The bye week has come and gone. The Hoos now face a stretch of 5 ACC games over the next 6 weeks. The gauntlet starts Thursday night in Atlanta as the Hoos take on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have beaten Pitt and Duke since firing their Head Coach. This game seemed like a win before the season started but not as much now. Currently, Georgia Tech is a 3-point home favorite. The Hoos have challenges ahead if they hope to turn the season around, and we will quickly find out if the bye week provided any help in righting the ship. After this week’s game, the Hoos do not play another road game until the season finale in Blacksburg.
Cheers
With the Hoos sitting at 2-4 (0-3) and having several players banged up, the bye week was much needed. In addition to allowing players to get a little break to heal up, bye weeks offer the coaches a chance to look back at what worked and what has not. I am sure the coaches and players would have preferred to have a full two weeks off to do so, but regardless, the break hopefully allowed time to self-scout and work on issues. I look forward to seeing what changes in tendencies, play-calling or even personnel groupings we see when the Hoos take the field Thursday night.
I go back to a Cheers, Fears & Beers from a few weeks ago when I posed the following question: The offense will click at some point – right? Well, we all know it has not clicked enough to produce points and wins. While the ground game struggled against Louisville, the passing game did show some signs of starting to come together. Is this the week the team can get them both going? Is this the week the team finally takes care of the ball and limits penalties? Did the week off help the coaches and players identify the cause of the issues? Thursday will hopefully answer those questions.
The defense certainly had been a surprise through the first few games of the season before slipping a little against Duke and Louisville. In the defense’s defense, they have not gotten much help from the offense or special teams and have faced short fields and quick-change situations which makes their job harder. That said, they have tackled much better than last year and have played coverage much better. If they can continue to stack that improvement and show improvement in pass rush, the defense can certainly help the Hoos get in the win column. I look forward to seeing if the offense and special teams can finally provide the complementary football to take advantage of an improving defense.
We all know the first 6 games did not go as well as we would have liked. Looking back, the difference in the feeling we have about this season could have changed significantly had the Hoos managed to extend the lead they had early against Louisville. 3-3 with losses to ranked Cuse and Illinois on the road and an improved Duke team is a lot easier to stomach than 2-4 with a loss to Louisville who was without their starting QB and ready to fire their coach with a loss. Call me overly optimistic, naïve, or glutton for punishment, but I am excited to watch the team over the next 6 weeks. A lot of narratives can be changed. The chance exists for this team to come out and win any game remaining on the schedule. Why not go out and win them all?
Fears
What if they go out and lose them all? Frick. That would suck. But I have been through 2-10 before. I have tailgated for a 2-9 team facing VT at Scott Stadium in 2013. I would prefer 2016 be the last 2-10 season I have to endure. Sitting at 2-4 with 5 coastal games left on the schedule allows a chance to salvage the season, but it also makes it possible to lose more. I believe this team is too talented to not figure out how to win a few of these games. I fear the fan response if they are not able to.
I have let it be known that I find conclusive statements about Coach Elliott premature and not needed. I get that they are made as a result of frustration. I believe most UVA fans really want the football team to be successful. I also believe way too many fans think its cool to joke publicly about the program or attendance, but that’s a story for later. If most fans want the program to be successful, what does Coach Elliott, his staff and this team need to do in order to get you to support them? I have had this discussion with lots of people. Taking out my diehard friends - who like me will always come to games and support the program – there seems to be two outcomes for the season which could help turn the opinion of the skeptical fans:
Now on to Georgia Tech. This game being a challenge is certainly not something I expected entering the season. It has never been a talent issue holding GT back the last few years. They have one of the most talented rosters in the conference based on recruiting rankings. Unfortunately for UVA, it seems letting Collins go has allowed Coach Key to get the talent all pointed in the same direction. If the Hoos are going turn things around, they will need to play disciplined, execute well and protect the ball against a team that seems to be hitting its stride. I have concerns.
Though the timing of the bye week was very good for UVA, having to go on the road out of the bye week is not ideal. UVA has struggled to win on the road for much of the last 10-20 years. The Hoos have lost all 3 road games this year. If the Hoos are to salvage this season and make a bowl game, every game is important. With Miami, UNC, Pitt, Coastal Carolina, and a game at VT left, there is not an easy path to 4 more wins to get to bowl eligibility. The path gets harder if the Hoos cannot get in the win column at Georgia Tech.
Beers
If we have to play on a weeknight, I prefer it be on the road. Those who attend the home games know how bad Charlottesville is for weeknight games. Luckily, we do not have to deal with that this year. Thursday night, the Hoos play at GT, and the game kicks off at 7:30 on ESPN.
The drink recommendation for this week was a little tricky. We must account for most fans having to work Friday morning. Beer seems like a good choice to help reduce the possibility of a bad hangover heading to work Friday morning, but we cannot suggest beer when playing GT – they have the Budweiser song after all.
We also need to recapture the old feelings of UVA football. We need the same fan buy-in and excitement I grew up with in the early 90s onward. Embrace the past. Lean into our traditions – fictitious or not. So, since Coors stopped making Zima, it seems like a nice bottle of wine is in order. Dress up, enjoy the wine, get some cheese if you would like. We will be wine and cheese, but we will play good football and beat the Yellow Jackets.
BEAT GT!
Go HOOS!
Cheers
With the Hoos sitting at 2-4 (0-3) and having several players banged up, the bye week was much needed. In addition to allowing players to get a little break to heal up, bye weeks offer the coaches a chance to look back at what worked and what has not. I am sure the coaches and players would have preferred to have a full two weeks off to do so, but regardless, the break hopefully allowed time to self-scout and work on issues. I look forward to seeing what changes in tendencies, play-calling or even personnel groupings we see when the Hoos take the field Thursday night.
I go back to a Cheers, Fears & Beers from a few weeks ago when I posed the following question: The offense will click at some point – right? Well, we all know it has not clicked enough to produce points and wins. While the ground game struggled against Louisville, the passing game did show some signs of starting to come together. Is this the week the team can get them both going? Is this the week the team finally takes care of the ball and limits penalties? Did the week off help the coaches and players identify the cause of the issues? Thursday will hopefully answer those questions.
The defense certainly had been a surprise through the first few games of the season before slipping a little against Duke and Louisville. In the defense’s defense, they have not gotten much help from the offense or special teams and have faced short fields and quick-change situations which makes their job harder. That said, they have tackled much better than last year and have played coverage much better. If they can continue to stack that improvement and show improvement in pass rush, the defense can certainly help the Hoos get in the win column. I look forward to seeing if the offense and special teams can finally provide the complementary football to take advantage of an improving defense.
We all know the first 6 games did not go as well as we would have liked. Looking back, the difference in the feeling we have about this season could have changed significantly had the Hoos managed to extend the lead they had early against Louisville. 3-3 with losses to ranked Cuse and Illinois on the road and an improved Duke team is a lot easier to stomach than 2-4 with a loss to Louisville who was without their starting QB and ready to fire their coach with a loss. Call me overly optimistic, naïve, or glutton for punishment, but I am excited to watch the team over the next 6 weeks. A lot of narratives can be changed. The chance exists for this team to come out and win any game remaining on the schedule. Why not go out and win them all?
Fears
What if they go out and lose them all? Frick. That would suck. But I have been through 2-10 before. I have tailgated for a 2-9 team facing VT at Scott Stadium in 2013. I would prefer 2016 be the last 2-10 season I have to endure. Sitting at 2-4 with 5 coastal games left on the schedule allows a chance to salvage the season, but it also makes it possible to lose more. I believe this team is too talented to not figure out how to win a few of these games. I fear the fan response if they are not able to.
I have let it be known that I find conclusive statements about Coach Elliott premature and not needed. I get that they are made as a result of frustration. I believe most UVA fans really want the football team to be successful. I also believe way too many fans think its cool to joke publicly about the program or attendance, but that’s a story for later. If most fans want the program to be successful, what does Coach Elliott, his staff and this team need to do in order to get you to support them? I have had this discussion with lots of people. Taking out my diehard friends - who like me will always come to games and support the program – there seems to be two outcomes for the season which could help turn the opinion of the skeptical fans:
- Beat VT.
- Win 4 of the next 6 games – but only if you beat VT as part of it.
Now on to Georgia Tech. This game being a challenge is certainly not something I expected entering the season. It has never been a talent issue holding GT back the last few years. They have one of the most talented rosters in the conference based on recruiting rankings. Unfortunately for UVA, it seems letting Collins go has allowed Coach Key to get the talent all pointed in the same direction. If the Hoos are going turn things around, they will need to play disciplined, execute well and protect the ball against a team that seems to be hitting its stride. I have concerns.
Though the timing of the bye week was very good for UVA, having to go on the road out of the bye week is not ideal. UVA has struggled to win on the road for much of the last 10-20 years. The Hoos have lost all 3 road games this year. If the Hoos are to salvage this season and make a bowl game, every game is important. With Miami, UNC, Pitt, Coastal Carolina, and a game at VT left, there is not an easy path to 4 more wins to get to bowl eligibility. The path gets harder if the Hoos cannot get in the win column at Georgia Tech.
Beers
If we have to play on a weeknight, I prefer it be on the road. Those who attend the home games know how bad Charlottesville is for weeknight games. Luckily, we do not have to deal with that this year. Thursday night, the Hoos play at GT, and the game kicks off at 7:30 on ESPN.
The drink recommendation for this week was a little tricky. We must account for most fans having to work Friday morning. Beer seems like a good choice to help reduce the possibility of a bad hangover heading to work Friday morning, but we cannot suggest beer when playing GT – they have the Budweiser song after all.
We also need to recapture the old feelings of UVA football. We need the same fan buy-in and excitement I grew up with in the early 90s onward. Embrace the past. Lean into our traditions – fictitious or not. So, since Coors stopped making Zima, it seems like a nice bottle of wine is in order. Dress up, enjoy the wine, get some cheese if you would like. We will be wine and cheese, but we will play good football and beat the Yellow Jackets.
BEAT GT!
Go HOOS!
