If folks say categorically untrue statements about anything relating to the sport of football, I will call that out right there and then as ignorance. The same way I do with my players when Iām teaching them about the game. If itās condescending, so be it. But it is the truth. There are things that are debate-able assertions, and then there are things that are not. The schematic soundness, football techniques/fundamentals, situational awareness, and synergy exhibited by our team is a clear showcase of very good coaching. Not just average, but very good to exceptional. If people will deny that and put it all on talent acquisition, that is false. Plain and simple.
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*popcorn intensifies*
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I mean I see the answer to why weāre overperforming our talent as pretty obvious- we hit on QB. Itās the same thing for just about every team in football thatās ever over-performed their talent level.
He gets credit from me for that for sure. I love Chandler. Think heās an absolute dawg. I love a lot of the guys on this team, especially a lot of the transfers- Taylor, Prevard, Ross are some of my favorite hoos in a while.
All it took was UNC having a chaotic melt down and not being interested and Elliott having a decade spanning relationship with him and his father. Super replicable!
FWIW this jumped up to 6.5 pretty quickly after our DB spending spree. I was pretty early betting the over 5.5, and would have definitely kept hitting it if it was available. āMost of the offseasonā is a huge stretch. Barely a couple of weeks. The over was heavy in the minus almost immediately.
Just as long as weāre calling out ācategorically untrue statements about anything relating to the sport of footballā Iāll throw that one in.
This is the best extension argument IMO. Weāre in a good spot relative to our primary competitors for talent and donāt want to risk rocking the boat too hard. I want to see him actually acquire some talent without silly donor money before I believe he can take advantage of it though.
At this point I donāt think @ell or I will change each others minds. Iāve never coached football so I donāt know anything. This coach a full season under .500 is so obviously exceptional at his job and Iām a know nothing for not seeing it.
Whatās your over/under on wins for us next season and the one after? Iāll probably take the under, but Iām really soaking up this season in preparation for it! Go Hoos!
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You guys are right, the ānot knowing footballā comes off as immature and condescending. Itās antagonizing folks which sincerely isnāt my intent. Remember, if you are going to post stuff on a board, it is fair game to be called out if its BS/factually inaccurate. But in the future I will refrain from phrasing it that way and try to articulate precisely what Iām seeing so thatās itās easier to understand and grasp.
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How can one give an o/u for future seasons when thereās so much roster turnover? Thats disingenuous man
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I mean itās a dickhead comment on a college sports message board itās not that deep.
We have the same amount of information- the coach, the current roster, and the rough conference schedule. I donāt think itās that crazy of an ask. Does he think the o/u for the next 2 years is closer to 8 wins per year or 6? If itās 8 Iāll bet my life on the under, if itās 6 I really question why we should extend him. 7 is a conversation!
The high roster turnover is the best thing thatās happened to Elliott. Part of the bull case for him seems to be that he has figured out how to evaluate portal talent well and has an edge in a high turnover environment. Do you not think it will reliably be good for him? I donāt! But an extension is basically just a bet on the over/under of the program for a few years is it not?
FWIW I think we will have a sub .500 season in at least one of the next 2 and weāll look back on this season like ādamn the stars really did just all align.ā And I think thatās great and I plan to enjoy it! But I donāt want to hamstring the future of the program at a critical moment because lightning struck half a dozen times.
If you asked me today about our 2026 schedule outlook, Iād say itās pretty damn manageable and 8-4 is doable. Thereās not a game on there thatās overly scary, but I also think youāre underplaying how different not only our roster will be but also everyone elseās. Just tough to gauge anything about next year this far out.
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Ok, last post on this.
Coach Elliott is special. I have known this since day 1 from watching his pressers and interviews. He understands football at a high level. Not just what works from a schematic, body-types, and culture standpoint, but from an intangibles standpoint (what are the requisite intangibles for a football team to succeed). He is an exceptional human being, but that is to be expected at UVA. He is a highly process oriented person and clearly someone who has a growth mindset as exhibited by our adjustments over the years.
Above all else tho, he is a truly exquisite communicator. It is rare for me to truly be taken aback by someoneās ability to communicate and motivate. Especially as a coach, bc I know all of the ātricks of the tradeā so to speak when it comes to motivating and communicating with your squad. His command of his craft in that regard is so great, that even tho I know what heās doing from a speaking perspective, it still works on me. And it damn sure works on his players, if you couldnāt tell by the FSU performance earlier this year.
Mark my words, you are and will continue to be completely wrong about this staff. I will bet everything that I know about this sport and industry on it.
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Its pretty clear no of yāall know ball.
Leave it to the professionals
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I just think people get married to their takes and donāt want to change their minds. Thereās some real TE bias going on which I get, but thereās also a lot of positives that are hard to ignore.
Equating this season to schedule luck (when we just played our 2 toughest games) and UNC not wanting our QB is disingenuous at best. Guaranteed @tonyburnertt would be talking about VT building a scary program if Pry was still there and doing this this right now.
Next yearās schedule is very manageable and we should return a really strong core of talent. If Kaelin is ready, no reason to think we couldnāt win 8 games
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I can acknowledge that Elliott is a great guy and the players seem to love playing for him. Heās done a great job with the culture. Iām hoping the first couple years were growing pains of a first time head coach and Iām wrong about him. But I will still take the under on 8 wins next year and happily lose that bet if they do it.
Pry/Tech had their chance for this season last year and they absolutely blew it. So I do absolutely credit the staff for not blowing it. That is far from a given and deserves respect.
The difference there is that Pry had VT recruiting in the top half of the conference last season. Our next recruiting class is currently ranked second to last in the conference, ironically only above VT who doesnāt have a coach right now because Pry blew his shot last year. We are only 2 spots above JMU.
I will completely turn around on Elliott if he stacks another 7 win or so season next year or really materially improves his talent acquisition going forward and proves that the bags this past season werenāt the only reason he was able to field a capable roster (and there is a massive opportunity to do that right now with PSU, UNC, and VT in shambles and the season weāre having!). I do try to be reasonable about these things, so consider this a marker of when I hope to admit I was wrong! I just need to see more than one season with a bunch of confounding variables thrown in, and I think thatās fair.
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Greatest epidemic our society is currently facing. People allowing their idea to become their belief and then dying on that hill instead of engaging in conversation.
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I kinda thought I was engaging in a conversation here!
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Wasnāt meant directly at you. More of a sweeping statement. We are all guilty of it at one point or another.
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You have been. But I also donāt think youāve given TE enough credit when you talk about how this season is just the result of a big donation, UNC not wanting Morris, and an easy schedule. That sells the coaching job heās done short imo. Still had to recruit, still had to get the team to gel, and frankly, I think we have looked the part of a well coached team this year.
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Iāve been the biggest TE naysayer but will give credit where itās due. Heās won the games in front of him, he raised the money for the roster, put together the roster - not much more you should be asking than just win.
Iām also a realist. Am I convinced heās going to make us into a perennial ACC contender? Not yet. But contending in the ACC is also not a high bar relatively and itās better than starting over or the state of a lot of other programs. He also still has a second half of a season to complete but he has won the tough ones. Has still got to win 3 of the next 5.
Now the question isā¦are we a Syracuse type ACC team that feasts on a weak ACC schedule every few years to make some noise? Or are we more of Louisville thatās going to consistently be in the Top 30 range. Win 8 this year and we deserve to find out.
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Syracuse and Louisville are good analogies. Iām also curious to see how Cuse do over the next few years if Fran Brown sticks around because they lost their QB this year and have an absolute gauntlet of a schedule to boot
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I donāt consider Louisville a good analogy because they have the worst academics in the ACC. I donāt think perennial ACC contender is necessary, just reach āWelshā levels of 7 win baselines, beat VT at least half the time, and have players who represent the University well on and off the field. I donāt KNOW that Tony Elliott is the guy to do that, but I certainly am rooting for it to be.
Add: Iāll reevaluate those win targets if we make an SEC/B1G move.
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If SEC, Stoops era Kentucky is the goal. 6-6 with a fun upset every year and occasional spikes.
If B1G, there is genuinely a path to 8 or so wins in a lot of years. Fitz era Northwestern with a higher floor would be my goal.
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