I am sure you all will read plenty of these types of articles in the coming weeks. I'm almost certain you have read one of these by now. After witnessing the most depressing moment in my two-plus years here at U.Va. Saturday afternoon as the Cavaliers fell to Wyoming (yes, even worse than Virginia's second-round loss to Tennessee in the 2006 NCAA basketball tournament), the direction of the football team heavily needs to be questioned.
Virginia had months to prepare for the game against Wyoming. After Saturday's embarrassment, it looked as if they only had a day. It is one thing to lose while playing valiantly, but their 23-3 was humiliating and hard to stomach.
Unfortunately, we have to start with an anemic offense. It doesn't take Sesame Street's Elmo to count Virginia's sub-par offensive numbers. The Cavaliers mustered just five first downs and a pathetic -3 net rushing yards. In total, Virginia had 10 total yards of offense that wouldn't get the job done against Charlottesville High School. Most, if not all, of the blame needs to be put on Al Groh.
An offensive line with Eugene Monroe, the number three-ranked prospect in the nation in 2005, four-star recruits Ian-Yates Cunningham, Jordy Lipsey, Branden Albert, and a solid lineman in Will Barker should be performing much better. Offensive line coach Dave Borbely is not getting the job done, as evidenced by a horrendous 2006 season -- Groh clearly picked the wrong man to replace Ron Prince as coach of the O-line.
Then there's the issue of Al's son Mike calling the plays. Sitting with my friends watching the game, we could accurately predict what Virginia was running. The offense clearly lacks innovation, and the numbers showed. I honestly do not know if Mike or Al is calling the plays, but I'm sure I could get Sanford and Son to come in and do a better job.
Now there is the issue of the alumni and season ticket holders, who expected the team to compete for a top-three spot in the Coastal Division. If I had season tickets, I would be compelled to either sell or burn them now.
The students have shown frustration with Groh's team, as well. Aside from not producing a winner, Groh has sent the student section into a state of utter confusion as what is considered appropriate game attire. The Sea of Orange will go down as one of the biggest blunders of Groh's Virginia coaching campaign.
Dress doesn't dictate fan support -- the fans themselves do. If all of the Virginia Tech students went to the game in clown costumes, they would still be regarded as one of the best student sections in the nation. Do Georgia, Alabama and Auburn have problems winning championships while their students sport the latest in Brooks Brothers, Polo and Lilly Pulitzer?
If the message -- "1.7 million Groh must go!" -- at Beta Bridge this past weekend doesn't summarize the feelings of the student body, I don't know what does.
Oh, wait, I do know -- absolutely not giving a hoot about this weekend's game against Duke. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case for a lot of Virginia students right now.
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