ACC Football: Virginia Cavaliers Season Predictions (Part 1)

Now add all that up with a team that you beat by one last year at home and things do not look that great for the Cavaliers. 

The Huskies undoing last year was a shocking 1 of 13 on third down.  With senior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen and junior running back Andre Dixon (who averaged 4.5 yards per carry last game) back for another crack I think the Huskies will be too much.

On the other hand, I think Virginia will surprise people and make this a very close game.  I predict QB Pete Lalich will probably struggle to get the offense moving very much in his first road start.

Still, the Cavaliers have a tendency to put up a good fight when people count them out but (despite the problems on offense) I simply think it will be a case of not being able to get that critical stop at the end of the game.

RESULT: UConn 20 UVA 13

 

GAME 4: @ Duke.  They Can't Really Be Worse Than Duke...Right?

SET-UP: So every summer I go to Myrtle Beach to play golf and have a good vacation.  When I was driving back up to Virginia I saw a billboard for Duke football.  Apparently you can get tickets for three games for 55 dollars. 

Let that sink in...okay. 

Duke football is bad but Ted Roof certainly did not help.  Duke looked to be on an upswing before Roof arrived and brought the house down (okay, I'll stop with the puns).  While Duke has not won many games they have certainly done a better job of keeping the game close. 

Look no further than their 24-13 loss at Virginia last year.  However, three errant special teams plays kept Duke in the game, including an embarrassing safety that made long snapper Danny Aiken a household name in Charlottesville (typically not a good thing).

PREDICTION: I know a lot of people think Duke will be a surprise team.  They have a fair amount of talent on both sides of the ball and now some experience to match.  I know people think we will finish below Duke but Groh has never lost to Duke. 

Virginia has also never failed to scorer fewer than 24 points against Duke since Groh took over and I think the Cavalier defense will be more than enough to let that number hold up.

Maybe next year Blue Devils.

RESULT: UVA 28 Duke 17

That leaves Virginia at 2-2 coming out of September.

Hopefully, by this point, the Cavaliers have begun to gel on the offensive line and WR Kevin Ogletree has kept the passing game at least an option to keep things from becoming too stagnant.

Next time we will go through October and see if Virginia can jump start their season against Maryland like they did last year.

 

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