Lower the Curtain

Somewhere the fat lady is singing, because Saturday's loss should put a fork in the 2009 Cavaliers. When is the last time the Cavs lost to the Dookies on the gridiron twice in a row? (1981-1982 to be exact). Is this a sign that the worst of the ACC is getting better (a good sign for the conference) or is Virginia just that bad? Likely a combination of the two, though it appears Virginia's regression is mostly to blame as the Duke game was one the Hoos should have and could have won. There really isn't a whole lot to say about this one - just another prime example of how bad things have gotten in C'ville, another depressing defeat, and another dejecting blow that wiped out what little hope remained for 2009.

It's not as if they did not have their chances against Duke - the Hoos just couldn't get it done on offense. Sure, the defense gave up a huge TD late in the game to give Duke the lead for good, but by and large, this one is on the offense. A mere 196 yards of total offense (one measly yard in the entire first quarter no less) is just not enough to beat many teams.

Virginia's run game once again proved non-existent. For the third game in a row the Hoos failed to net 100 yards on the ground, and the team accounted for only 89 yards against the Blue Devils (86 of which came from Rashawn Jackson who was one of the only bright spots on offense). Mikell Simpson looked as if he was returning to his 2007 form until the injury in the Indiana game and since his return, he has yet to get back on track. Simpson only got 5 touches on Saturday and he and Jackson combined for only 21 carries. Virginia's quarterback play is far to erratic to hold up without the support of a rushing attack, and when neither is clicking, it becomes painful to watch.

Speaking of quarterbacks, Sewell was an eye-popping (amazingly futile) 8-22 for 86 yards...when your starting quarterback puts up those kinds of numbers, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that Virginia ranks 115th in the nation (out of 120 FBS teams) in total offense - and that was before the Duke game. It's hard to remember when the Hoos were actually good offensively as UVa being one of the worst offensive teams in college football has been an on-going theme (actually, more like a reoccurring nightmare). Sewell also tossed a pick and sealed Virginia's fate when his late 4th quarter fumble was recovered for a Duke touchdown. If Verica is the future, then Cav fans don't appear to have a ton to be excited about as he went 5-16 for 21 yards. They say it's just as hard to miss every question on the SAT as it is to get everyone correct (could be an urban legend) - I wonder if the same theory applies to football quarterbacks. It's got to be hard to put up numbers that lousy.

Saturday's crowd once again set a new, post-expansion record low as only 41,713 turned out to witness anything but a treat on Halloween. It's no wonder the Hoos fans have stayed away this season - Saturday's display of futility clearly showed the product on the field just isn't that good. The loss to Duke almost certainly puts the final nail in Groh's coffin, and for the remainder of the season, the most entertaining aspects of Virginia football will likely be the coaching rumors and what-if games.