After the loss against Duke this weekend, the ineptitude of UVA football is now a water-cooler discussion topic.
The loss marked the end of a 25-game losing streak for the Blue Devils in the ACC.
Heather Dinich of ESPN.com’s ACC blog, writes, "The Cavaliers solidified their spot as the worst team in the ACC by managing just three points—three—against a Duke program that had a 25-game losing streak in conference play."
Dinich poses the next logical, but most controversial question: Should Al Groh be fired? "Heading into this season and following a one-year contract extension, it seemed as if it would take a monumental collapse for Al Groh to officially be on the hot seat. Well, he might want to duck, because the walls are caving in in Charlottesville."
The Good Ol’ Blog on TheSabre.com argues that "maybe [Groh’s] $6.2 million buyout clause will not be deemed too be much money at that point."
A different argument, yet same tone, is brought forth by Cavalier Daily columnist Ross Lawrence, who argues that Groh should take responsibilities for the less-than-spectacular performance of his team.
Lawrence writes, "it’s clear that when fans gripe about the state of Virginia football, it is about much more than the ratio of wins-to-losses. During his first seven seasons, Groh has averaged slightly over seven wins per year: 7.285 to be exact. Compare that with his predecessor, George Welsh, who averaged 7.053 over the course of 19 seasons. Yet most fans who remember Welsh fondly can’t say the same for Groh. Why? Because Welsh built the program from the ground up, taking Virginia to its first ever bowl game."
So, let’s recap the Cavalier’s season so far:
August 30: vs Southern California – L 7-52
September 6: vs Richmond – W 16-0
September 13: at Connecticut – L 10-45
September 27: at Duke – L 3-31
Al Groh may soon be wearing nametags at job fairs rather than making guest appearances at the UVA library if the season continues this way.
