Streaking Virginia Ready For UConn
The Virginia Cavaliers could have been going into this weekend's homecoming game undefeated.
They've won five in a row after an embarrassing 23-3 loss at Wyoming in Week 1 that led to someone spray-painting "Groh Must Go" on a bridge on the Virginia campus.
"As is the case pretty much any time that we end up not winning the game, it was pretty quiet, pretty somber," Groh said this week. "Though the result wasn't very good, the performance wasn't very good that day. The players had been on the practice field together for a whole month before. They had seen the ability level of their teammates, and that certainly gave them the confidence to know that it could become a lot better."
And so it has with the Cavs having their first five-game winning streak in three years. They're 5-1, atop the ACC Coastal Division at 3-0 and looking forward to Saturday's date with the Huskies (5-0, 1-0 Big East) at Scott Stadium.
UConn will be the first 5-0 opponent the Cavs have played since 2001, when Virginia beat Florida State. The Cavaliers, 5-7 last season, don't play the Seminoles, Clemson or Boston College this season, so they could conceivably find themselves playing in the conference championship game. But they feel they must keep the beat they've had going since Week 2. The door is open for Virginia to be the Cinderella, like Wake Forest last season.
"We need to be on track with what we've got to do against an undefeated team, so all that has transpired from the first game, third game or the fourth game has minor relevance compared to what we've got to get ready for on Saturday," Groh said.
What Virginia has to get ready for is a team that hasn't played what anybody would call a tough schedule. Still, the Huskies have won big on the road twice, at Duke and at Pitt, and are unbeaten. And, like Virginia, the pollsters have both programs on the cusp of being ranked.
"That's not something we're really worried about," Cavs tight end John Phillips said. "We're just focused on going out and playing a good team that does a good job offensively and defensively and is coached well. We're not thinking about records right now. We've got a job to do."
The Cavaliers might not be thinking about records, but they've heard about them. Phillips wasn't into the interview three seconds before he mentioned UConn being among 11 undefeated teams. Groh was quick to point it out as well.
"It's just an indicator to us and to our players that UConn is very good," Groh said. "And it's been helpful to us because it's not a team that, as I'm sure is the case with the UConn team relative to Virginia, it's not a team that our players are necessarily highly familiar with. We haven't played before. We're in different conferences."
The teams have had two common opponents. Virginia's win streak began in Week 2 with a 24-13 victory over Duke. UConn crushed the Blue Devils 45-14 in Week 1. UConn won 34-14 at Pitt in Game 4. Virginia routed the Panthers 44-14 at home in Game 5.
In watching film from those games and others, Groh is concerned about UConn's defense, which is ranked fourth in the country in points allowed at 11 a game, and its takeaway ability. The Huskies have 14.
But UConnhas to be concerned if it gets in a close game on the road. Three of the five Virginia wins have been by five or less, including last week's 23-21 victory over Middle Tennessee.
