Virginia Comes to Town

Eight months ago I promised myself I'd forget November 3, 2007 ever happened. Unfortunately I'm going to have to break that promise in order to complete this preview, and I'm realizing the pain of that loss still hasn't disappeared.

I was at Scott Stadium that afternoon, as excited as any other Wake fan to see Wake driving the field on the way to what should have been a game winning field goal from Sam Swank. Even when the drive stalled earlier than had been hoped for, in part due to some excessively conservative play calling, I was confident I was about to head home in a very good mood.

Instead, Sam Swank did something he hasn't done very often the last two seasons: he missed the 50 yarder and Wake lost. The decision making on that final drive is probably some of the most controversial in Grobe's tenure at Wake. Although I understand Grobe's perspective, I still don't entirely agree with the way things were done.

This season the Deacons will have their chance to get revenge. Last year's game was certainly one that got away, and I'm confident this team won't allow it to happen again.

On the field, Virginia has all kinds of concerns in 2008. Things were already going to be rough this year with Chirs Long graduating, but Virginia hadn't been counting on losing guys like quarterback Jameel Sewell, DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald, and CB Chris Cook, who were all kicked off the team for acadmeic reasons. They also lost their most talented offensive lineman, Branden Albert, to an early NFL Draft entry.

The Hoos still have some pretty solid talent sprinkled throughout their roster, including running backs Cedric Peerman and Mikell Simpson, reciever Kevin Ogletree (back from missing 2007 with a knee injury), and a strong corps of linebacks including seniors Clint Sintim, Jon Copper, and Antonio Appleby.

If Virginia can find a way to fill some of the holes and can rally around the hard times their going through, I think they'll win a few more games than the three (or so) they're expected to win. As long as the Demon Deacons take care of business and make sure it doesn't happen against them, we'll be just fine.