Just a few weeks ago, Mike London was being hailed as coach of the year in the ACC, and Virginia looked to have righted the ship. The Cavaliers led the Coastal, had lost two relatively close games to ranked opponents (UCLA and BYU) and had knocked off Louisville.
Now, with just three games left to play, the Hoos are riding a three-game losing streak, bowl eligibility seems like a longshot with a tough upcoming schedule and London is once again squarely on the hot seat.
As the Richmond Times Dispatch writes, the last month of the season for Virginia is less about capping a magical season and more about preventing disaster.
Still, it would be silly to ignore the obvious progress Virginia has made this year. As the Times Dispatch points out, last week's loss to Georgia Tech was the first real blowout of the year for a team that, in 2013, lost 10 games by an average of 21.4 points.
In fact, across the board, this season the Hoos have shown solid improvement.
Comparing the first eight games against FBS foes in 2013 to 2014:
In adjusted QBR, UVa has improved from 39.4 to 48.2
In TD:INT ratio, UVa has gone from 5:9 to 11:12
In passing, UVa has improved from 4.9 yards per attempt to 6.5
In rushing, UVa has jumped from 3.4 yards per carry to 4.1
In total defense, UVa has improved from allowing 460 yards per game to 335
In points off turnovers, UVa went from a minus-70 last year to plus-13 this year
The biggest problems for UVa during this recent stretch have been a lack of turnovers forced, as the Roanoke Times points out, and a serious dip in the production of the ground game.
Against BYU, Kent State and Pitt, Virginia averaged 5.2 yards-per-carry (on non-sack plays) and scored six rushing touchdowns. In losses to Duke, UNC and Georgia Tech, that's dipped to 4.0 yards-per-carry with just one rushing TD. Last week against the Yellow Jackets, UVa had just 38 rushing yards (not counting sacks), its lowest output since a 2007 loss to Wyoming and worst production in an ACC game in more than a decade. The QB play has improved some, but at this point, the Hoos aren't a team that should be reliant on the passing game -- particularly now that one of their top receivers is done for the year.
Still, the point is that the Cavaliers aren't that far from being a contender, but the losing streak -- which figures to climb to four with Florida State on the docket next -- could well mean that London isn't around to see it through.
A few more links:
Florida State is finally getting healthy as the season reaches its stretch run, writes the Tallahassee Democrat.
How the playoff committee views Florida State's performance against Louisville may be one of the week's most interesting developments, writes Football Outsiders.
The joys of Twitter: A five-star prospect says his commitment to Florida State via social media was a prank pulled by teammates, writes Yahoo.
This week's game against Boston College will be a test of character for Louisville, writes The Courier Journal.
Bowl eligibility is already wrapped up for BC. Now it's a matter of where the Eagles will land, writes the Boston Herald.
NC State's defense has looked much better in recent weeks, but Georgia Tech will be a much bigger test, writes the Raleigh News & Observer.
Freshman corner Mackensie Alexander is putting in the work to be great, writes The Post & Courier.
Syracuse freshman Zaire Franklin has been a standout at middle linebacker, writes Syracuse.com.