Barbeques, mosquitoes, muggy summer nights mean more than just nine innings of the national pastime. It signals that football season is less than one month away. Virginia fans can be forgiven for counting down the less than 30 remaining days until kickoff, as much is expected of the 2003 Cavaliers.
One year ago: Virginia was coming off its first sub-.500 record in 14 years in Al Groh's first season at his alma mater. Then-junior quarterback Matt Schaub had a tenuous hold on the quarterback job after platooning with departed Bryson Spinner his sophomore year.
Oh what a difference a year makes. After struggling out of the gate, to a point where Schaub was benched in favor of the athletic Marques Hagans, Virginia won 9 of its last 12 games, including a six-game spurt. The Cavaliers finished ranked No. 22 in the nation after a 48-22 rout of No. 14 West Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl.
Matt Schaub now has a Web site touting his Heisman candidacy after throwing for an ACC-leading and school-record 28 touchdown season. He set nine other single-season Virginia records, finished second in the nation in completion percentage and became a household name across the ACC en route to winning Player of the Year honors.
With so much youth on last year's team -- 17 starters are back -- ESPN ranked the Cavaliers eighth in the country in its post-spring Top 25.
The crown jewels of the best recruiting class in school history, Groh's first incoming class in 2002, have yet to play in a real game. Virginia will only start five seniors this year -- Schaub, receivers Ryan Sawyer and Michael McGrew and cornerbacks "Muffin" Curry and Jamaine Winborne -- so there is plenty of reason for excitement in Charlottesville.
As promising as this year's Virginia team is, the competition will be tough in the ACC, where there are four teams ranked among the top 15 in the country. And the conference has changed to where no team is a pushover.
"Everybody in the ACC has really stepped up their game, from the lower end of the ACC to they guys who have always been the top dogs," UNC senior safety Dexter Reid said.
Not much has changed at the top yet though, as Florida State was picked yet again to finish atop the conference. The Seminoles have won the ACC 10 of the 11 years they have been in the conference and return the conference's best running back, two star linebackers, a talented quarterback and a wealth of speed and athleticism.
"You've got to knock them off," Maryland senior running back and 2001 ACC Player of the Year Bruce Perry said. "Our conference is on the rise, but Florida State is still king of the hill. They deserve it. They're coming out as defending ACC champions."
Of the three other ACC contenders, Virginia might have the best chance to beat the Seminoles head-to-head because the Terps and Wolfpack both play in Tallahassee. With four teams with a legitimate shot at winning the conference, one thing is certain: Every week will be a test for the Cavaliers.Put the baseball glove away; an exciting football season is just around the corner.
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