2009 Football Schedule, Part II

I'm back from vacation and [finally] ready to pick up where I left off.

Through the first three games of the season -- W&M, TCU, @ Southern Miss -- I'm predicting a 1-2 start... surely to leave plenty of the members of the Sea of Orange wringing their hands and reading Troy Calhoun bios on the internet. The next three-game stretch offers a little rest for the weary... possibly.

@ North Carolina
The Tarholes are a sexy pick in the ACC, as they turned a bit of a corner last year and have plenty of talent in the program after a few years of Butch Davis stocking his own cupboard. They lost the explosive receiving trio of Hakeem Nicks, Brooks Foster, and Brandon Tate to the NFL, but they return gifted (and fragile) QB T.J. Yates, who will spread the ball around in Davis' "U"-esque pro-style offense. I think we can slow down this UNC offense, but it's not their offense I'm worried about... it's their defense. The Carolina D will be experienced, tough, and FAST --- a lot like Davis' units at Miami when they were national championship contenders. I can see the Hoos hanging tough in a defensive battle in this game, but a critical turnover kills us late. Heels 17, Hoos 9.

Indiana
Start 1-3, and the "FIRE AL GROH" movement will have once again grown into an avalanche. Luckily, Groh has this game against a terrible, quarterback-less IU team to right the ship and quiet the critics. Indiana is about as bad a power conference team as you'll ever find. They are soft on the lines and feature youth and inability at the skill positions. This should be an easy home win for us. Hoos 42, Hoosiers 13.

@ Maryland
Circle October 17th on your calendar, because I think this game in College Park will be the make-or-break game of this football season and ultimately of Al Groh's continued employment as UVA's head football coach. The Terps lost a lot from last year's team, and they roll into the '09 season needing to rebuild the offensive line and re-stock the entire defense. They have some good players at the skill positions -- QB Chris Turner, HB Da'Rel Scott, HB Davin Meggett, WR Torrey Smith, and WR Ronnie Tyler -- so if they can find some effective blockers, they could be fairly explosive. This game could easily turn into a shootout, which would be very bad for the Hoos. We need to come out and dominate on defense, and force the raw Maryland D to stop us... a feat I do not think they can accomplish. I have faith in our defensive front seven, and I see us winning a close one here. Hoos 24, Terps 17.

With wins over W&M, Indiana, and UMD stacked against losses to TCU, So. Miss, and UNC, we head into the second half of the schedule at 3-3 and in desperate need of a few more wins.

Part III, coming soon...