Here’s where I’m going to disagree, severely, with my colleague, Scott German, who earlier this week dismissed the idea that Virginia is facing a “trap game” this weekend at unbeaten Louisville.
Here’s my case:
The ‘Hoos are coming off the biggest win in the Tony Elliott era, and the biggest win for the UVA Football program since some of these kids were in middle school, a game that was the talk of ESPN and ABC all day on Saturday.
Following the game, then, is a bye week – a chance to let down the guard for the first time since training camp started in mid-July.
Yes, Virginia is, somehow, a touchdown ‘dog, despite coming in as the ranked team.
And this fact is still out there – win on Saturday, and you’re 3-0 in the ACC, and you have an inside track to Charlotte, and a possible CFP berth.
This is why Power 4 coaches get paid way too much.
ICYMI
- First look: UVA Football | #24 ‘Hoos set to face Louisville on Saturday
- UVA Football | Injury and availability updates for Week 6 at Louisville
- UVA Football | Trap game? Hardly, as ‘Hoos head to Louisville as road ‘dogs
“I’m confident that we have a veteran group that’s going to respond, and they want to be challenged, they want to know what it takes. We passed one test, but we got so many more tests ahead of us that we got to prepare for,” Elliott told reporters at his weekly presser on Tuesday.
I like the story that the coach told to explain why he has that confidence.
Elliott said he met with his team captains and asked them if they had watched the film from the 46-38 double-OT win over Florida State from last week, “and many of them had already done so, and I said, what do you think?”
The answer he got back:
“Man, we could have played even better.”
Which, yeah – Virginia won in spite of committing three turnovers, with the defense giving up 514 yards, getting gashed for 256 yards on the ground.
The response was “a good sign that everybody was excited to win, but also understands that we haven’t played our best game yet, that we left some plays out there on the field,” Elliott said.
“I think this group is really starting to understand that it’s not about an opponent, it’s not about the moment of joy in a locker room after the game, so to speak, but it’s about the process of preparing to try and chase your best game week in and week out,” Elliott said.
It should get everybody’s attention that last year’s UVA team was also 4-1 going into a game with Louisville, and the ‘Hoos had a lead inside of two minutes to go in that one – then lost, with the L starting a downward spiral that saw Virginia lose six of its final seven to finish with a 5-7 record.
This year’s roster has 54 guys that weren’t around for what went down in 2024, but even so.
“The biggest thing is constantly reminding the guys that it’s not about anything external, it’s all about internal, starting with us in this room, and how we think, and then making sure that we hold each other accountable to what we say are our standards,” Elliott said.
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Chris Graham
