Defense is a shit show. If it’s average I suspect the Pitt game determines the coastal. Oh well
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It’s interesting because I agree on all your points, but something to me feels off about the culture. Not that the goals and ideals behind it aren’t correct, but it just doesn’t land with me, and I wonder if recruits feel something similar? I could be off here.
The numbers on offense have been great this year, but I hesitate to say Anae is reformed just yet, Virginia is about 15 feet away from a very different season, which I hate to play “what if” but I can’t ignore the fact that there’s a very slim margin of error.
On the defensive side of the ball, if there aren’t major changes coming after the season then I do question Bronco as a leader, because 2 years of bad defense is a trend.
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would be really interesting to see what he’d do if he makes a DC move. this is still his guy/assuming his defense, so for me to imagine significant change i would almost want it to be “not” a Bronco guy. and i have no idea what that search would even look like.
Would be awesome if we had anyone with ties to UVA or even just the state who was somewhere else killing it and ready for that type of role (maybe we do? I honestly don’t know).
Related, i wonder how long before Biscuit’s success coaching WRs leads to him having strong opportunities elsewhere (as i don’t think that OC job is opening for him here in the near future)…
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Pay pointdexter double and promise him coach in waiting if Bronco ever does retire. Best coached secondaries we had since I started watching (might be nostalgia blind though, was a huge Chase Minnefield fan).
I think BYU fans noted this similar trend: When Nick Howell took over DC/Bronco took a step away from being defacto defense coordinator their defense went into the gutter. Also I am not a fan at all of the whole “we don’t need to do as much contact work because we have so many returners” approach our defense took over the summer. You had a lot of returners from an already bad defense. Hasn’t stopped injuries from happening regardless.
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I think this is the key point. UVA can expect whatever it wants, but to expect “being good enough to occasionally compete for the playoffs” means making a ton of changes beyond choice of head coach.
Sure, money is a big part of it, but new facilities (and genuinely first-class ones at that) are just the starting point. Beyond that, the school would need to not merely be willing to pay the big bucks to get an elite head coach, but also change the culture of UVA to be more of a football school. Turning a blind eye toward indiscretions in recruiting and by the coaching staff and players, treating the 5-star players like heroes instead of fellow students, etc are the things you need to do. Because other schools will be willing to do that, and if you don’t you won’t get enough of them to really compete at that level.
Frankly, I don’t see that as being a plausible choice for UVA. So, barring the occasional miracle, 7-5 or 8-4 and a decent but not great bowl game is our best case scenario.
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And as i get older, i honestly think i’m fine with that. I mean, it’d be cool to “always” be good, but even if you do ALL of that (hell, i’m sure VPI does) it’s not a guarantee of success. So you give away a lot for a low percentage chance at getting the payoff (and given that bama, clemson, tOSU are not realistic, for us the payoff is what, having a ceiling of being like PSU? Stanford in the mid-2010s, which seems to have not been sustainable?)
As long as it’s always fun to go to a game, expect we’ll win more than we lose, and put guys in the NFL for me to care about, they’ve got me. In the past 4 years we have pretty regularly won games vs the likes Miami, UNC, FSU, LvL, South Carolina, and of course virginia tech. Keep winning games like that at least 2-3 times per year, when we go oh-fer against that stretch i’ll be pushing for moves.
I never expect us to compete for a natty in football and that’s ok. Gimme bowl games most seasons, split our games with VPI, and occasionally compete for the Coastal/ACC crown, and I’m happy.
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Guess I’m in the minority here (not the first time) I don’t need the hoos to compete for a Nati (nor do I think it possible) But a legit 8-9 win season expectation I don’t think is far fetched, and that would likely place them in competition for the Coastal each year. An 8 or 9 win team is in or sniffing the top 25 and can go to a Peach Bowl or above level Bowl game. A 6 or a 7 win team is out of the top 25 and going to the I need new tires for my mower Pinstripe Bowl in Farmville Va. I think overall when I felt the program was buzzing I walked into Saturday thinking they can and should beat whoever was on the other side of the ball. I get that feeling from time to time now but it’s a lot more “um they could win…or they could lose… both are likely…” That’s And For the love of God beat Tech, it’s happened twice in the last 20 years, that’s an embarrassment.
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This sort of crosses topics, but for those wondering about the power of SEC money across all sports and the future of UVA Women’s Basketball….
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Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person. That may be SEC money but Dawn Staley earned that.
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No doubt, deserves every penny.
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I agree with Phony and others who have expressed similar opinions. At the time Welsh was coach, a national championship was realistic, in part because he was such an outstanding coach and in part because it was a different era in college football when all the television money hadn’t yet turned college athletics into such an arms race. And even if you have the funds to compete in that race it’s hardly a guarantee. Think of all the money Michigan, my alma mater, spends each year on their head coach, football staff, facilities, recruiting, etc. It’s likely at least few HUNDRED million dollars. And they haven’t won a national championship since 1997 and in the last decade or so have rarely finished in the top 10.
I’m certainly I’m in the minority in this group, but if UVa is going to invest an additional $150 million per year in something, I’d rather see them invest a significant portion of that money in the academic side of the university. As a faculty member who taught at UVa for 41 years and who is a RABID sports fan, I thought it was absurd (at the time) to spend $60 million on expanding the football stadium and $125 million to build JPJ when the main Arts and Sciences building, Cabell Hall, was in very poor condition and lacked the classroom technology that needed in any modern university. And many other buildings were no better than Cabell. It was a pretty clear statement about what the university (Casteen in particular) thought was most important. Fortunately things have change significantly in regard to not only Cabell Hall but also academic facilities in Arts and Sciences in general. And I now feel fortunate to have JPJ and Disheroon Park, Tony Bennett and Brian O’Connor as head coaches, as well as season tickets to basketball and baseball games. I personally like Bronco but I don’t think UVa has a chance of making the college football playoffs (even if the playoffs are expanded to 12 teams) unless it wants to minimally spend tens of million dollars more than they do at present. And as Michigan has unfortunately demonstrated, even spending that much money is hardly a guarantee of a top 10 or top 15 football program (and many seasons not even top 25).
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I just want us to be good enough at football that I can convince my friends and family to come to games. It’s a low bar but one we weren’t able to meet for most of my high school, undergrad, and young alum days.
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Bronco will get more time than London or Groh because he transcends the incompetence of the former and isn’t an egotistical bully who tries to intimidate the Office of Admissions (along with everyone else who dared to criticize) like the latter.
Edit: But he already went to the BOV in his first year and declared he only had like two ACC quality players in his program and recently claimed to the BOV that his facilities are non-competitive. Fine. But the only thing left to blame after that is the coaching. I suppose he could blame the fan base first.
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Show me the lie
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It’s not a lie. But there sits Wake Forest perched atop the ACC with all its 3-stars and bottom third recruiting classes and a 31,500 seat stadium and a 3 touchdown win in Charlottesville.
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Virginia needs massive facility upgrades but facility upgrades alone do not equal wins. Wake has way worse facilities. Pitt doesn’t have world class facilities. Stoops transformed UK and they have humble facilities by SEC standards. Point being yes uva needs an upgrade but the lack of facilities does not explain away the last 21 yrs and the upgrade isn’t the magic pill either.
One game isn’t indicative of our program though. We were in the Orange bowl 2 season ago. Was Wake?
Bronco is building something. He’s going to retire soon anyways (according to smoke) and he will leave a program that is hopefully making a bowl every season/competing for the ACC coastal for the next coach to build on with our new facilities. UVA has to take it slow and steady otherwise we end up as a perrineal 2-10/4-8 team.
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Yeah, I’m fine with slightly above .500 for a while and with kids who represent the university well. And I’m ok watching the performance on the field as long as I have the bourbon on hand.
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Unfortunately even Wake Forest has nicer football facilities than UVA.