Last week: 5-4 Overall: 13-5
No. 23 Northwestern at Duke, 12:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
Northwestern 23, Duke 17
Virginia Tech at Purdue, 3:30 p.m. ESPNU
Virginia Tech 27, Purdue 17
No. 14 Georgia Tech at No. 8 Notre Dame, 4 p.m. NBC
Georgia Tech 36, Notre Dame 33
Nebraska at Miami, 3:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN2
Nebraska 31, Miami 28
No. 18 Auburn at No. 13 LSU, 3:30 p.m. CBS
LSU 28, Auburn 17
Pittsburgh at Iowa, 8 p.m. Big Ten Network
Iowa 24, Pittsburgh 21
Stanford at No. 6 USC, 8 p.m. ABC
USC 31, Stanford 20
No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 2 Alabama, 9:15 p.m. ESPN
Alabama 31, Ole Miss 28
No. 19 BYU at No. 10 UCLA, 10:30 p.m. Fox Sports 1
UCLA 34, BYU 28
William & Mary at Virginia, 3:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, game of Mike London's Virginia career. He's played Virginia Tech for the Coastal Division title, the rival Hokies twice for bowl eligibility, Florida State on the road in 2011 as a very solid team, Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl that same year, and even No. 9 Notre Dame last Saturday. But this game is big in its own right, even if it is against William & Mary. Because if the Cavaliers are upset by the Tribe, it will be very difficult for him to make it to 2016. Assuming he has to get six wins, maybe five, losing to an FCS school and falling into an 0-3 hole would just be too much for London to overcome. Virginia would have to go 6-3 the rest of the way to get to 6-6 if it were to lose to W&M and I don't see how that would be possible with all the negative momentum. Now, do I think Virginia will lose to W&M? I don't. UVa looked, at times, great against the Irish despite the loss and the Cavs also hung with another top-10 team, UCLA, at its place for a half two weeks ago.
Virginia has not really done anything that shows that it is a bad 0-2 team. However, there are certain ingredients present for an upset. Pressure? Check. As I said, the consequences for London could be bad if he loses this game. W&M has no pressure. It isn't even ranked in the latest FCS poll. However, the Tribe always seem to have good seasons under longtime coach Jimmye Laycock. At least London and UVa know what the Tribe is capable of. It won't sneak up on the 'Hoos. Belief from W&M? Probably. In 2009, in Al Groh's last season, W&M shocked UVa, 26-14. The parallels would be creepy. A bye week? Check. W&M was off last week after cruising past Lafayette. It has probably been getting ready for this game for weeks. Trap game for UVa? Check. After playing two ranked teams, Virginia gets another highly regarded team next week, Boise State. Sandwiched in the middle is the FCS foe. If Virginia is feeling bad for itself after the tough, tough loss to Notre Dame, W&M has one more thing going for it. If the Cavs play the way they are capable, this won't be close. But if they come in with an Irish hangover (too many Guinesses?), the Tribe might definitely pounce.
Virginia 27, William & Mary 24
No. 23 Northwestern at Duke, 12:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
Northwestern 23, Duke 17
Virginia Tech at Purdue, 3:30 p.m. ESPNU
Virginia Tech 27, Purdue 17
No. 14 Georgia Tech at No. 8 Notre Dame, 4 p.m. NBC
Georgia Tech 36, Notre Dame 33
Nebraska at Miami, 3:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN2
Nebraska 31, Miami 28
No. 18 Auburn at No. 13 LSU, 3:30 p.m. CBS
LSU 28, Auburn 17
Pittsburgh at Iowa, 8 p.m. Big Ten Network
Iowa 24, Pittsburgh 21
Stanford at No. 6 USC, 8 p.m. ABC
USC 31, Stanford 20
No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 2 Alabama, 9:15 p.m. ESPN
Alabama 31, Ole Miss 28
No. 19 BYU at No. 10 UCLA, 10:30 p.m. Fox Sports 1
UCLA 34, BYU 28
William & Mary at Virginia, 3:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, game of Mike London's Virginia career. He's played Virginia Tech for the Coastal Division title, the rival Hokies twice for bowl eligibility, Florida State on the road in 2011 as a very solid team, Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl that same year, and even No. 9 Notre Dame last Saturday. But this game is big in its own right, even if it is against William & Mary. Because if the Cavaliers are upset by the Tribe, it will be very difficult for him to make it to 2016. Assuming he has to get six wins, maybe five, losing to an FCS school and falling into an 0-3 hole would just be too much for London to overcome. Virginia would have to go 6-3 the rest of the way to get to 6-6 if it were to lose to W&M and I don't see how that would be possible with all the negative momentum. Now, do I think Virginia will lose to W&M? I don't. UVa looked, at times, great against the Irish despite the loss and the Cavs also hung with another top-10 team, UCLA, at its place for a half two weeks ago.
Virginia 27, William & Mary 24
Comments
Post a Comment