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| Virginia Coach Al Groh could not defeat Maryland last year, but he hopes to change that this season. (John McDonnell -- The Washington Post) |
Of course, the Terrapins won a wild affair last season, 45-33, at Maryland, and Virginia was still the team that went to a bowl. But that was because Virginia upset Florida State, something that cannot be counted on. Following this contest, the Cavaliers will play North Carolina, which beat them last season, North Carolina State and then the three toughest teams in the conference in Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. So, despite the fact that five games remain on Virginia's schedule, a loss against the Terps likely would cripple its bowl chances.
• Saturday at Pittsburgh, 7
A test right off the bat that should give a good indication of how competitive the Cavaliers and new quarterback Christian Olsen will be this season.
• Sept. 9 Wyoming, 3:30
This one will mean a lot more -- and seem more in doubt -- if Virginia stumbles at Pitt.
• Sept. 16 Western Michigan, 3:30
A cupcake to munch on before the meat of the ACC schedule, a team the Cavaliers need to blow out, then let the backups take over, because . . .
• Sept. 21 at Georgia Tech, 7:30
. . . they have only five days of rest for a nationally televised road game against a team that boasts perhaps the most dangerous player in the nation in wideout Calvin Johnson.
• Sept. 30 at Duke, TBA
The Blue Devils have lost their last nine ACC games and 21 of their last 24. Coach Ted Roof is not on fire.
• Oct. 7 at East Carolina, 6
ECU is known as one of the best party schools in the nation, and the Cavs should have a blast against a team that went 4-4 in a weakened Conference USA.
• Oct. 14 Maryland, TBA
The big game.
• Oct. 19 North Carolina, 7:30
Losers by a bizarre score of 7-5 last season, Virginia will try to take back control of a series it had owned over the past decade.
• Oct. 28 North Carolina State, TBA
Perhaps the best team on the schedule to this point. If the Cavs don't have five, maybe even six wins by now, they'll probably celebrate the winter holidays in Charlottesville.
• Nov. 4 at Florida State, TBA
The first game of a brutal three-game stretch against the ACC's best, teams that went a combined 27-10 last season.
• Nov. 18 Miami, TBA
Virginia gave the Hurricanes a scare last season on the road and gets another shot at an upset at Scott Stadium.
• Nov. 25 at Virginia Tech, TBA
Surely last season's 52-14 debacle will be on the Cavaliers' minds as they try to put some rivalry back into the Commonwealth Cup.
Coming out of Plainfield High School in New Jersey, Monroe was widely regarded as the best offensive line prospect in the country and one of the very best players overall, a complete offensive tackle with dream size (6 feet 6, 327 pounds) and agility to spare. When he committed to Virginia, he was touted as the next D'Brickashaw Ferguson.
Now that the New York Jets nabbed Ferguson with the fourth pick in April's NFL draft and Monroe is a sophomore, it's time to see how accurate that assessment is. Monroe, one of 16 children, will be charged with the task of protecting new starting quarterback Christian Olsen's blind side, something Ferguson did nearly flawlessly for his quarterbacks in becoming a first-team all-ACC selection.
With rangy arms and a relatively trim physique, Monroe resembles Ferguson on the field. The trick will be playing like him.
• Bottom Line: The last time the Cavaliers were not ranked in th AP preseason top 25 was 2002, when they finished No. 22, their best final ranking under Al Groh.
