Logic to me dictates that Mike London is out at UVa. if his team loses out, finishes 2-10, losing its last nine in the process.
Assuming that’s the case, that’s three losing seasons in four, which was enough to get his predecessor, Al Groh, fired, and Groh had a better record in that stretch (22-27, 15-17 ACC) than London would have had in his (18-31, 8-24 ACC).
But logic also dictates that there is a way that London could extricate himself from this predicament that I assume he’s in.
Two words: Beat Tech.
Actually, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to win out against both Miami and Virginia Tech. We’re still talking about a third losing season in four years, a 20-29 record overall, a 10-22 record in the ACC, but … hey, you’re going out on a good note. (Nod to George Costanza.)
And not just a good note – you’d be taking down a team that was ranked for a time in the Top 10 this season (even if it was vastly overrated in so being), and then Tech, which has owned the Commonwealth, with 13 wins in the past 14 in the series.
(Virginia’s last win over the Tech was pre-Facebook, Twitter and every other social media, in 2003. UVa. fans can’t wait to be able to post their first Facebook statuses, tweets and the rest saying, We finally beat Tech!)
Beat Tech, and it’s hard for somebody who doesn’t want to give you a pink slip anyway (you know who you are, Craig Littlepage …) to follow through on that act.
Beat Tech, and it’s hard for the diehards in the fan base to not want to give you the benefit of the doubt. (Think sex, and afterglow.)
Beat Tech, and the one or two (there has to be another one of us out there) writers who have been calling for your head pretty much have to shut up. For a day, maybe a couple of days. (By then, their attention will have turned full time to basketball, and the coast will be clear.)
Strange thing here is … I can actually see it happening. The talent is there. It’s not getting utilized well, but it’s there. The defense has had its moments (BYU, Pitt); the offense has had its moments (Maryland, the first half of the Duke game, Georgia Tech). The kicking unit is pretty good; the return group could do better just fair-catching everything, but that’s another story.
It doesn’t take much imagination to see the D playing like it did against byu or Pitt, the offense playing like it did against Maryland, the special teams just not screwing anything up … and Mike London not making a boneheaded decision to go for a fourth down or run the ball late in a half with no timeouts or trying to ice a kicker on a chip shot, basically, getting out of his team’s way, and Virginia winning that game.
People win the lottery every day with much, much worse odds.
The more likely scenario, of course, is that Miami steamrolls UVa. next week in Florida, and then Tech does the same on its way to yet another ACC title game.
If that happens, it’s next-man-up time.
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Chris Graham
