History will not be on Virginia's side when the Cavaliers travel to the Florida panhandle for Saturday night's game. With one notable exception in 1995, Virginia has not fared well against the Seminoles, winning only once in 12 tries.
Our beloved 'Hoos have allowed an average of 34.9 points per game when playing FSU and are 0-22 all-time in road games against top-10 teams. The explosive Seminole offense has scored at least 21 unanswered points in eight of the 12 career games. Those are numbers that will make any Wahoo want to wretch.
Need more proof of Florida State's dominance? There have been 295 Associated Press rankings since the beginning of the 1987 season. The most recent poll marks the 13th time sixth-ranked Virginia has been in the top 10 during that stretch. No. 7 Florida State, however, is currently listed in the top 10 for the 254th time in that same time period.
Not to lapse too much into the vocabulary that comes with my blind devotion to the Red Sox, but this year could be different. For instance, can anyone remember the last time Virginia was ranked ahead of Florida State? This is the sixth time these two teams have both been in the top 25 when they've played, but it's the first in which the Cavaliers have been the higher ranked team.
Sure, the difference is one meager spot, and the previous week's poll had their order reversed, but this Florida State team is vulnerable. Sophomore quarterback Wyatt Sexton will be making just his third career start after replacing injured starter Chris Rix. Last week the Seminoles escaped with just a four-point win over a Syracuse team Virginia soundly defeated three weeks ago.
But the numbers don't lie, and Virginia understands the historic difficulty teams have had in winning at Florida State.
"You ask any team in the ACC about getting a win in Tallahassee, and they'll tell you it would feel great," senior guard Elton Brown said.
At the risk of being too grammatical on the sports page, it's important to note Elton's use of the conditional verb form "would," as there are only 13 active players in the conference who know what it's like to play at Doak Campbell and win. All 13 of them are N.C. State seniors who, in 2001, gained the distinction of putting the only blemish on FSU's otherwise perfect home record against the ACC opponents, which currently stands at 49-1.
I'd feel better if Virginia had played a road game against a legitimate team or at least a legitimate crowd. I'd also feel better if the Cavs had played a meaningful second half of football this season.
But at least Virginia is better off than it was two years ago when the Cavaliers trailed 33-0 through three quarters before ultimately dropping a 40-19 decision. Six freshmen started that game -- Brennan Schmidt, Wali Lundy, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Darryl Blackstock, Kwakou Robinson and Marques Hagans -- and all six are expected to start again this Saturday night.
Hagans more than the others has benefited from the extra experience and is grateful to get another chance.
"I feel a lot more confident having played a lot more games this time around," he said. "I don't think I wasn't ready. I just don't think that I stepped up to the challenge."
In that game two years ago, Hagans made his first collegiate start, completing just one of his seven passes for just four yards. He also fumbled twice.
"I've been thinking about [that game] ever since it happened," Hagans said. "That was probably my worst game I ever had. It'll probably be with me as long as I continue to play sports."
A win on Saturday would be a happier milestone to remember for a lifetime. Assistant coaches Mike Groh and Anthony Poindexter certainly remember their win over Florida State in 1995 as teammates during Virginia's lone win in the series. Hagans admits that he and his teammates enjoys watching the replay of that game on Classic Sports and hearing from his coaches about what it felt like to beat FSU.
Marques, next time I see you, I want to hear about what it feels like, too.
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