Mizzouâs entire OL, which was arguably the best OL in the SEC, all played. Their top two RBs, (#1 and 11 in the SEC in rushing) both played. Their top two WRs played. Zion Young, 3rd in the SEC in TFL, 10th in Sacks, and Damon Wilson, 3rd in sacks played. The vast majority of the 2 deep that ran for 350 yards and beat Miss St by 3 scores not long ago played.
Legitimately think UVA was much more short handed than Mizzou was.
The defense ever since the Louisville game was dominant. Last 8 games we gave up an average of <15 points per game in regulation. Offense just needed to be adequate and not make mistakes.
I really didnât (I swear) want to get into the âpooping on the paradeâ business w/r/t this football team. They were really good and did some great things including some things we havenât done in quite a while. Like beat our rival even when they arenât that good.
But I was hoping folks would be chill with the encomiumsâŚ
It was only the best season in program history if we ignore the quality of our opponents.** The 95 and 98 teams both played 3 or 4 or maybe even 5 teams that were better than anyone this team played. The only 25 opponent that was in the ballpark was a regular season Mizzou team that was playing for something real and had a normal participation list.
** and to be honest, the current context of the sport generally, both now, and in 95/98.
Just not actually true - the quality of opponent is not how they end up - itâs how good they are when we actually play themâŚ
FSU was the highest quality opponent and Louisville was a close second. The Noles were undefeated and had beaten Bama by 2 touchdowns. They were a legit Top 10 team. We destroyed their aura.
Louisville was undefeated and proceeded to beat #2 Miami the week after us. Also a legit top 15 team at the time we beat them.
You have a point, but thereâs something to be said for, you know, winning games.
In 1995, we choked away Michigan and VPI. Got jobbed at Texas. Canât explain the debacle in Chapel Hill that resulted in my grandfather framing my $10 bill.
In 1998, we gave up a pair of 21-point leads in Atlanta, resulting in two Ls on the national stage.
1994 â choke job the day after Tgiving vs. NC State.
1990 â Sisson. Fuck him. But also losing at home to Maryland (Shawn broke his thumb on our last play), and boatraced by a shitty VPI team, essentially saving Beamerâs job.
1989 â Jeff George snorted us through his nose in Orlando, and we gave away a winnable game in Death Valley, per usual. Got hammered on national TV in the Meadowlands.
Like 2007, this year wasnât pretty â a lot of games broke our way. But unlike 2007, we beat VPI to get into the championship game, and we won in Jacksonville.
Iâll take it.
If we made the CFP? Then itâs an interesting conversation. But IMO, given what we did, and who we played, this season doesnât get into best season ever territory (and I wasnât around to argue the #1 season)
Iâm curmudgeonly, I get it.
I was discouraged by the offensive performance and the carryover of befuddling coaching decisions that we saw in the Duke game (and seasons past). We were the benefactor of some peculiar playcalling and atrocious quarterbacking.
Happy for the win (not that curmudgeonly). It just didnât propel me past the narrative that we were an above-average team graced with the second easiest schedule in P4 that won half of our games by the skin of our teeth.
Edit: also acknowledging Iâm in the minority here. And we havenât done anything stupid to our knowledge of throwing on a bunch of extra years to CTEâs contract other than the one he contractually earned.
I agree to an extent. You can only beat the teams they make you play. But then when youâre doing the comparison thing, you kinda have to look at who they made you playâŚ
If we had made the CFP, as I said in the previous post, I might not even be a contrarian on this. But we didnât, so I am.
This âwe won all our games by the skin of our teethâ narrative is a little strange to me tbh. We went 5-3 in one score games this year. Thatâs a very normal record to go in one score games lol
Looking at the Post Game Win Expectancy of those games, itâs a different story than just 5-3.
Also didnât say âall of our gamesââŚ
Final AP poll, weâll probably finish with our third-highest final ranking â behind 1994 and 1995.
Thatâs fine but we also lost a game because our starting QB was knocked out on a targeting call. Not sure how that shows up in the metric youâre referring to
More broadly, Iâm not really sure why there are portions of this fan base that are addicted to undercutting this season and this teams accomplishments. If this cut the other way, no one would be talking about our win probability. Weâd just talk about how CTE canât come through when it counts.
I donât think folks pumping up this season are addicted to hyping up this season and I donât think Iâm addicted to undercutting this season. We are all just talking.
Iâd say thereâs a better than even money chance your granddad wouldnât have gotten your Hamilton without the unsportsmanlike penalty by Chris Harrison on our last offensive possession. Granted, he was reacting to a cheap shot by a Tarhole. But you canât take that penalty in that situation. Weâll never know, obviously. But I always felt like we would have won that game had it not been for that mistake.
I use the term âaddictionâ because it seems like people are looking for any possible avenue to undercut the season. The negativity over a positive outcome is exhausting and wreaks of a fanbase that doesnât know what itâs like to win
I cannot believe youâre dissing a dozen better Virginia squads. They all must be turning in their graves.
Stop raining on Virginia teams during or immediately after their season. Save these âtakesâ for when weâre really f***ing bored in the middle of July. Celebrate good seasons when they happen deal with history some other time.
I can acknowledge that this is, objectively, the best season in UVA history. Best team? Maybe not. But best season? Iâm not sure how you argue against the first ever 11 win season with a proper drubbing of our in-state rival and a win over an SEC team in a bowl.
I can also acknowledge I still have no clue if Tony Elliott is a good football coach and his pending raise/extension absolutely terrifies me (while also being warranted).
I think TE is very likely an above average head coach at worst, and a potentially great head coach at ceiling. This was the first time he had a competent roster with some legitimate depth and he he did a great job getting a team of largely portal players to gel very quickly. That deserves a lot of credit imo
If it bothers you so much, donât engage with it.
