What is about to go down Saturday in Blacksburg is the 90th edition of the Virginia-Virginia Tech football game. It’s a rivalry in which, from the Cavalier perspective, I’ve seen the good and bad sides.
I was born in Harrisonburg, Va. and lived there for 12 years. I had the privilege of going to two Virginia-Virginia Tech football games, one in 1997 and the other in 1998. Virginia won both of them, and the 1998 victory was an all-time classic because the Cavaliers came back from a 29-7 halftime deficit to win 36-32, assuring them a Peach Bowl bid. Sitting around Virginia Tech fans, after Virginia scored the go-ahead touchdown, I stood up, cheered loudly and, as a result, had a cup of beer thrown on me. Being at those two games exposed me to a rivalry that not only meant something to the entire commonwealth but was a demographical rivalry that really separated personalities across Virginia.
When I moved to Chicago in 1999, I thought I had escaped the rivalry. Sure enough, though, one of my classmates in middle school was a diehard Virginia Tech fan, who is a senior there now. Also, the parents of a good friend from church not only went to Virginia Tech, but when I had the audacity to wear a Virginia hat to their house, the father took it off my head and stomped on it repeatedly. That told me how much this rivalry means even to Virginia Tech fans who live out of state.
Unfortunately, since I moved from Harrisonburg, Virginia Tech has owned an 8-1 series advantage, and the average score in those nine games is 30-15. If you would have told me that would be the case when I moved, I would have thought you were onto something. The Class of 2008 spent four years on Grounds without witnessing one Virginia victory against Virginia Tech in football, and the Class of 2009 might experience that same fate. If that happens, and the offense plays like it has been playing throughout the rest of November, some offensive staff questions need to be answered.
One reporter asked coach Al Groh after the Clemson game if he was going to bring his son back as offensive coordinator. At the time, it seemed like a harsh question that I thought was out of line, but in reality, it’s a fair one. In his three years as offensive coordinator, his units have been absolutely anemic. This season, his offense is 102nd in total offense and 115th in scoring offense. In his first year as offensive coordinator in 2006, the Cavaliers were 113th in total offense and 110th in scoring offense. Even in 2007 when Virginia won nine games, it was not because of an offense that was 101st in total offense and 81st in scoring offense.
For you non-math majors, that’s an average of 105th in total offense and 102nd in scoring offense. You tell me what other school would put up with an offensive coordinator who, in three consecutive years, produced an offense that would make a pee-wee defense look like the Florida Gators. Call it loyalty — or even nepotism — but if Virginia puts up an offensive stinkbomb like it did in 2006 at Virginia Tech when it failed to score a point, a staff shake-up needs to occur on that side of the ball, if not at the top.
Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage stated in an e-mail following the Wake Forest loss that “Al Groh will be our head coach” next season, even if Virginia lost its last two games. If Virginia loses in an embarrassing fashion to the Hokies, Littlepage might want to rethink that statement.
To those who think an athletic director giving a head coach a vote of confidence is an end-all to a coach being on the hot seat, they must not have paid attention to what happened at San Diego State this past Sunday, when Aztec coach Chuck Long was fired even though athletic director Jeff Schemmel gave the coach a vote of confidence back in October. Long had a 9-27 record as head coach, so it was not as if his team was on the verge of breaking through, but the AD realized that a change had to be made for the good of the program, and it was wisely made. Oh, and by the way, his offenses at least averaged out to be 94th in total offense and 98th in scoring offense.
So am I saying that Al Groh’s job is on the line if the team plays badly and loses to Virginia Tech? It probably will not be, but it should be. The ACC has a lot of upside as a conference right now. Virginia Tech will always be up there, but North Carolina, Miami, Georgia Tech and even Duke are resurgent as programs. On the Atlantic Division side you can pencil Boston College in for at least eight wins a season, Florida State has regained relevance, Maryland has shown signs of promise, N.C. State is a solid team again, Wake Forest isn’t a joke anymore and, with the right head coach, Clemson will be a power again. Where does Virginia fit within the conference? It can’t afford to tread water as a mediocre program right now, and that’s exactly what Virginia is in danger of doing.
The Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry means a lot to me. It means a whole lot to the commonwealth, and now it means a whole lot to the ACC in terms of the conference championship. Including this year, four of the last five games will have had a direct impact on the ACC Championship race. This game should also have a direct impact in terms of the Virginia coaching staff. If Virginia wins or puts up a valiant effort — especially on the offensive side of the ball — all is well. If the game is anything like the one in 2006 when the offense was shut out and produced 112 yards of total offense, a question must be asked about whether the offensive staff or the head coach should be back.
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