Virginia football's rise toward national prominence this year has enveloped fans in a cozy coat of orange crush defense, "Power V's" and HooVision.
But the team's embarrassing blowout loss to the garnet and gold last weekend, coupled with the fact that only two home games remain in the season, might be leaving fans hungry for something new, something fresh, something to fill the lonely void between the end of pigskin play and the start of lacrosse.
The cure lies hidden on the north side of Grounds, on a hardwood plane, deep in the bowels of marshmallow-topped University Hall.
Men's basketball at Virginia used to draw crowds of students thousands deep, manned with tents and blankets galore, to Onesty Hall for weeklong campouts to get front row seats. The hype has subsided in the past couple years thanks to a lack of postseason success. But the Cavaliers have high hopes that a return to the big dance is imminent.
"We want to get back to the NCAA tournament, certainly," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "That's where Virginia belongs. That's where we want to be."
The Cavaliers return a young group with three veteran leaders eager to improve on last year's 18-13 finish and sub par postseason performance that concluded with a 10-point loss to Villanova in the second round of the NIT.
"I think our team is versatile, they're athletic," Gillen said. "Our players that are coming back have improved."
Among the returning corps are senior forwards Elton Brown and Devin Smith, both who received All-ACC Honorable Mention last year and were named second team All-State by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They will share tri-captain duties with fellow senior forward Jason Clark.
Joining the seniors is a group of five sophomores -- J.R. Reynolds, T.J. Bannister, Gary Forbes, Donte Minter and Jason Cain -- and three freshmen -- Sean Singletary, Adrian Joseph and Tunji Soroye -- who Gillen said add a great deal of athleticism to the team.
"Last year, the five freshmen, they got a lot of playing time," Clark said. "We have three great freshmen this year who I think can really help out a lot."
And the Cavaliers will likely need their help, especially once conference play begins.
Last week, ESPN.com released its picks for the preseason top 25. Among the top five were North Carolina (4), last year's runner-up Georgia Tech (3) and Wake Forest, projected by the Web site as the preseason No. 1 team.
Additionally, Maryland rounds out the top 10, and Duke and North Carolina State are listed at Nos. 14 and 17, respectively.
"We're playing in the best conference in the country by far -- great schools, great competition -- so our eyes are wide open," Gillen said. "We know who we're playing, we know we're getting great competition, but we're excited about the challenge and I think we'll be able to meet the challenge."
Practice started Saturday, and the challenge begins Nov. 19 with a home match versus the Robert Morris College Eagles. Let the countdown begin.
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