Virginia Cavaliers News

Polls in college football are often dissected and analyzed at a ridiculous level.

MIAMI-The last time Virginia coach Al Groh was on the sideline in South Florida, his Cavaliers ended Miami's era at the Orange Bowl with a stunning 48-0 romp over the Hurricanes.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage says a decision on Al Groh's future as the school's football coach will come at the end of the season.

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 SEC No. 2 Pac-10 No. 3 Big Ten No. 4 ACC No. 5 Big 12 No. 6 Big East Nos. 7-11 4. ACC 1. Georgia Tech 2. Miami 3.... Clemson 4. Virginia Tech 5. Boston College 6. Duke 7. Florida State 8. Wake Forest 9. Virginia 10. North Carolina 11. N.C. State 12. Maryland Rising Duke: Yep, Duke. Blue Devils have won three straight ACC games for the first time since some guy named Spurrier did it in the middle of an ACC championship season. Falling N.C. State: Wolfpack have lost four in a row, giving up 176 points (average of 44 points in those games). How in the world did this team beat Pitt? Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-Virginia is doing a defensive about-face.

To dream the impossible dream.

DURHAM, N.C.- Lose to a Football Championship Subdivision team, contend for a division title?

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 Pac-10 No. 2 SEC No. 3 ACC No. 4 Big East No. 5 Big Ten No. 6 Big 12 Nos. 7-11 3. ACC 1. Georgia Tech 2. Virginia... Tech 3. Clemson 4. Miami 5. Boston College 6. Wake Forest 7. Duke 8. Florida State 9. Virginia 10. N.C. State 11. North Carolina 12. Maryland Rising Clemson: The thought of it is enough to drive you batty: Clemson, Team Enigma, controls its destiny in the Atlantic Division with games against FSU, at N.C. State and Virginia remaining. Don't bet the farm. Falling North Carolina: The offense is a mess, and an overworked defense can only hold out so long. Coach Butch Davis' successful recruiting plan has one glaring miss: quarterback. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.-Stan Doolittle threw three touchdown passes to spark Gardner-Webb's 65-0 rout of Southern Virginia on Saturday.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-Georgia Tech has not won a game at Virginia since 1990, and the No. 11 Yellow Jackets have rarely arrived at Scott Stadium with more on the line.

With the Three Amigos facing a plethora of issues, Alabama's Mark Ingram has stepped forward as the Heisman leader. And the nation's top coach is no Idaho dud, Dennis Dodd says in his midseason awards.

Sporting News' Matt Hayes looks at five under fire for Week 8: We begin this week with the foundation of the hot seat: coaches feeling the heat. It's a brutally unfair business with huge rewards (multimillion dollar salaries) and unreal expectations (win or walk). Halfway through this season, there are five clear candidates staring at the inevitable with little wiggle room. Unfortunately for these five programs, the hottest potential coach on the move (Cincinnati's Brian Kelly) won't look... twice at these gigs: 1. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville The resume: His teams are 13-17 in 2 1/2 years. They have lost their last eight games against BCS teams and 10 of their last 12. Kragthorpe arrived in 2007 with 17 starters returning from an Orange Bowl champion team and couldn't build on the momentum. Highlight: Victories over Cincinnati and Pitt in 2007. Lowlight: Two losses to a horrific Syracuse program in two tries; three losses to rival Kentucky. The short leash: He'll be the first firing of the season. Louisville fans want Jon Gruden. Two questions: 1.) why, and 2.) why not Utah's Kyle Whittingham? Louisville has all the components to dominate the Big East (recruiting geography, fan base, money, facilities). Don't get cute with the next hire because it's a "name." The candidates: Whittingham; Kevin Sumlin, Houston. 2. Ron Zook, Illinois The resume: 19-35 in 4 1/2 seasons (10-26 in the Big Ten). The only victory this season is against I-AA Illinois State. Highlight: The 2007 Rose Bowl season (thanks to Pasadena's Big Ten loyalty). Lowlight: Take away the Rose Bowl season, and Zook's teams are 10-31, including a 1-6 record against rivals Missouri and Northwestern. The short leash: There's no better indicator of the state of the program than talented quarterback Juice Williams' regression—and the hands-off approach the staff has used in preparing him to face adversity. This team has talent but is poorly coached. The candidates: Butch Jones, Central Michigan; Skip Holtz, East Carolina. 3. Al Groh, Virginia The resume: He's 59-47 in 8 1/2 seasons, including 3-3 this year with home losses to I-AA William & Mary and non-BCS TCU and a road loss at non-BCS Southern Miss. Highlight: A 9-2 start to the 2007 season, but a home loss to Virginia Tech ended hopes of an ACC title. Lowlight: Take your pick: uneven seasons with pockets of success or losses to Colorado State, Fresno State, Western Michigan, East Carolina and Wyoming—and a 1-7 record against rival Virginia Tech. The short leash: There's little doubt Groh fits the mold of what UVA wants: a disciplinarian who graduates players and doesn't embarrass the university. He has had his share of big wins, but the annual unthinkable losses to lesser teams is a trend that can't be ignored. This is still a middle-of-the-pack program. The candidates: Mike London, Richmond; Tim Murphy, Harvard. 4. Tommy West, Memphis The resume: 49-56 in 8 1/2 years; 2-5 this season with bad losses to Middle Tennessee and UCF. His teams are 2-15 against BCS schools. Highlight: He has taken the Tigers to five of the six bowl games in program history. Lowlight: He failed to build on the momentum of 17 wins from 2003-04 and could be headed for his second disastrous season (2-10 in 2006) in four years. The short leash: West doesn't get nearly enough credit for at least delivering a solid program within Conference USA. Now, reality: With its geographical footprint, Memphis should dominate recruiting in C-USA and doesn't. Memphis should get a majority of SEC Plan B recruits and doesn't. The university desperately wants to join the Big East but needs to win big consistently to get there. The candidates: Charlie Strong, Florida defensive coordinator; Terry Bowden, North Alabama. 5. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M The resume: 7-11 in 1 1/2 seasons (2-8 against the Big 12). Highlight: His hiring. It has been all downhill since. Lowlight: Where do we begin? The home loss to Arkansas State in the first game of his tenure; his defenses giving up 40 or more points in nine losses; a 62-14 loss last week to a truly bad Kansas State team. The short leash. Once Kentucky fired basketball coach Billy Gillispie after two seasons, anything became possible. Is it fair? Probably not; coaches should get a minimum of three years to get their recruits and system firmly in place before being judged. That said, if A&M could get a program-changer like Cincinnati's Kelly or TCU's Gary Patterson, wouldn't it suck up the reported $8-9 million to fire Sherman and make the change? The program is only falling further behind behemoths Texas and Oklahoma—and is struggling to keep pace with Baylor. The candidates: Patterson, TCU; Tommy Tuberville. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>