2011 Florida State Seminoles Football: Florida State vs Virginia

It’s enough of a miracle that the Virginia Cavaliers have made it this far. Can the ACC’s out-of-nowhere success story write yet another compelling chapter this weekend on the Florida panhandle?

The Clemson Tigers are the most surprising team in the ACC. Coach Dabo Swinney’s team did not end the 2010 with considerable expectations. Yet, the Tigers have won the ACC Atlantic and have a very legitimate chance to make a BCS bowl for the first time in the program’s snake-bitten history. Clemson deserves top billing when the topic of ACC surprises is discussed. However, a close second in this category is a Virginia team that experienced two miserable seasons at the bottom of the ACC, only to win seven games in 10 outings this season. Yes, you read that sentence correctly: Virginia, 3-9 in 2009 and 4-8 last year, has posted a 7-3 record. The Cavs have soared to second place in the ACC Coastal Division and have a chance to win the division with a 9-3 mark.

> Check out our great selection of Florida State Seminoles Apparel & Merchandise!

Head coach Mike London took the Virginia job after former coach Al Groh lost hold of the program in the 2009 disaster which underscored the need for new leadership in Charlottesville. London paid his dues in 2010’s long, hard slog, but few pigskin pundits felt that Virginia would make such substantial strides this season. The possibility existed that UVA would grow into a respectable program over an extended period of time, but a second-year resurgence puts this program way ahead of schedule under London, who made a move up from the Football Championship Subdivision, where he served as the head coach of the Richmond Spiders in 2008 and 2009.

The most remarkable aspect of Virginia’s full-fledged success in 2011 is the fact that it has accompanied mediocre quarterbacking. Cavalier quarterback Michael Rocco’s cumulative stats through the first 10 games of the season, if broken down into per-game averages, are very underwhelming. Rocco is averaging the following stat line each time he takes the field, with values rounded to the nearest whole number: 15 of 26, 191 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That level of proficiency in the passing game should make defenses load up to stop the run, but Virginia tailbacks Perry Jones and Kevin Parks have combined for almost 1,500 yards this season. Virginia finds a way to score at a reasonable clip, and with the defense making stands in game-defining moments, the Cavs have stayed in the race for the Coastal crown. This week, UVA faces a tough test in the form of a Florida State team that was favored to win the ACC before the season began. Florida State hasn’t fixed all the problems that raged in the early part of the season, but the Seminoles generally commit fewer mistakes and allow their defense to win games for them. Virginia has to find a way to take the ball away from Florida State. If the Cavaliers can turn the trick, they can escape Tallahassee, Florida, with more than just a win; they can leave the Sunshine State with a chance to win the Coastal on Thanksgiving weekend against in-state rival Virginia Tech.

Virginia has defied the odds to this point in the college football season. Why can’t London’s lads ignore conventional wisdom and push the ACC Coastal race to the limit?

Florida State Seminoles vs Virginia Cavaliers Football Preview