Can Virginia beat USC?

By Chris Preston  |   Monday, June 09, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Virginia Cavaliers
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Because of the presence of the mighty Trojans, Virginia’s 2008 Aug. 30 home opener against USC will be played in front of a national ESPN2 audience. Like USC, the Cavaliers qualified for a New Year’s Day Bowl (Gator) themselves last January, but they will undoubtedly be cast in a supporting role to the Boys from Troy when the ESPN hype machine revs up late in the summer.

But that would all change should UVA somehow prevail. It goes without saying: That will be no easy task. Loaded as always, the Trojans have again been unanimously tabbed as a top-five preseason team. The Hullabahoos are fresh off a solid 9-4 season, but they lost their leader and best player -- All-America defensive end Chris Long -- to graduation (and to the St. Louis Rams as the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft), along with fellow first-round selection Branden Albert, an offensive tackle, and starting quarterback Jameel Sewell. The latter came as a surprise, as the two-year starter got the boot for academic shortcomings, as did would-be top returning defensive player Jeffrey Fitzgerald and cornerback Chris Cook. In other words, Virginia football is in rebuilding mode. No one is expecting to hear much from the Hoos in ’08 after a surprisingly noisy ’07.

Still, there are some nice pieces returning. The running game, much improved last season, remains largely intact thanks to the return of Cedric Peerman (5.2 yards per carry prior to going down with a midseason injury) and Mikell Simpson (over 1,000 all-purpose yards). The linebacking corps boasts both talent and experience, headed by seniors Clint Sintim, Antonio Appleby and Jon Copper, who had more tackles than Long in ’07. And Virginia has always had an endless supply of ball-catching tight ends in the Al Groh era.

Those factors alone probably won’t be nearly enough against the much deeper and athletically superior Trojans, but it’s not as if the cupboard is bare in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers have been a consistently solid, if not spectacular, outfit under Groh, qualifying for a bowl game in five of his seven seasons as head coach. They are not a national power, but they are almost always competitive. With a fired-up, likely record-setting crowd behind them for opening night against the Trojans, perhaps the Hoos could catch lightning in a bottle and derail USC’s national title aspirations before they even start.

Not likely, of course. But then again, perhaps because of its decade of dominance, USC has developed a tendency to overlook lesser opponents in recent years. Just ask Stanford.
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