This week’s guest blogger is Ian from Sexy Results. You might’ve read his
rapper-college football post this summer. I only knew half the artists listed. His musings on
frozen foods were more in my wheelhouse.
Ian is one of the better writers on the blogpoll circuit, but I respect him for his loyalty to UVA. Like me, he is getting a grad degree at UGA (he’s getting his JD. I am getting my MBA). We could jump on the bandwagon of a team that might win a National Championship in our lifetimes, yet our loyalties remain with our undergrad alma maters and their 8-win ceilings and December Bowls. Below are my questions and his insights into this weekend’s game.
1. I haven’t seen much of Marques Hagans. He seemed all over the place against Maryland, but kept the Cavs in the game. These types of QBs have given BC fits in the past. What can we expect this weekend?
One of the most misleading stats of last year was how Hagans completed something along the lines of 63% of his passes. Did you hear anyone talking about the vaunted Virginia passing attack in the preseason? Hell no, because the vast majority of those passes were to RB’s and Heath Miller. Hagans isn’t the kind of guy who will lay back in the pocket and pick you apart, mostly because he has a lot of trouble seeing over our offensive line. But while that creates a problem for him as a dropback passer, as they say, you can’t tackle what you can’t see. So I envision a lot of rollouts and designed draws for the man. Also, I foresee Hagans taking a few shots downfield, due to the significant height advantage our WR’s have over the BC defensive backfield. Moreover, unlike last year where we used the first month of games to pummel teams with our running game at the expense of developing playmaking variety, it looks like we’ve been preparing for a BC-type team that will likely stifle the running game that hasn’t looked right all year.
I think Groh’s trusting Hagans more and more with leading the team, but in a way, he’s starting to resemble that other great Tidewater QB, Allen Iverson, in that a lot of his playmaking stems from a “I’ll do it my cot-damn self” mindset. In both the ‘Cuse and Maryland games, he was our leader rusher despite throwing for over 250 yards. When we were down 38-26 against Maryland, we had a crucial 4th and goal on the 3, and Hagans took it in, mostly because I’m not sure Groh trusts us to get it done any other way. What worries me is that he’s never been up against a DE with the speed of Kiwi, and BC’s not the kind of defense you want to play “musical chairs” with in regards to your OL (Groh’s words).
2. BC fans know Al Golden well. He’d probably be on the short list to replace TOB, if and when TOB ever leaves. I always thought Golden was a better self promoter than coach. What sort of scheme do you think he’ll draw up for BC?
I’m sure you want me to say, “the same scheme he drew up for Maryland.” If that’s the case, the only BC job he’ll be in the running for is at Bethune-Cookman rather than Boston College. I expect, or at least pray for, a more aggressive attack, particularly if your backup QB’s in there. We learned our lesson last week that any QB can pick apart our defense if given enough time, and however Golden plans on getting it done, he’ll need to mix up some LB and CB blitzes in order to get some pressure, because it’s obvious our DL won’t get it done against the Gigantor BC O-line.
3. TOB is playing down the old-home week aspect of this game, but I think it is very important to him. I think he wanted the UVA job and it has got to be killing him that Groh is getting rich doing exactly what TOB could’ve done in Charlottesville.
I agree. Look, I’m not sold on Al Groh either, particularly since his demeanor and results on the playing field are starting to eerily resemble those of another UVA coach who parlayed his success amidst our lowered expectations into a ridiculously lucrative, and retrospectively poorly thought out contract (Pete Gillen). However, judging from the general reaction of people who witnessed the UVA offense under TOB, few are having Florida-esque buyer’s remorse. But you’re right in that he is sort of doing the same thing at BC that been going on at UVA, if by that you mean 7-9 wins, no more, no less. I really can’t blame the guys up top for taking a chance on Al Groh when the opportunity presented itself. George Welsh had become a fossil on the recruiting trail, the perennial 7-8 win seasons were turning into 6, Virginia Tech had Michael Vick, and we didn’t. We were a program that was on the fast track to irrelevance, and having Groh quit his job with the Jets after a 9-7 season made people stand up and take notice, manifesting itself in his first recruiting class that netted 5-star gems like Ahmad Brooks (the #1 defensive recruit in the country), Kai Parham and Michael Johnson. Moreover, he’s an alum and his son quarterbacked the FSU game in 1995, so it was a great hire at the time. I think that UVA probably saw a TOB hire as one with a limited ceiling, and at least for a while, Groh had people believing that we really could recapture the magic of 1990, pre-Scott Sisson. While this game may have great personal relevance to TOB, it’s not really a subject that’s capturing a lot of recognition on the message boards, so other than a GameDay footnote, I wouldn’t expect much out of it.
4. BC fans have some animosity towards UVA because of the VaTech switcheroo during the initial expansion talks. We also seem to go head to head with every recruit in New Jersey. What do UVA fans think of BC?
As I’ve said before, although the inclusion of Virginia Tech in the reconfigured ACC was completely the doings of UVA, it was for political reasons only. In essence, it was the equivalent of Flounder getting a bid at the Delta house.
I was never a fan of letting Tech in, not just because of the obvious sour-grapes reasoning, but because they don’t fit the ACC profile, as I see it (more on that later). A lot of people think that demanding Tech to be put in the ACC doesn’t affect us that much since we play them every year anyway, but that’s kind of shortsighted. We had the chance to bury our biggest rival in the hinterland of the Big East. They could still be at a Louisville level in terms of national prominence (wouldn’t that be a great rivalry?), but we’re not exactly Kentucky in terms of our focus on football, so I doubt that the some sort of imbalance would exist in the Commonwealth. But now that they’re in, they have an insurmountable recruiting edge that will last until Frank Beamer retires, and moreover, by virtue of the size of the enrollment, the tendency of its graduates to stay in-state (a sizable portion of UVA grads move to NY, ATL, SF and DC) and its, um, “accessible” admissions policy, Tech will be the People’s Champ in Virginia.
The thing is, I’m not sure most ACC schools really wanted to expand to a 12-team, two-division conference, mostly because it screws with the basketball schedule. But if we were to pick one school within a reasonable geographic distance to fit the ACC profile, BC would be it: great academic reputation, balanced athletic program and mid-sized enrollment. I’m sure there’s a good deal of crossover in applications between UVA and BC for people in the northeast, which is why it’s probably difficult to generate any sort of ill will towards the Eagles.
That being said, I don’t think you should be particularly upset with the fact that BC had to wait an extra year to join. By cherrypicking Miami and VT, the door was left wiiiiide open for the Eagles to cop a BCS bowl bid, whether they deserved it or not. In fact, most UVA fans’ familiarity with your program stems from the BC/Cuse game from last year that was being simulcasted with our game against VT.
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