Former UVA Football coach Al Groh once said that there was a fine line between being Virginia and being Duke.
Fast forward a decade or so, and UVA fans could only wish that there were just a fine line separating the programs.
Disagree?
This season alone the Blue Devils are fighting for an ACC title, as Duke is 2-1 in conference play and 6-1 overall under first-year coach Manny Diaz.
And Virginia?
Well, let’s just look at Saturday’s debacle against rival North Carolina.
UNC led 24-6 at halftime and cruised to a 41-14 victory over UVA.
The Tar Heels recorded 10 sacks, produced two takeaways, and held Virginia to 288 total yards, much of which came with the outcome all but settled in the fourth quarter.
The loss was the third straight for the Cavaliers, who are on an even thinner line of closing the season with seven straight losses.
Think that’s a stretch?
Look at the remaining schedule.
The most fight the Cavaliers displayed Saturday appeared to be more on the sidelines than the field.
For the second straight week, Virginia coach Tony Elliott dispatched a key player to the showers well before the final horn.
That’s not a good look, regardless of the circumstances.
UNC dominated Virginia in every faucet of the game, breaking a four-game losing streak.
Yep, Carolina came into Scott Stadium on a four-game slide, which included a 70-50 beatdown by JMU.
UNC amassed 10 sacks, nine inflicted upon Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who amazingly walked off the field without help.
I checked, North Carolina had no sacks in their previous two games and only 15 in the season’s first seven games.
But wait, there’s more.
The most damning evidence of Virginia’s lack of desire to put up a fight came when 290-pound defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie picked off a Colandria pass in the third quarter and rambled 84 yards for a touchdown.
The last 30 or so yards, Ritzie simply waddled into the endzone, as it was clear no Virginia player wanted any part of running him down.
Look at the replay, if you dare.
Some of the UVA players were making their way back to the bench before Ritzie crossed the goal line.
Inexcusable.
Yep, UNC, with a lame-duck coach, Mack Brown, who will retire (?) after the season, wanted this game far more than Virginia.
So exactly what’s wrong with the UVA Football program?
The uncomplicated way out is to blame it all on the coaching.
A deeper dive into what’s been ailing the program for some time requires us to look at the entire athletic department organizational leadership.
That starts at the top with the athletics director, who oversees not only the competition side of the program, but the business side as well.
Both are broken.
Take Saturday’s game.
A decent crowd of about 45,000 on hand, only to be subjected to a Virginia squad that obviously didn’t have much fight in them from the get-go.
Trailing 24-6 at the break, plenty of the gathering headed for the parking lots to resume tailgating.
The West Lot parking area looked as crowded at half as it did a half-hour before kickoff.
And remember, because Virginia still refuses readmission into the stadium, those folks had no plans of returning.
Would you blame them?
The AD needs to take ownership in where the program is today.
The one thing Carla Williams had going for her since arriving in Charlottesville has been Tony Bennett.
Now that’s gone.
All eyes are on her.
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