Virginia football is heading into 2026 with a head full of steam after having one of the most successful seasons in school history, where they finished with an 11-3 record and a Gator Bowl victory over Missouri.Though they unfortunately lost to Duke in the ACC Championship game by a touchdown, Tony Elliott and Co. don't plan on letting that happen again. It's going to be a tough road to get back to the title game, and they'll have to beat quite a few top-notch quarterbacks along the way.Let's dive into the top five signal-callers UVA will face in 2026.1. C.J. Bailey, North Carolina State - Week 0C.J. Bailey is undoubtedly the most complete and dangerous quarterback Virginia's defense will face this season, as he's lethal with both his arm and legs. He single-handedly beat some great teams in 2025, and he has the ability to take over games if left unchecked. The Cavaliers' secondary better come ready to play in their first game of the 2026 season.2025 stats: 3,105 passing yards, 25 TDs, 9 INTs, 68.8% comp., 215 rushing yards, 6 TDs2. Kevin Jennings, SMU - Week 7Jennings has been one of college football's best up-and-coming quarterbacks since 2024, and he was very impressive in ACC play last year. Though he's shown the ability to run the ball as well over the past two seasons, SMU's staff has put an emphasis on keeping him in the pocket. He's someone who can put up 300+ passing yards on any defense, so UVA will have to clamp down on him early.2025 stats: 3,641 passing yards, 26 TDs, 13 INTs, 66.1% comp., 55 rushing yards, 4 TDs 3. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, California - Week 11"JKS" was very impressive as a true freshman in 2025, living up to his blue-chip recruiting pedigree in year one. He's incredibly accurate in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field and moves around well in the pocket. He has a lot of hype entering the 2026 season, and if he's able to build off of his solid true freshman season, he's going to be dangerous going forward.2025 stats: 3,454 passing yards, 18 TDs, 9 INTs, 64.2% comp., -120 rushing yards (sacked a lot), 4 TDs4. Steve Angeli, Syracuse - Week 6Before he got injured in 2025, Angeli was looking like an absolute stud for the Orange. He was completely dominating Clemson's defense until he tore his Achilles in the 3rd quarter, finishing with a stat line of 245 passing yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. If he can get back to how he was playing before that unfortunate injury, Angeli could be ranked even higher than the No.4 spot on this list.2025 stats: 1,317 passing yards, 10 TDs, 2 INTs, 62.8% comp., -33 rushing yards, 1 TD5. Michael Hawkins, West Virginia - Week 3The incoming transfer from Oklahoma was tabbed as "the next big thing" at quarterback for the Sooners before John Mateer decided to make the jump from Washington State to OU in 2025. After replacing Jackson Arnold against Tennessee as a true freshman, Hawkins went on to start four games and rallied the team to a crazy 4th-quarter comeback victory against Auburn in his first career start. He's the definition of a dual-threat quarterback and is the type of player who can easily run or throw for a 50-yard touchdown at any moment.2025 stats: 167 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 55.6% comp., 58 rushing yards, 1TDAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow