Going out this weekend?  Have fun.  Here’s what the rest of us will be watching on television …

Friday night:

• If you can slip out of work in time and make it to the local pub, you can catch No. 15 Ohio State taking on No. 12 Cal in the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, which is set to tip-off at 5 p.m. and will air on ESPN2.
• Even if you missed the OSU/Cal match-up, you’ll be able to see No. 4 UNC vs. No. 24 Syracuse which directly follows OSU/Cal on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.
• Don’t get all caught up in UNC/Cuse to forget that there is still some other quality programming on; you really need to utilize the “go back” function on your remote control … Seinfeld comes on Fox 19 (CVille) at 7 followed by an episode of The Office, then Tosh.0 comes on Comedy Central at 8 and 8:30.
• If you’re still awake after the UNC/’Cuse game and missed it this past Tuesday, FX is re-airing this week’s Sons Of Anarchy episode.

Saturday:

• On a national scale, this weekend is lousy for college football match-ups with only one game featuring two ranked teams.  However, there are plenty of good college football games starting at noon to keep you glued to the couch well before UVa’s game vs. Clemson at 3:30.  Ohio State/Michigan, though significantly less exciting than previous years, is always a fun game to watch.  UNC/BC and Duke/Miami are also set to kickoff at noon for those following the ACC race.
• If you feel the noon football games really aren’t doing it for you, don’t forget the UVa men’s basketball team hosts Oral Roberts at 2pm in the JPJ, and that might be worth leaving the couch for … at least for an hour or two.
• UVa/Clemson kicks off at 3:30 on ABC, wahoowa!
• The Cal/Stanford game (the only one with two ranked teams) starts at 7:30 and can be found on the Versus channel.  If that game is a downer, flip over to Kansas @ No. 3 Texas, which starts at 8 p.m. and airs on ABC.

Sunday:

• Football, FOOTBALL, FUTBOL!! Sunday’s line-up is loaded with football … and even a little “foot-ball”.
• The Redskins travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys at 1 p.m.  Colts @ Ravens and Falcons @ Giants also start at 1.
• If it’s European football you prefer, you should head over to Klöckner Stadium at 1 p.m. and watch the UVa men’s soccer team host Bucknell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• After you get home from the soccer game, pop on CBS for the start of the Jets/Patriots game which kicks off at 4:15.
• The Eagles travel to Chicago for the Sunday night game, set to kickoff at 8:20 p.m.
• If you’re feeling a little “football’d out” on Sunday night, don’t forget that a new episode of Family Guy comes on Fox at 9 p.m.

If you’ve followed my viewing guide, you will have spent about 70 hours in front of the TV, taken in a UVa men’s basketball and men’s soccer game, and hopefully ingested about 20,000 calories worth of Doritos, Pizza Hut, beer, fried chicken and nachos in the process … nicely done.

With his team sitting at 3-7 overall, dead last in the ACC Coastal Division and the media scrutiny mounting by the day, I think it’s fair to assume that the next two games for Virginia’s football team will be the last under head coach Al Groh.  And while I could list off several other reasons why Groh does not need another season as UVa’s coach, I think it would be counterproductive at this point … he’s gone.  Period.

So where does that leave us?  In search of a coach who can lead us in the right direction and get us back to a level of respectability on the national level while maintaining the academic prestige of The University and graduating student athletes. (sounds familiar doesn’t it?)

With that in mind, I thought about all the possible candidates that would or could come to UVa and came up with a pretty interesting question that I’ve decided to pose to the rest of you…

What would you, as a UVa fan, rather see out of our next football coach: a “flashy” candidate who could take us to the BCS once or twice then bolt for greener pastures after 5-6 years of success OR would you rather see more of a “system” guy who would take more time but would eventually get us to 7 wins a year with the occasional 9-10 win outbursts?

On one hand, you could bring in a guy like a Tommy Tuberville or Brian Kelly (neither of whom I believe will get the job, but for argument’s sake…) who can generate enough “name power” to bring in some big recruits and get us back on the map before leaving us for a better job.  But on the other hand, you could bring in a guy like Mike London or Ken Niumatalolo who will probably have a losing season or two to start off before ultimately finding success with the players that fit in their system and end up staying with us until they retire (ala George Welsh).

I’m pretty sure I have a good idea of which type coach I would prefer, but I’d like to let the situation play out a little bit longer before I show my hand.  Besides, I think most fans would be happy with either one so long as they brought some “W’s” to the table … right?

With the UVa Men’s Basketball season getting under way tomorrow night in the John Paul Jones Arena, I figured this would be the best time to get to know our first opponent of the 2009-10 season, the Longwood Lancers.  After coming off a season in which the Lancers recorded their highest win total since joining NCAA D1 competition (17), this is certainly not a game the Hoos can just show up and win.  And while I believe Coach Bennett will have his team prepared for Friday’s game, it was only a year ago that the mighty Liberty Flames came to the JPJ and walked away victorious.  So pardon me for not taking this one for granted …

Led by seventh year head coach Mike Gillian and assistants Bill Reinson, Doug Thibault and Tim Fudd, Longwood registered a +8 win total from the 07/08 season to the 08/09, marking the 18th best turnaround in NCAA D1 basketball. The Lancers return four starters from that squad in Dana Smith, Kevin Swecker, Billy Robinson, and Duran Neil.

Smith, a 6-5 combo guard, is the leading returning scorer from a year ago, averaging career-bests of 30.0 minutes, 14.8 points, and 6.4 rebounds.

Swecker, a senior guard and team captain, started 30 of 31 games last year, averaging 30.6 minutes and 10.9 points per game.  Swecker also ranked 24th nationally in Division I steals during the 08-09 campaign.

Robinson and Neil, both juniors, combined for 51 starts between the two of them last season.  Neil, who will be playing primarily point guard this year, ranked 35th nationally in assist to turnover ration (2.24) last season while chipping in 7.9 ppg.  Robinson, a 6-7 200 pound forward, provides some length and athleticism for the Lancers’ front court.

Longwood also returns three top lettermen from last year’s squad in EJ Dawson, Antwan Carter, and Martiz Washington.  Though it is unclear who will be the fifth starter of this trio, all three should see quality minutes on Friday night.

*stats courtesy of Longwoodlancers.com

On the EDGE board Wednesday night, poster 4hoova asked a fun and straight-forward question. Read the post here (sub required). The gist? What are your expectations for the football program? National Championships? ACC Championships? How many wins?

I couldn’t help but answer and I thought the thoughts belonged on the blog for any Hoo to see! Here goes …

Expectations should not be for National Championship – those are few and far between for anyone. National Championships aren’t really “expected” most places, although many schools attempt to achieve national titles. Expectations are to play at a level where you can beat the top teams, but playing for national titles is more of a dream than a reality, even for the teams that “expect” to get there.

Expectations for a new coach at Virginia would be to first get the Hoos back to where they were a few years before George Welsh left. Fielding competitive teams, and I mean competitive with the top of the conference and competitive out of conference with solid programs, like the Hoos were against VT, Texas, Auburn and Michigan. UVa has had teams that could compete at that level sprinkled in here and there. I really thought Al Groh would sustain what Welsh had build and maybe give Virginia a few more teams throughout the years that could compete at that level. Unfortunately, he really doesn’t understand the college landscape very well, particularly as it applies to overall team execution (still trying to teach the NFL way to kids right out of high school for example).

(more…)

Err, uhh, hmmm … is it basketball season yet?  You know that it’s a sad state of affairs when there is literally not one positive thing to take away from a 60-minute football game.  Sadly, UVa was involved in one of those games on Saturday afternoon in Miami, getting beat 52-17 by the revenge-seeking Canes.  And the score wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that the Hoos (once again) failed to show any improvement in any facet of the game.  Now don’t get me wrong, I bleed orange and blue and consider myself one of the most passionate fans in the fan base, but even I found myself sighing at the TV on Saturday afternoon saying, “I don’t even care anymore.”

SO, with all that in mind, here are a few things I can safely surmise following the weekend:

• Even though we still lost, it sure was fun watching UVa play a little bit of “Beamerball” on Saturday with two blocked punts and a long INT return.  Now I finally understand why Hokie fans are so amped to watch their team play every week.
• If you’re in favor of a college football playoff system, then start praying for Texas to lose.  Now that TCU is ranked #4 in the BCS rankings, the only thing standing in the way of a TCU/SEC Champion BCS Championship Game is the Longhorns.
• As long as he can stay healthy, Matt Schaub is a Pro Bowl quarterback this year.
• Does anyone want to take control of the NFC East?  It’s the NFL’s version of the ACC this year with the top teams trading spots week after week.
• It’s taken some time since he was hired, but I’m finally getting warm to the idea that Tony Bennett is the right guy to lead our basketball program in the direction we all want it to go.
• The winner of tonight’s Monday Night Football game between the Steelers and Broncos will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
• Are the Saints really that good?  After giving up boat loads of yards to the Panthers on Sunday and the Dolphins a few weeks ago, I’m beginning to question whether that defense is good enough to complement Drew Brees and Co.
• The fact that Andre Agassi used “meth” during his tennis playing days is disappointing, but I really don’t see why everyone is so up in arms about it.  I think the fact that his ATP ranking dropped 100-some spots and he lost countless money in earnings and endorsements is punishment enough.
• Tom Brady and Randy Moss appear to have returned to their 2007 form … which is depressing news for the other 31 teams in the NFL.

Atrocious, appaling, detestable, vomit inducing, unforgiveable … it’s fair to say any of those statements accurately describes UVa’s second consecutive loss to Duke on Saturday afternoon in Scott Stadium.  Perhaps it was the 424-196 advantage the Blue Devils had on us in total yardage that caused the loss.  Or maybe it was the 34% completion percentage our two quarterbacks had on 38 passing attempts; it could have been the fact that only 41,300 fans showed up to cheer the Hoos on.  It’s hard to pinpoint the exact area that ultimately cost UVa the victory on Saturday.  What’s not hard to pinpoint, however, is that there is an obvious problem with the current state of Virginia’s football program.

BUT, thankfully for us all, the weekend lasts 72 hours and UVa football only took up a lousy 3 1/2 of them.  Here’s what I can safely surmise from the other 68 1/2:

• After seeing him in person, Thaddeus Lewis is the best quarterback in the ACC.  You could argue Josh Nesbitt or Jacory Harris mean more to their teams, but Lewis is the best pure quarterback in the league.
• When I was sitting atop my section on Saturday, I scanned over the empty Scott Stadium crowd and it dawned on me just how far we have fallen in the past few years.
• As I’m sure you’ve seen already, Brandon Spikes definitely went for the ever classless eye gouging move at the bottom of the pile in the Gators’ win over Georgia on Saturday.
• While I have been pleasantly entertained by the World Series thus far, I would still much rather see a Sunday night NFL game on TV in its place.
• Is it just me or have there been no real “epic” college football match-ups so far this season?  I feel like every week they hype up a big game (see USC/Oregon and Texas/Ok. State this weekend) and every week the games are a snooze-fest.
• As much as I try to hate on him for retiring and “un-retiring”, I’ve got to hand it to Brett Favre.  The guy can flat out ball.  Even in his 40’s.
• Even though the Baltimore/Denver game was pretty one-sided it gave me a chance to watch Ed Reed in action, which is always a treat.  He and Troy Polamalu are by far the best safties in football today.
• After receiving one vote in this weeks AP Top 25 Poll, is there any reason why we shouldn’t hire Richmond’s Mike London to be our next coach? If my math is correct, that’s one more vote than our current coach has gotten us in the same poll this season.
• If any of you “C-villians” haven’t checked it out yet, the new Irish pub on the corner, Trinity, is a pretty cool spot.  It’s got tons of space and a bazillion flat-screens and it also seemed to attract UVa’s top talent on Friday and Saturday night.

Man, that was a tough one to swallow.  It wasn’t exactly a surprise that the Hoos stumbled their way to a 34-9 defeat to No. 11 Georgia Tech, it was the way they did it that made it so troubling.  The Jackets were able to drive the proverbial railroad stake down our defense’s throat to the tune of 362 yards rushing and our offense was about as inept as it has been the entire year.  And all this happened in the midst of a Nor’easter settled directly above Scott Stadium.  At noon.

So, while I feel like I could sit here for hours listing off reasons why UVa laid such a big egg on the field Saturday afternoon, Kris covered most of them in his post-game article.  Besides, aren’t you just dying to know what I can safely surmise following this rain-soaked weekend?

• I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but the Jameel Sewell QB dive in the second quarter on 3rd and 5 was a good play call.  For the first time in their 70 attempts at it, the line blocked well and Sewell ran with purpose for a 25-yard gain and a first down in GT territory.
• Georgia Tech’s Anthony Allen is a horse.  His 21-yard run in the second quarter where he bounced off about seven UVa defenders and took it to the 4-yard line was very impressive.
• Even for casual baseball fans like myself, the Yankees/Phillies World Series should be a fun one to watch.
• The New Orleans Saints are legit.  I know they looked bad in the first half of their game vs. the Dolphins, but I believe the true mark of a great team is their ability to respond in tough situations.
• This past Sunday featured a number of snoozers on the NFL docket.  Out of the 12 games played, six were absolute blowouts and only two games had final scores within a touchdown difference.
• There is no excuse for Tennessee not blocking enough to allow their kicker to attempt the game-winning field goal in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
• I guess I would say it’s Colt McCoy at this point, but I don’t really feel like there is any true front-runner for the Heisman Trophy yet.
• It pains me to say this, especially in lieu of a 189-yard performance against my Bears, but Cedric Benson is finally showing he was deserving of a top-five draft pick.
• The whole Sam Bradford situation has me feeling sympathetic for the junior Sooner.  I know he’s still going to make millions in the pros, but you’ve gotta appreciate the kids who want to come back to school, and to have one like Bradford get hurt is only going to deter kids from doing it in the future.
• Just as I suspected when I first saw the trailers, there is no where near enough content in Maurice Sendak’s 10-page picture book “Where The Wild Things Are” to make a motion picture. Visually, the movie was stunning, but other than that, you should wait til it’s out on DVD.

I thought I’d take a few minutes this morning to take a tour around the World Wide Web (don’t hear that term much these days …). Here’s what some other folks are talking about in recent entries:

• The bloggers at 7even Win Society are talking about redshirts: Why Plan for 2013 When You Can Go 5-7 in 2009?
• A pair of “from” blogs swapped thoughts on GT and Virginia. From Old Virginia answered questions about the Hoos – Guest Blogger: Zima, Sportscoat, and Wahoo Edition – while From The Rumble Seat talked about the Jackets – Q&A with From The Rumble Seat.
• Dear Old U.Va. has a two-parter up on the non-conference hoops schedule: I and II.
• Blair Capps is exclaiming about Bees on the Official Campus Correspondent Blog.
• ACC Now had a couple of interesting basketball posts up. One is about Coach K respecting UNC. The other is about Bill Guthridge looking back at pre-UNC Roy Williams.
• You know football isn’t what it used to be in Tallahassee when the ScalpEm blog is talking about hoops in October.
• Tar Heel Fan is talking about playing on Thursday night.
• Wake’s Blogger So Dear is looking at ACC basketball.
• And not least … Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel on BCS scheduling.

Um, where did that come from?  To say that I didn’t see the 47-7 victory over Indiana coming would be vastly understated.  Now don’t get me wrong, if someone told me UVa would win on Saturday, I would have certainly believed it; but if you had told me we would score 47 points, put up more than 500 yards on offense all while keeping them in check defensively, I would have politely asked you to “pass me some of that good stuff.”

So, in keeping with the theme of Monday’s entries, I’d like to start off by saying, I can safely surmise nothing about UVa’s chances the rest of the year … Much like the last two versions, the ‘09 Cavs have given us their best “Jekyll and Hyde” impression, proving that it is all but impossible to predict what will happen to them as the season goes forward.  But, lucky for us all, I have plenty more to surmise following an eventful weekend.

• Al Groh is a great head coach … in the month of October. Since 2007, Groh’s October record is 9-1.
• When I said last week that Joe Flacco was my early pick for NFL MVP, I was probably jumping the gun a bit.
• I hate the fact that both Cedric Benson and Kyle Orton look like pro-bowlers after their stints in Chicago.
• Vic Hall should have been in the slot since the day he set foot on Grounds.
• The $79 million we spent to shoot a missile at the moon was … well, not that good of an idea.
• Sunday was a hard day for Boston fans … first their beloved Red “Sawx” go all Red Sox on everyone and blow a 2-run 9th inning lead to give Anaheim the sweep. Then, the Patriots forget to show up for the second half in Denver and Tom Brady and the boys are sent home with a very pedestrian 3-2 record.
• Mikell Simpson needs to be healthy for the game in College Park. Let’s not forget the impact he had last time we were there …
• The fact that Tim Tebow played in Death Valley on Saturday night was a) not surprising at all and b) overhyped as crap.  No one is mentioning the fact that UF’s rushing offense ranks No. 1 in the country and I probably could have handed the ball off to Rainey, Moody, or whichever 5 star RB was in the backfield and came away with a victory too.
• Saturday’s game would have gone completely different had Ras-I Dowling not forced that fumble on IU’s opening possession.
• Speaking of Ras-I, Saturday’s performance was the best I’ve seen out of him in quite some time.
• There is officially nothing more laughable in all of professional sports than the Oakland Raiders.
• Kid Cudi’s new hit “Pursuit of Happiness” featuring Ratatat and MGMT is one of the coolest singles I’ve heard in a long time.
• Even though I promised my buddies I’d meet them in Atlantic City for the weekend next Saturday, a trip to College Park is much closer, much cheaper and (hopefully) more gratifying.

Heading into the first ever meeting between Indiana and UVa on the gridiron, I came to the realization that I know next to nothing about our upcoming opponent. So, I did some research and came up with some interesting numbers that I thought I’d share with the rest of you. And while I’m aware that statistics don’t matter a lick come Saturday afternoon, they are still fun to look at …

• Entering Saturday’s game, UVa ranks 117 out of 119 teams in total offense with 272.25 yards per game.
• Indiana CB Ray Fisher ranks 7th in the nation and 1st in the Big Ten in kickoff returns, averaging 34.58 yards per return.
• The Hoos’ highest national rank in any statistical category is in pass defense where they rank 8th, giving up just 156.5 ypg.
• Look for the Hoosiers to take control of the line on both sides of the ball as their defense ranks 17th in sacks with 2.8/game and 15th in tackles for loss with 7.6/game.  Meanwhile, the offensive line is giving up just 1 sack per game, which is good for 17th in the country and 2nd in the Big Ten.
• Chris Cook is 3rd in the ACC in interceptions per game with .5.
• Indiana’s Tandon Doss averages 94 receiving yards per game, good for 22nd in the nation.
• UVa’s leader in tackles for loss is surprisingly Rodney Mcleod, who averages 1 TFL per game.
• Indiana QB Ben Chappell comes in ranked 57th nationally in total offense and 5th in the Big Ten with 223.8 ypg.

*All stats courtesy of NCAA.org