Legendary Auburn Coach Pat Dye played at Georgia.

Legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley played at Auburn.

Legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal played at Oklahoma.

Legendary USC coach John McKay played at Oregon.

There are many examples of college football coaches making a name for themselves at the schools they played against - and hated - when they were collegians.

Yes, Al Groh facing Virginia this Saturday doesn't have quite the same level of romance or intrigue that the above examples possess, but the storyline will still create some spice in an otherwise-dull week-six matchup.

Groh is an alumnus of the University of Virginia. He played there in the 1960s and was an assistant there in the early 1970s. In 2001, he was tabbed as the Cavaliers' head coach, and stuck around for nine seasons before being fired in 2009. Groh brought a lot of talented players to Charlottesville, but the shadows of Monticello grew too long and dark for Groh because his gameday coaching acumen could never unlock the full measure of ability his teams possessed. Virginia teased its fan base under Groh, showing just enough promise to make each 7-5 or 8-4 season seem like a colossal disappointment. Perhaps Virginia shouldn't have gone 11-1 on a regular basis - that would have been an overreaction - but the Cavaliers should have been able to post an 11-1 mark once or twice, and win at least one ACC championship at a time when Florida State and Miami both fell from prominence.

That one ACC title never came. Virginia never even won a single ACC Coastal Division championship under Groh's watch, and the clamor from a rightly frustrated fan base grew too loud in 2009. Virginia would often stumble to a 2-4 record but then rally in November to post a winning record and lock up a bowl bid. Those late-season flurries regularly saved Groh's job in the second half of his long stint at Virginia, but the locals grew tired of the act, and Groh - who has been coaching since he graduated from UVA in 1967 - had to find a new job.

He landed in Atlanta.

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Now, Groh is Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator under head coach Paul Johnson. In keeping with Johnson's emphasis on speed, Groh is installing a 3-4 defense, but that switch at Tech has caused a great deal of problems so far. Tech has looked thoroughly disorganized and out of position throughout the first five weeks of the season. Sloppy tackling and overall chaos on the defensive side of the ball have not enabled this team to settle into a winning groove. Losses to Kansas and North Carolina State have already wounded the defending ACC champions, who have little margin for error over the remainder of the season. Only one more ACC loss can be absorbed by this team, which must at least split with Virginia Tech and Miami - while also winning its other ACC games - in order to have any hope of defending its 2009 conference crown. Losing to Virginia is not an option.

What will make this chess match intriguing is that Groh - as the former UVA coach - is known backwards and forwards by new Cavalier coach Mike London. Groh brought London aboard as UVA's defensive line coach during his tenure in Charlottesville and later promoted London to defensive coordinator. When Groh got fired, it was London who filled the vacancy and became the Cavs' newest head coach. The London-Groh subplot will draw the attention and interest of ACC fans at every member school. People who follow the league closely will want to see what emerges from the matchup, which will also tell us something about London's ability as a head coach.

No, it's not Darrell Royal going up against his mentor, Bud Wilkinson, in the Texas-Oklahoma series. It's still intriguing, however. Al Groh versus Virginia. Throw back the popcorn and enjoy.