- Kris Wright over at the Sabre thinks Saturday's loss is the last straw. We agree, but as ACC COY noted last week, did we really need to wait for this?
- Jeff White blamed turnovers (seven is too much, eh?), and then played cheerleader. I hope Jeff's experiment writing for Virginiasports.com isn't always just a cheerleading gig.
- The DP said the spread laid an egg. Hootie gets a gold star for writing something at least somewhat insightful.
- Doug Doughty ponders whether this was UVA's worst loss ever. I really like Doug as a writer, but it seems to me he's always trying remind people how long he's been around.
- And Heather Dinich over at ESPN's new ACC Blog thinks UVA is looking at a possible 0-4 start. Sorry Heather, we can peruse the schedule too, and we're more worried about something like 2-10.
- The Washington Post is trying to create a "turning point" for its coverage of UVA athletics by starting a Cavaliers Journal Blog. Well, its Tuesday, and all I've seen is that Zach Berman's 9/3 post that he's happy he won't be trekking up and down I-81 anymore. Bang up coverage as usual WP!
- As the old football saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, you really have none. If you have three quarterbacks, well, you have a coach with ADD. Don't tell me it was Gregg Brandon's idea to rotate three different kids at QB in his first game as OC. And if it was, someone (i.e. the head coach) should have stopped him from doing it.
- Vic Hall’s opening drive 34-yard touchdown scamper was breathtaking, but he appears to be a one-trick pony. Or at the very least the coaches think he is. He threw all of five passes at QB. If you don’t trust him to throw, Hall is the NFL version of a Wildcat QB. A nice change of pace, but not a QB. Stop pretending he is.
- But Hall wasn’t doing that badly, which made the switch to Sewell after all of three drives such a head-scratcher. The football gods immediately punished UVA for the change with a fumbled snap on Sewell’s first play. After that, it was vintage Sewell – a strike between coverage to Chris Byrd. Two plays later, he sailed a throw three feet over Byrd’s head to the other team. Get used to it folks. Sewell is the Hoos best chance at QB. But he is what he is – flashes of brilliance followed closely by complete exasperation.
- We’ll just pretend the desperation switch to Marc Verica in the fourth quarter didn’t happen, shall we? And hope it doesn’t happen again. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but Verica should have joined the ranks Virginia QBs that never got in a game. The fact that he plays (and has even started games) is horrifying for a program that hopes to compete for conference titles.
- Mikell Simpson carried the ball five times for 32 yards, and caught six passes for 28 yards. I know a lot of those running yards were on one play late in the first half, but Simpson’s probably their best offensive player. Let’s get him the ball, not throw to receivers you or I couldn't pick out of a lineup.
- Is it possible – just possible – that they’re asking Hall to do too much? Not only does Hall have to learn a new offense, learn a new position, and split out wide at receiver every once in a while, but he also needs to return punts? Why exactly? Its hard to get mad at the kid when he’s asked to do that much, and then fumbles a punt. But very easy to get mad at the coaching staff that asks him to do it.
- The defense wasn’t as bad as the score indicated. It wasn’t good, mind you, against a 1-AA opponent, but not that bad. Redshirt freshman Steve Greer (10 tackles) used to be Jon Copper’s understudy; looks more like a clone to me. And a year after returning from academic suspension, Chris Cook looks like the best corner on the roster (yes, I’m looking at you Ras-I Dowling).
- Finally, another old football saying (one I happen to believe in) is that players take on the personality of their head coach. Saturday's performance did not reflect well on the head coach. The program's history under Groh says they will rebound, of course, but we're not sure that matters. We suspect there will be ruminations all week about Groh's job status on one side, and attempts to rally the troops on the other. Far from the discussion we thought we'd be having this week, huh? Doesn't that tell you everything you need to know?
