October 1st- Idaho @ Virginia
Idaho is a bad football team, so I'll keep this brief. We're not talking "underachieving," "talents, but young," or "missing a couple pieces." This team should end up in the middle/lower part of the WAC standings and on the outside-looking-in on bowl eligibility. This season, the Vandals are replacing their starting QB and WR corps, while returning one of the nation's statistically worst running games. There are a couple bright spots on the roster in speedy wideout Justin Veltung and linebacker Robert Siavii, but largely them team should match up poorly against an ACC team like Virginia.
Pierce's Preseason Pick: Victory.
If UVA can't handle the Vandals at home, then we have some seriously troubling issues. Luckily, I don't think there's a possibility of anything worse than a mildly-concerning close first half. Idaho is no Western Michigan after all...(le sigh)
October 15th. Georgia Tech @ Virginia
Few Wahoo fans need an introduction to GT's defensive coordinator: Al Groh, the man responsible for the decline in UVA football and the pathetic level of success at which we currently stand. Not only did he mismanage countless players, under recruit necessary positions (did you know that quarterbacks are an important part of a football program?), and coach the Hoos to numerous inexcusable losses, but in his last year as HC (the William & Mary year), Al absolutely sabotaged the team on his way out.
This is my first time commenting on this in a public forum, so in case one of our superawesome readers is unfamiliar, let me elaborate: Going into the 2009 season, Al Groh knew he was a losing season away from being canned by his alma mater. Should he have been fired beforehand? Yes. Did the idiotic UVA athletic department completely handcuff him by keeping him on without a contract extension? Absolutely. The entire process of Al's last two years on Grounds was a complete shitshow of fail - and Al knew what was coming. So what does he do in his last season (besides lose to William & Mary)? He burns redshirts. Rather than play upperclassmen looking to finish their careers at UVA with whatever effort they can produce on the field, Al took his marginally successful recruiting class and threw the majority into game action a year before they were ready. The effects of this idiocy are still lingering today - as our roster is full of players that a year ahead of where they should be in eligibility- and thus, will leave the program a year before they normally would have. It affects our depth, it affects Mike London's ability to get the most production out of each of them, and it clogs the current roster with upperclassmen (and their playing time).
Why did he do this? Because he was bitter that he failed to succeed at his dream job. Rather than manning up and trying his best to succeed that final season though, Al took the spiteful brat route - basically saying "Fine, since no one loves me, I might as well see if these 18 year olds I promised a career to can magically fix things" and "Fire me, but I'm going to make this job that much more difficult for the next guy."*
*EVEN THOUGH it was OBVIOUSLY APPARENT to anyone paying attention that his FRIEND and MENTEE, Mike London would be cleaning up his mess.
I can handle bad coaching and poor team management in a coach who's left UVA without holding a grudge. Pete Gillen is a great guy who couldn't cut in the ACC - Dave Leitao ran our once-proud basketball program completely into the ground, but he did everything he could to try and succeed. But no, Groh's actions crossed the line, not to mention immediately picking up a job on a conference/division rival. It's as if he wants all of UVA fandom to hate him.
Well, Al. I'm your huckleberry, shithead. Enjoy your 6-7 seasons on a gimmicky Navy offense. Your comically impractical defense should do just as well in Atlanta, assuming Chris Long suits up for you again. Though, you and your porcine head coach are already on probation, so you might not want to cut any corners.
Pierce's Preseason Pick- Victory. Revenge.
I'm not going to bother discussing scumbag Al's team in depth. They have some players, but they're replacing their QB. The backup played most of last season and the team led the country in fumbles in a 99% run-oriented offense. They wont be any good this year and the Hoos will be coming off a bye week. I think we get it done at home.
No cha-cha dancing for you this year, bitch.
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