BLACKSBURG -- Saturday's loss to rival Virginia Tech could not have been more deflating for both the Cavaliers and the Virginia fans who made the long trip to Blacksburg and watched the game in the snow and driving wind.
Despite the loss to Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers deserved more respect than they received, and a bowl bid to the Continental Tire Bowl should sicken any fan of good college football.
The Virginia players knew they were a better team than they were able to show in Blacksburg, and so did their fans. Bragging rights for the commonwealth of Virginia were on the line, as well as the chance to earn the respect that had passed over the Cavaliers despite their surprisingly good season.
Virginia, whose offensive success this season was predominately through the air was at a severe disadvantage against a 30-mph wind that chilled the field. As a result, Virginia posted its worst showing of passing offense this year.
Senior wide receiver Billy McMullen gained more rushing yards than receiving yards, while junior quarterback Matt Schaub's 16-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Heath Miller marked the longest completion of the day for the Cavaliers.
The only positive aspect of the Cavalier offense was freshman running back Wali Lundy's game-high 127 yards on 29 carries. Lundy's success on the ground should have opened up the passing game to the Cavaliers -- especially on play action fakes -- had it not been for the strong wind.
Time and again, 5-foot-9 Hokies cornerback Ronyell Whitaker was on man coverage against the 6-foot-4 McMullen, but the wind conditions prevented the Cavaliers from taking advantage of the mismatch.
The result of the weather conditions was that the Hokies did not see the true wide-open style Virginia offense.
In un-Cavalier fashion, Schaub finished with fewer than 60 passing yards as Virginia finished off its extremely difficult non-conference schedule with a 21-9 loss.
But despite the weather and misfortune of Virginia, the Cavaliers gave their all: Two key starters went down and their replacements stepped right up and made plays. Nobody can doubt Virginia's heart -- not only has it made huge second half come-backs this season, but the Cavaliers willed themselves to second place in the ACC. So was their courage, hard work and good results despite a difficult schedule rewarded with even a decent bowl bid? No, NC State rebounded from losses to Maryland and Virginia to beat Florida State, Maryland beat Wake after losing miserably to Virginia, and Clemson beat in-state rival South Carolina, after both teams lost to Virginia earlier this year.
As a result, the No. 2 team in the ACC was passed over by the top four bowl spots for ACC teams. Three teams that finished below Virginia -- all of which lost to the Cavaliers -- were selected for better bowls.
"The bowl people have made a statement that, while coaches and player understand that the issue is decided on the field, in this particular case, maybe the issue was decided by some backroom politics," Groh said. "I think also they have confirmed that it doesn't pay to [play tough non-conference schedules]. With all due respect to Wofford, maybe we should get them on the schedule."
Groh couldn't be more right. The Cavaliers deserved to be in the Gator Bowl, or at very least the Peach Bowl. For Clemson to get the invite to the Tangerine Bowl over Virginia is sickening and only shows how little getting the best football team in the best bowl game matters.
Virginia manhandled Wofford-slayer Maryland only a week before playing Virginia Tech, and had a better winning percentage than Clemson, another Cavalier victim. NC State, another team that Virginia beat, had the easiest non-conference schedule of the bunch, playing two Division I-AA teams as well as Navy, one of the nation's worst Division I-A teams.
The bowl situation is sickening when the second-best team in the ACC is forced to the bowl for the No. 5 or No. 6 best team in the Conference.
One would think that the preseason polls, in which Virginia was selected to finish eighth of the nine ACC teams, was more important to the bowl committees than the actual play during the season. One might say it is just a question of marketing, and that E.J. Henderson of Maryland and Philip Rivers of NC State are more marketable players. However, to say that the ACC player of the year Matt Schaub and the ACC coach of the year Al Groh are not marketable is ridiculous.
Instead, the bowl committees reward spineless scheduling rather than reward conference wins and head to head play.
The truth is that Virginia continues to get no respect from national sources, despite earning that respect by playing one of the two most difficult non-conference schedules in the ACC and finishing second in the ACC.
The disrespect for Virginia should serve as a black eye as much for the bowl system as last year's selection of Nebraska for the championship game did for the BCS last year. The absence of the Cavaliers in the Gator, Peach and even Tangerine Bowl is a disgrace, and I don't think a single fan could fault Virginia if it declined invitation to the Continental Tire bowl in protest.
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