PITTSBURGH -- So maybe all the off-season pessimism was warranted after all. Presented with their first opportunity to prove all the doubters wrong, Virginia failed miserably Saturday night at Heinz Field, as it indeed looked and played like a mediocre squad in the midst of a rebuilding process.
Despite the ugliness of the loss, however, I want to stay optimistic. The easiest thing for a sportswriter to do following a game like that is to write a column bashing the team. That may sell newspapers, but it is intellectually lazy. Yes, there are many aspects of Virginia's performance deserving of criticism (i.e. poor pass defense, failure to establish a running game, the list goes on). But let's also try to keep a healthy perspective at the same time.
No one said this team would go undefeated. So despite the bitter taste of losing a season-opener, it might actually be beneficial in the long term that the Cavaliers got a wake-up call this early in the season. That is the beauty of scheduling a tough out-of-conference road test to start the season. It illuminated many areas in which this team is deficient (i.e. susceptibility to the big play, lack of production from the wide receivers, etc.) and will need to work hard to improve. But it is better to learn these lessons at the beginning of September rather than in early October after racking up three or four wins over patsy opponents and building up an inflated ego.
The past two seasons, Virginia started out 5-0 and 3-0, respectively, before having to undergo the requisite soul-searching process following a loss. In 2004, for example, the Cavaliers were 5-0 and ranked No. 6 nationally before being exposed as a paper tiger when they lost 36-3 to Florida State in Tallahassee. Believe me, that debacle was more painful than this loss to Pittsburgh.
Saturday's loss is an excellent reminder for fans to hold modest expectations for this team. At least six wins and a trip to a lower-tier bowl would be a solid achievement for a program that lost so many key players after last season.
In the midst of defeat, there were a few bright spots. In his first career start, sophomore linebacker Jon Copper posted seven tackles, five of them solo. Virginia's defense generally contained the run well, with only a few notable exceptions. Copper played a major role in holding the Panthers to 127 rushing yards.
On special teams, junior punter/place kicker Chris Gould proved to be the jack of all trades. He hit field goals from 42 and 48 yards, averaged 39.1 yards on seven punts and recorded two touchbacks on kickoffs.
Despite my intention to shun overt negativity, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the less-than-impressive performance of Virginia quarterback Christian Olsen. To be blunt, he did not have a very good game. But then again, while it certainly was not the performance he envisioned, there were at least a few salvageable moments. On a 10-play scoring drive in the middle of the third quarter, Olsen completed three passes of 10 yards or longer. Only three other times throughout the game did wide receivers make receptions. Finding ways to get more passes to Fontel Mines and Kevin Ogletree should be one of offensive coordinator Mike Groh's top priorities this week.
At least a quarterback controversy was averted when both Kevin McCabe and Jameel Sewell looked less-than-stellar in the one series of garbage time duty that each received.
If Virginia can come home and win the next two games over weaker out-of-conference foes, it will have the opportunity to reignite its season at Georgia Tech Sept. 21. That now has been elevated to being the most important game on Virginia's schedule. The games against Wyoming and Western Michigan are just salad dressing. Virginia's performance in Atlanta in two and a half weeks will be the true measure of if and how it has rebounded from the loss at Pittsburgh.
It was not a great night to be a Virginia fan. But there will be other nights. In football, as in life, losing is humbling. How Virginia responds to this humiliating loss will define the early portion of its season.
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