1,692 yards, and hurdled a few guys for good measure. Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall has said that Perkins accelerated the program’s growth and, of course, the the Hoos won their first ACC Coastal Division title last season on the way to their first Orange Bowl appearance.

Enter Brennan Armstrong. After serving the past two years as the backup quarterback to Perkins, he officially claimed the starting job this summer. There are no gaudy stats due to the limited body of work, but in his brief appearances over his first two seasons, Armstrong made notable plays in most of his opportunities. The in-house view has been favorable with players and coaches noting things like a feel for the offense, the ability to make varying throws, underrated running skills, and his competitiveness as positive traits.

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