*POP*

I'll leave the NCAA Tournament résumé shit over on the right, but for all practical purposes, our bubble just burst.

Not sure why we can't beat crummy ACC teams on the road right now, but we can't.

Ugh.

UVAMBB Power Rankings -- 1/31/13

Previous editions:

• UVAMBB Power Rankings -- 1/15/13
• UVAMBB Power Rankings -- 12/21/12
• UVAMBB Power Rankings -- 12/4/12

At regular intervals during basketball season, I will unveil the power rankings for all of the players on the basketball team. This is essentially a relative measure of how they've been performing in recent games, coupled with an in-order listing of each player's value to the team moving forward with the season. On with it...

#1 Joe Harris (previous rank: #1)
His play in the win over NC State tells us all we need to know.  Joe is our star, the trusty choo-choo tank engine that pulls this train along.

#2 Akil Mitchell (previous rank: #2)
In our four game winning streak, BIG FUNDAMENTAL (I decided that it has to be in all caps whenever it is written) has averaged 34 minutes, 13 points (on 60% shooting from the field and 70% from the line), and 8 rebounds per game.  Those are "impact forward" numbers, right there.  And of course, there is this:

#3 Mike Tobey (previous rank: #4)
I mean, c'mon.  Who doesn't love our little Toblerone?  His testicles are descending right before our very eyes.  And he accepted the challenge from Richard Howell - a grown-ass man with a full-on beard and a rockin' last name - and went toe-to-toe with NC State's burly big man and best player (that's right, I said it -- suck it C.J. Leslie).  Tobes has emerged as an impact post player, with silky moves and a beautiful touch with the basketball.  Maybe more than anyone else on the roster, I'm excited to see what the future holds for this kid.  By the time he's done, he could join the likes of Ralph, Junior, and T-Wat in the storied annals of Wahoops.

#4 Paul Jesperson (previous rank: #6)
"The best zero-point, one rebound, one assist, one block, one steal, one foul game in the history of basketball."  That's the acclaim Jespy earned on Tuesday night against the Wolfpack.  He got a possession-ending deflection on each of State's last three possessions.  It's weird, but he kind of embodies everything that Bennettball is about.  If his deep shot starts dropping, ummmm... that'd be good.

#5 Justin Anderson (previous rank: #5)
There's a term I like to use, but it's usually in reference to point guards: he's the straw that stirs the drink.  During the win streak, J.A. has been that swizzle stick for us, with his hustle and explosive athleticism.  He's still red-meat raw, but you can see a real basketball player taking shape here.

#6 Evan Nolte (previous rank: #3)
Early foul trouble has taken him out of the flow of each of the last two games, but he still drilled seven three-pointers in the four game stretch.  He's officially our second-best perimeter scoring option, and does enough other stuff to merit mention as having a "good" all-around game.  I love this guy as Joe Harris 2.0, bigger, faster, more explosive.  Project Nolte to his junior season, and you see what I mean.

#7 Jontel Evans (previous rank: #9)
Trust me, I hate his non-existent jumper, and a HATE his 36% free throw shooting, but Jontel stepped to the line and knocked down the pair we needed to beat State.  Plus, there's no overlooking the fact that we're just a better team when he's on the floor.

#8 Darion Atkins (previous rank: #5)
The longer he's out, the further his stock will drop, especially with Tobey staking such a bold claim to increased playing time.  Atkins' six minutes against State were gimpy and weird, so we can just strike those from the record.  His defense, athleticism, and shot-blocking will be boons to the team when he's able to return at closer to 100%.

#9 Doug Browman (previous rank: #11)
Somebody has to spell Jontel.  J-O-N-T-E-L.  (Sorry.)  When Browman's on the floor, the opposing team knows exactly where to attack.  But, I like to say "Dougie," and I like to sing "Doug-Doug-Oh-Doug-Doug-Dougie-DougDoug."  See also:

And also, obviously:

#10 Teven Jones (previous rank: #8)
I wish I knew why Teven isn't playing.  I think a lot of people are wondering about that.


@ Georgia Tech on Sunday.  Can't afford to lose that one on the heels of such a great four-game stretch.

GO HOOS!

Xs and Os of Our New OC

So... we moved quick and hired Steve Fairchild to replace Bill Lazor as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach.  We now have three assistant coaches with prior head coaching experience, though Fairchild's experience as a HC was limited to four dismal years at Colorado State, where he went 3-9 in each of his last three seasons.

But we hired him to run our offense, not serve as the head coach.  And this guy has been coaching offense for 30 years, most notably as the OC at Colorado State (before he took over as head coach), and the OC for the Rams, Bills, and Chargers in the NFL.

Here are some of the nuts and bolts of Fairchild's system, as best as I can tell from scouring the interwebs:

• He runs a pro-style offense that is seen as more conservative than not.  Should be a good fit with Tom O'Brien doing quality control for the offense.
• He's good at "coaching up" young / inexperienced offensive players and maximizing skills and abilities.
• He likes the short and intermediate passing game -- call it dink & dunk if you wish.
• He prefers versatile running backs who can contribute in the passing game.  (Smoke says hello.)  Fairchild really clicked with Marshall Faulk.
• He elevates mediocre quarterback talent (Marc Bulger) into effective game managers and productive passers.  Everywhere he goes, he develops good QBs.  Losman in Buffalo is probably his biggest failure in this regard.
• He throws to his tight ends A LOT.
• He likes a limited number of plays run out of a lot of different looks, very much like Bill Lazor.
• He delivered the best recruiting class in Colorado State history, and the book on Fairchild is that he is a very good, willing recruiter who has a little bit of a closer's mentality.
• He picked up a lot of passing game savvy from his three years coaching under Mike Martz with the Rams.
• He seeks run/pass balance, but at his core he's a passing game guy.
• He's not afraid to grind between the tackles with a power running game (see: Travis Henry's Pro Bowl season in 2001).
• He's fallen in love with throwing screens, drags, and slants recently.  Maybe he's lost his appetite for taking downfield risks after he's been canned at his last three stops.
• He is not an innovator, and runs a very conventional attack.

Lots of good stuff about Fairchild on the CSU website, HERE.

It seems like it could be a pretty good hire.  The guy is on the downside of his coaching career, obviously... but what that means is that he brings a lot of experience to the table, never a bad thing.  I think he'll mesh well with Tom O'Brien, and that had to be a big concern with this hire.  He's also a very good QBs coach, another big concern.

This hire is not a home run, but it's a solid single that advances the runners.

huge win.

I'll just say, those two late-game Jontel Evans free throws were guided by the hand of God Almighty.

GO HOOS!

Welcome to the bubble.  Look for the tourney resume feature to pop up over on the right at some point  tomorrow. --------------------------------------------->

Why I think college football is better than the NFL...

(I wrote this as a guest piece on another blog, but thought it'd port well to Wahooze.  I hope you enjoy it, as it was a lot of fun to write!  I went a little bit crazy with the metaphors.)

Apologies for the long subject line for this post, but I couldn't figure out a good way to condense it. The upshoot of a long subject line is that it can be totally illustrative. For example, I feel free from the yoke of a taxing intro paragraph, because you already know what this post is, and what it’s about. So here we go. Here are my reasons why I think college football is better than the NFL!

The Fanaticals

You did know the term “fan” comes from the root “fanatical,” right? As in, fanatical devotion to following a team. Well, this point is short and sweet — while the NFL has great fans, college football has great fanaticals. Stack up the half-dead mausoleum that is EverBank Field (home of the Jacksonville Jaguars) against “The Swamp” in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (University of Florida, 70 miles south of Jacksonville) and you’ll see what I mean. The Jags have to suffer through local media blackouts because they can’t fill their 65K-seat stadium, while U of F has a 7-year waiting list for season tickets and fills their 90K stadium to capacity for every home game. Yes, this is a study of two extremes, but I think most would agree that college fans are simply more devoted and downright more fanatical than their NFL counterparts. Plus, the college tailgating is better, and the co-eds are hotter.

Stadia

I’m not going to slam on NFL stadiums, because there are some downright beautiful temples to the Football Gods in the League. But college stadiums simply have more personality, more history, more of a story to tell. Give me The Swamp over EverBank Field. Give me The Big House over Ford Field. Give me the LA Coliseum over Qualcomm Stadium. Give me Kenan Stadium over Bank of America Stadium. Heck, give me Tiger Stadium over the Superdome! Et cetera. And this isn’t even about the corporate naming rights, it’s about the gritty realism of a college stadium vs. the hyperglossy overindulgence of an NFL stadium. College stadiums are about the football, while pro stadiums are about the branding of the shield. Just my opinion.

Uniforms

College uniforms are crazy. They are… less uniform.

Ticket Prices

College games are cheaper to attend. I hold UVA season tickets (7 home games) for about $100 a pop (average ticket price: $14.25 per game). That same $100 would buy me approximately 1.5 single-game tickets to see my beloved Bengals (average ticket price: $65 per game, $90 against the Steelers). James Madison University – a D-1AA/FCS school about 45 minutes away from where I live, sporting a fantastic gameday experience – sells this insane ticket package: 4 season tickets (6 home games, so that’s 24 tickets total), 4 footlong hot dogs for each game (24 dogs total), 4 large cokes for each game (24 cokes total), and 4 large bags of popcorn for each game (24 bags total) for $99. Sorry NFL, but you cannot compete with that. You just can’t.

Recruiting: More Interesting than Drafting

Look, I’m a total draft geek, 100% draft nerd. But the recruitnik in me wins out. Why? More players to get to know, and an intricate and complex system of recruiting pitches vs. playing time vs. distance from home vs. selling of a program vs. competing with other schools on the recruiting trail. Recruiting coups, steals, busts, upsets, stunners, shockers, head-turners, head-spinners, head-scratchers, knee-slappers, and butt-itchers are par for the course. Drafting is awesome fun, but it’s rigid to an extreme. Recruiting is a wide-open, high-octane, soul-sucking siege… and I love following the year-round, non-stop grind of it all. Stocks rise and fall, prospects get hot then cool to lemons, and everything is about selling your vision of the program to 18 year old kids (and their moms). It’s the definition of insanity, and a helluva lot of fun to follow.

More Players on the Roster = More Specializations in the Players

The NFL allows 53 players on the active roster. College allows 85 full-ride scholarships, and roster limits up over 100. That means college allows for more specialization and experimentation with player types, which means a more interesting brand of football. For example, I had a friend on the UVA team whose role on the team was to serve as the “swinging gate” on the punt pro unit. Specialization, baby. Evolution, baby. While the NFL gives you a full game of chess - pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, queens, kings - college ball gives you all of that plus dragoons, paladins, siege engines, catapults, archers, brothel maidens, cannibals, ghosts, doves, spies, werewolves, and demi-gods. (For a laugh, click HERE.) Weird metaphor, but I guess what I’m saying is that if NFL is chess, college is gigachess, with all new pieces to slide around the board in different ways. (Seriously, click that link.)

Bowl Games for Good Teams that Aren’t Great

As an NFL fan, your team either misses the playoffs, loses in the playoffs, or wins the Super Bowl. So one fanbase out of 32 gets to be truly happy at the end of the season. That’s 3.125% of the fanbases. In college football, there are 35 bowl winners out of the 124 FBS-level teams. 28% of the fanbases get to be happy at the end of the season! Yes, it’s all a bit more complicated than that, given the intricacies of expectations weighed against actuations, but you still get my point. I like the fact that good teams that aren’t great still have potential reward at the end of the season. I know I’m happy as hell when my Hoos win a relatively meaningless lower-tier bowl game! Tournament-style playoffs are pure, but bowl games hold a certain charm. The University of Louisiana-Lafayette will likely NEVER win a national championship, but wasn’t it fun as hell to watch the Ragin’ Cajuns beat ECU to win the New Orleans Bowl and see their fanaticals celebrate like they just beat Alabama in the BCS championship game? That’s what I love about bowl games.  Plus, there are a lot of them, which means more postseason football, which is always a plus. Don't overthink it. More football is never a bad thing.

Better, More Interesting Overtimes

A lot of people disagree with me on this one, but I much prefer the college overtime system to the NFL’s overtime system. Both teams get the ball, on the cusp of the red zone, alternate possessions until someone wins the game. And after two OTs, if the score is still tied, no more PATs! This overtime system gives us more of what we crave: exciting football plays born from exciting football situations.

Playing for Passion

I think most college football fans overstate this point, but it is still valid — there’s a big fat paycheck for the NFL guys, while a crushing majority of college players face the end of their football careers and press on for simple, pure love of the game (and retention of scholarship). The college guys put more emotion into the game, while the pros are more businesslike. It’s just a statement of fact.

Test Kitchen for Innovation

The NFL is fairly homogenized, while college football supports - even celebrates - insane little ugly bacteria cultures of football innovation. Look at the rise of the no-huddle shotgun spread over the last 10-15 years. Look at the read option (which is currently the craze via guys like RG3, Cam Newton, and Colin Kaepernick in the NFL). Look at Chip Kelly’s Blur at Oregon. Look at the Air Raid. Look at Urban Meyer’s Spread-to-Run. It all started in college football. College innovates, and the NFL then uses the innovation. So where would you rather work? In the small trial medicine laboratory where the potions are spewing noxious green smoke and invention at the most basic level seems possible, or at Pfizer where it’s all about the business of slicked-out pharmaceutical sales? When it comes to football, I’m the lab rat, all the way.

Rapid Roster Turnover

I’m really fond of the term “building castles in the sand.” If you follow that metaphor, you can understand the root of roster building at the college level. Even the best collections of players have a very set, finite shelf life… because after four seasons of eligibility, *poof*, they’re gone. Ray Lewis led the Miami Hurricanes defense for four years, but then led the Ravens defense for 17. That’s what I’m talking about. You might land Andrew Luck to lead your college team, but after a few seasons, he’s gone. In the NFL, you can draft Luck and rely on him to lead your team for a decade-plus. So NFL rosters end up moving like glaciers when compared to the zig-zagging sonic speedboats of college rosters. And because of this rapid roster turnover, good teams can crumble quickly, and bad teams can rise up. There’s not as much true parity as there is in the NFL, but the conception and realization of hope is sometimes more magical to experience.

Schedule-Setting

A simple formula spits out your yearly NFL schedule. In college, you play your conference slate, but the remaining 3-4 slots are open for you to schedule whomever you want! Trying to develop a recruiting foothold in Dade County? Go play a game against Miami in Coral Gables, put your wares on display for the local kids. Feeling a nice rivalry brewing up with those buttholes at Big State U? Lock it down with a contract to alternate home games and make the rivalry official with an annual matchup. Rebuilding season? Schedule for success by bringing in Cupcake U for a home field bloodletting. Want your kids to experience reward for sticking with the program and working through the NCAA sanctions? Schedule a game against the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. You get the point. You build your own schedule, for whatever reasons you want. It’s a bit chaotic, but there is really fun politicking that goes on behind the scenes with college football schedule-setting.

REAL Rivalries

There are some good NFL rivalries. Cowboys/Redskins. Packers/Bears. Ravens/Steelers. But college football? Ohmygosh. Born of proximity, history, and downright disgust, rivalries are a big part of what make college football so much fun to watch. Whether it’s for in-state bragging rights or conference or national superiority, there’s nothing quite like watching two bitter rivals take the field. Every team has a rivalry game(s) on its schedule, and each rivalry game is special in its own way. Iron Bowl, Egg Bowl, Commonwealth Cup, Bedlam, Red River Shootout, Cy-Hawk, Golden Boot, Fremont Cannon, Iron Skillet, Oil Can, Tiger Rag, Keg of Nails, Platypus Trophy, Civil War, Bronze Boot, Little Brown Jug, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

“Southern”

There’s a perception that college football is a southern sport. I kinda buy that. Meanwhile, NFL feels more New Englandy, more Mid-Westy. I’m more southern fried than yankee, so the “southern” thing appeals to me. But it’s not a point I’ll belabor. College football is just more blue-collar, I guess (even though that’s a term that I really hate). It’s more small town, school pride, meat and potatoes. It’s Mom & Pop Shop vs. Wal-Mart.

Realignmageddon
NFL divisions are cool, but the never-ending cyclone swirl of conference realignment is a totally interesting beast to me. As Wahooze readers know, I am a colossal REALIGNMAGEDDON geek.  The NFL offers nothing even remotely like it.

UPSETS!

The NFL has its upsets. But when the Lions beat the Packers, how crazy is that, really? With great parity comes great dulling of upset power. In college, you have Appy State beating Michigan, you have Boise beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, and you have UVA 33, #1 FSU 28. These upsets resonate; they rattle the foundation of your soul. (In the case of the last one I named, it’s still one of the fondest memories of my entire life, some 18 years, a wedding, and the birth of two children later.)

I’m sure I’ll think of some more points later, but that’s the list as of now.

How about you? Add your points to the comments section and let's compare notes!

Man Up

Originally I was very much against this Oregon game. It's a sure loss, and it seems like a cash grab to me. Especially since the IPF got a bit more expensive when it tried to kill itself. We've scheduled an unwinnable home and home with a national power, which seems completely stupid, and like we are now treating ourselves like a cupcake.

But then I got to thinking. What kind of garbage attitude is that? You know what doesn't make you a better team? Playing a shitty Penn State team. You will NEVER get better by scheduling cupcakes. Virginia Tech's rise to "prominence" is built on 10 win seasons over Austin Peay. But you know what happens whenever they play against a good team? They get boat raced. The wins they pile up from that garbage schedule they play looks good on paper, but ends up screwing them over. The idea that the way to build up your talent level is getting 10 win seasons over crap teams is ludicrous  That's not how you build a team of tough-nosed winners, that's how you build a team of over-inflated egos. And to quote the great Mike Singletary, I want winners. You build up a successful team by challenging the big dogs, exposing the kids to that level of play, and challenging them to come meet that level. If you don't want to accept that challenge, get out, I don't need you. If you want to build this program to a nationally relevant level, this is how it is done. This is also a no risk situation for us. Lose, well we didn't really have a chance. Keep the game close, it's a success. Win? It's a game changer. A win over Oregon, or Alabama, or Stanford, is the inverse of a loss to JMU by an over-inflated Virginia Tech. It shoots the season into the stratosphere. The more games we play, the higher the level of execution that is expected on a weekly basis, and the easier it makes games against Wake, Duke, or Maryland. Our schedule this year includes Oregon, BYU, Clemson, UNC, and Miami. Five teams that should be very good. Five teams that we should strive to get to the level of. Five teams that will help us get to the level WE WANT TO BE AT.

I think Kendall disagrees with me, but I think building a program on a foundation of shitty wins is not a strong base. That makes you a program with a bunch of 10 win seasons, and 0 national titles. A team that is expected to lose in big games, and a perennial choker. Why do people think the SEC teams are so good? The schedule. We NEED these kind of games to get us where we want to go. We NEED to not be afraid of these games. Otherwise, we are shooting for mediocrity. So UVA fans, quitcher belly achin' and man up. Let's go hunt some duck.

BIG NEWS (x2)

Okay, so we're not playing Penn State in Happy Valley in 2013.  Instead, we're playing an eighth home game... against... freaking OREGON.  I'm serious.

Also, it looks like Bill Lazor is leaving us to go coach quarterbacks for the Philadelphia Eagles.  Seriously.

Obviously these are two pretty big pieces of news, but unfortunately I don't have time to expand on either topic right this red hot second.  Maybe Mike or Pierce will give you something.  If not, I'll get it done as soon as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Real quick though, I think by bringing in Oregon we are jeopardizing a safer route to six wins and a bowl berth - and a baby step for the progression of our program - by scheduling what is no doubt a certain loss.  But the tradeoff is that we put butts in seats, get a bigger payday, and boldly express our intent to play "big boy football."  As a fake it 'til you make it believer, I wanted Cupcake U to replace Penn State, but I've quickly come around to understanding and appreciating the desire to play against the Ducks.  In fact, I embrace the entire premise of scheduling up --- it builds toughness and swagger, attracts fans and recruits, and tells people we are big and bold, even if we end up being stomped to pieces by these teams.  I guess what I'm saying is that I don't like the fact that we scheduled a guaranteed loss, but I like everything else about the move.

Lazor leaving...  I'm actually not unhappy about it.  Obviously, Tom O'Brien will scoot into the OC role, and UVA's best years as a modern era football program came with OB calling the plays.  So that's comfortable and exciting.  What's also exciting is that it opens up another spot on the staff for a hot up-and-comer who can add even more juice to the recruiting effort.  Tyree Foreman seems like an obvious choice to me.  My only consternation comes from this one question: Who is going to coach the quarterbacks at UVA?

Anyway, big news, I'll have more thoughts for you later.


In the meantime, GO HOOS!  Beat NC State tonight, and climb aboard an NCAA Tournament bubble!