I just revisited my 2025 predictions for the Cavaliers — it is now time to make my new picks for 2026. Hopefully they age gracefully and not like whatever lurks on the bathroom floors at Scott Stadium.

Record: 10-2, third in ACC. Pop-Tarts Bowl

Virginia does not face a titanically rigorous ACC schedule. Because the Cavaliers are coming off of a strong campaign and have the most experienced roster in the country, the floor should be eight wins — and realistically, this should be a nine or 10-win team. There is only one game in which the Cavaliers should be significant underdogs, which is a road date at SMU. And other than the Virginia Tech game, there may not be another game in which Virginia is an underdog at all. That is a real possibility.

If the Cavaliers beat the Mustangs in Dallas, Texas, they will probably return to the ACC Championship game. If they lose, though, they could miss out even with a 10-2 record. Miami could very well go 12-0, and SMU could hold the tiebreaker over Virginia. But even without a trip to Charlotte, N.C., the Cavaliers should still play in one of the top bowl games. Perhaps that is the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Fla, or another visit to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The Holiday Bowl is also a possibility.

Virginia beats Virginia Tech on the road for the first time since 1998

I predict that Ethan Grunkemeyer will become one of the ACC’s better quarterbacks, however, it would be ridiculous to assume Virginia Tech is going to magically vault itself from 3-9 to 10-2. The Hokies were handed a brutal ACC schedule with games at Miami, SMU and Clemson plus a trip out to Cal and home battles against Virginia, Pitt and Georgia Tech. Virginia Tech does have a few freebies on the schedule, but I predict the Hokies go 6-6 or 5-7 in the first year under Coach James Franklin. One of those losses, I predict, is coming against the Cavaliers.

Awards

Offensive MVP: Beau Pribula

Defensive MVP: Corey Costner

Freshman of the Year: Derek Uran

Play of the Year: Kam Robinson

Comeback Player of the Year: Monroe Mills and Ja’Maric Morris

Transfer of the Year: Peyton Lewis

Most Improved: Kam Courtney

If Pribula starts every game at quarterback and leads Virginia to similar levels of success as Chandler Morris, then he is the easy choice for Offensive MVP. On the other side, Costner is a sleeper pick who I believe could have a tremendous breakout campaign.

The Cavaliers’ SPUR position is put in spots to make plays, which Ja’Son Prevard (and Costner) did in spades last season. Now that Costner is the starter, he could surprise and take over as an All-ACC player. 

Another player primed for playing time is Uran. With Kam Robinson and Maddox Marcellus dealing with injuries and James Jackson out of eligibility, the freshman Uran could find his way onto the field at linebacker or on special teams quickly.

When Robinson does return, though, I predict he will make some play worthy of a SportsCenter Top 10 spot — maybe he forces a fumble and returns it for a touchdown, records a pick six or another game-clinching safety.

While Virginia lost one Morris, another returned. Ja’Maric Morris was a promising portal acquisition at defensive back, but he suffered a season-ending injury before ever playing in a regular season game for the Cavaliers.

He is now back, and with the experience of someone who has been in college football since 2021, he could earn notable playing time. I predict Morris to be worthy of Comeback Player of the Year along with Monroe Mills, Virginia’s top portal commit from last offseason — who also missed the whole 2025 season and will make a major impact in 2026. 

With loads of respect to the defensive side of the ball, I predict Peyton Lewis will be the most impactful transfer — other than Pribula, who would win this award if I were to allow players to win multiple awards. If Lewis takes the J’Mari Taylor role and runs with it, he should be an All-ACC player.

He certainly has the talent to do so. Lewis could become a fan favorite. Sticking with the offense, Kam Courtney is my pick for Most Improved. He figures to nab a starting role in the slot this year, and with increased playing time, he could become one of Pribula’s favorite targets.

Community activists, elected leaders and residents of Northern Virginia got together Sunday night to share their concerns about the proliferation of data centers across the region.

Many of the approximately 120 people attending the meeting at the Best Western hotel on Balls Ford Road in Manassas expressed disappointment in some Virginia politicians, including Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who have pushed to renew tax breaks for the multibillion-dollar corporations behind the centers. Another major concern for those in the crowd was the centers’ impact on the environment.

State Sen. Danica Roem opened the meeting by telling those in attendance that she and two other state senators there, L. Louise Lucas and Russet Perry, wanted to hear from them and that they shared their concerns about the prospect of adding more data centers.

“It is time to stop the reckless data center sprawl,” said Roem as she invited members of the public to speak.

Tony Hernandez drove to the meeting from Spotsylvania County, where three data centers are already up and running and companies like Amazon and Powerhouse 95 are working to build 17 more active data center sites.

“This is a bigger problem than just the companies who are invading our state. … This is a failure of government,” Hernandez said, becoming emotional when discussing data centers’ impact on his community. Those effects include more noise and air pollution.

“Your plans didn’t take into consideration the people who you were supposed to serve,” he said. “I know about service. I served. My son serves now in the United States Navy. We serve.”

Studies have shown data centers’ massive environmental impacts: A single large facility can consume millions of gallons of water each day for cooling. Their demand for a constant supply of electricity places significant pressure on local power grids, increasing carbon emissions and driving up utility costs for the communities around them.

“Technology’s not bad,” said Sen. Lucas. “We’ve all benefited from technology. What is bad is our government has not done a good job of managing its impact,” she said.

The Virginia legislature remains at an impasse over the state budget, and the exemptions have emerged as a key point of contention. Spanberger has argued that reneging on existing agreements could undermine Virginia’s reputation as a reliable place to do business.

Lawmakers in both chambers are working to reach a budget agreement before the end-of-month deadline to avert a government shutdown, but the dispute over data center tax incentives remains the biggest obstacle to a deal.

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RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she supports the House of Delegates’ proposed budget as state lawmakers race to avoid a government shutdown before the July 1 deadline.

Legislators are set to meet Tuesday to review their proposed budgets, and the House could vote as early as Thursday. But a major obstacle remains: the Senate Finance chair is insisting that a billion-dollar sales and use tax exemption for data center operators must end — a position that puts the Senate at odds with the House proposal.

The governor said her team has not had a substantive discussion on what Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) might present as a counter proposal. On Friday, Lucas posted a graduated tax proposal for data centers on social media but has not presented that plan to the governor’s team.

As recently as Sunday, Lucas was adamant that the companies behind the data centers would pay what she called their fair share.

“They keep saying to us, ‘well, if we don’t get that sales and use tax exemption in Virginia, we’re gonna go someplace else.’ Well, Senator Locke just laid it out for you: all the other states are saying, ‘no, we don’t want them’ and if we get them, we’re going to make sure that we modify how we do these use and sales tax exemptions,” Lucas said.

Spanberger reiterated her support for the House version of the budget.

“In the absence of any counter proposal or any additional budget language coming from the Senate, I continue to remain supportive of the House of Delegates proposed conference report, because it’s thorough, it’s thoughtful, it addresses priorities across the board,” she said.

She added that if it were brought to a vote, there is broad support for the measure.

“If it were brought to a vote, certainly there’s many members … of the state Senate whose budget priorities are also in that conference report,” she said.

The timeline is tight. While House of Delegates members return Thursday, Senate members do not convene until next Monday. Under legislative rules, an agreed-upon budget must be on legislators’ desks 48 hours before a vote can be taken. If a budget agreement is not ready by the close of business Tuesday, the House will not be voting on Thursday.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

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