Imagine for a second that you are Rip Van Winkle.
Instead of sleeping for 20 years, however, you have only been asleep for 20 days, since Friday, Oct. 3. You have just woken up today. How dumbfounded would you be to learn that the Virginia football team has won three straight games, stands 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC, and travels to Atlanta Saturday to face Georgia Tech in a critical Coastal Division matchup?
I, for one, would be absolutely floored. I would have thought that the Wahoos would be sitting at 1-6 and winless in the ACC after that abysmal showing at Duke. I also would be expecting Al Groh to be coaching his last Cavalier team. Heck, it wouldn’t even have surprised me if he would have already been fired if the three-game home stretch had been really dreadful. Instead, Al Groh is in contention for a second consecutive ACC Coach of the Year award after resurrecting a Cavalier team that looked like it wouldn’t win another game this season.
What would be your reaction if a friend made any of the following statements with a straight face: Marc Verica is looking like one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC and is having a breakout year, reminiscent of Matt Schaub circa 2002. He completed all but one of his passes on the Cavs’ final drive of regulation to tie No. 18 North Carolina after being mostly ineffective for the entire game. He’s completed 74 of 104 passes — 71.2 percent — for three touchdowns and only two interceptions after throwing four picks at Duke. You would look at your friend like he or she was an idiot.
The 2007 team also looked like a lost cause following its humiliating defeat at Wyoming, but that turnaround occurred more quickly than this one. This 2008 version of the come-back-from-the-dead Cavs looked like they could do nothing right. Seriously, I could not find another game on their schedule I thought they would win.
Now, I can’t point to any remaining game and say it is a definite loss, especially in the weak ACC.
Georgia Tech (Saturday) beat Football Championship Subdivision team Gardner-Webb 10-7, then struggled to defeat failing Clemson. Miami (Nov. 1), though playing well at times, just doesn’t strike fear into opponents’ eyes like “The U” used to. Wake Forest (Nov. 8) previously had a potent offense but now is only scoring 18.7 points per game this season and just got blanked by schizophrenic Maryland last weekend. Clemson (Nov. 22), which is still trying find its identity under interim head coach Dabo Swinney, is reeling after not meeting expectations and the subsequent stepping down of Tommy Bowden.
And, dare I say it?
Yes, I dare. Virginia has at least a decent chance to go into Blacksburg and beat offensively anemic Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium right now. If I had heard someone say that Oct. 3, I would have had to punch that person in the face for making such a stupid prediction.
What are some of the factors that have contributed to such a drastic turnaround other than the obvious strides Marc Verica has made in the passing game?
Cedric Peerman has come back healthy and better than ever. Everyone knows about his huge games against Maryland and East Carolina. UNC, however, mostly snuffed out his runs. But that’s OK, because a player like Peerman brings more than yards and touchdowns to the run game. He brings incredible heart, determination, leadership and intensity to his team. His two short, bruising touchdown runs against UNC showed the kind of character he injects into the Cavs. If the team continues to take on his personality, it will be hard to bring them down.
This year’s team has the best overall Virginia receiving corps since, well, I’m not sure when. Kevin Ogletree played well even before the turnaround, but Maurice Covington is stepping up, along with John Phillips, Cary Koch, Cedric Peerman and Mikell Simpson out of the backfield and a host of other young receivers. With these guys making plays and Verica’s emergence, we have a real downfield passing threat at Virginia. Yeah, I know. Let that sink in for a while.
Less seems to have been said about the defense. The leaps and bounds these guys have made are incredible. To go from giving up 52, 45 and 31 points in the three losses to 0, 20 and 13 in the last three wins is nothing short of astounding. And what a gritty performance against the Tar Heels. The Cavaliers showed tremendous resolve in basically shutting down North Carolina after being trampled by the Heels on their first offensive drive.
Should we be surprised, though, about the recent turn of events? Despite being mostly young, the team has a good number of veterans who remember last year and won’t let the young players quit. Something needs to be said for the coaching staff as well. Doesn’t a team take on the attitude of its coaches?
The expectations were probably too high for this team at the beginning of the season anyway. Think about it. Look at the troubles teams such as Auburn and Clemson are experiencing right now. I would venture to say that is nothing compared to the offseason blows Virginia took, not to mention the distraction of Peter Lalich. We are simply seeing a team grow up and improve right before our very eyes.
Now, it’s certainly possible that Virginia could lose to a strong Georgia Tech team on the road Saturday. The Yellow Jackets have a great defense and dynamic option running game. We have yet to see if the Wahoos can take what they have built at home and apply it to a road game; however, we should not be distraught if the Cavaliers fall in Atlanta. Virginia has already exceeded our wildest expectations after starting out 1-3. As the season approaches the 11th hour and your eyes grow heavy, I think this team has what it takes, even if the Cavs lose Saturday, to do something special as the final chapters of the 2008 season are written.
Just don’t fall asleep anytime soon.
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