Fire Groh? funny how that rhymes with eat crow

On September 23, a wise and prescient scribbler with the same initials as mine wrote of the Virginia football team: “It may not be far-fetched to imagine the Cavaliers finishing 1-11.”

At the time, the scribbler seemed to be on to something. Written before U.Va.’s 28-point loss at Duke, the words reflected the widespread panic in ’Hooville that Al Groh’s world was falling apart faster than a “Saturday Night Live” routine.

After the loss to Duke, a rash of newspaper stories and Internet items appeared under the generic headline: “It’s time for Groh to go.”

The beleaguered Groh’s name was prominent on Web sites dedicated to coaches on the hot seat; he was near the top of the list, squeezed in between Syracuse’s Greg Robinson and Washington’s Tyrone Willingham.

Groh may also have been included on Mr. Blackwell’s list of worst dressed coaches. Things were going that badly.

At the time, after all, U.Va. was 119th in the country in scoring and its defense was leaking oil.

Now here it is the last week of October, and everything has changed. For the moment, the hordes have put down their torches and pitchforks – grudgingly in some cases.

A four-game winning streak, capped by an unexpected, somewhat stunning victory over Georgia Tech on the road has mollified the base. After the debacle at Duke, nobody could have guessed that the same team that started 1-3 would rise to 5-3 and first place in the ACC’s Coastal Division.

But, of course, this isn’t the same U.Va. team. Some of us failed to recognize that a long season leaves room for improvement.

“Probably not ready to play,” the scribbler prophetically wrote of Marc Verica, the team’s fourth-string quarterback last year who was pressed into service when Peter Lalich was thrown off the team.

Verica’s learning curve has been every bit as steep as the Cavaliers’ ascent. Against Georgia Tech, he passed for 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It’s the fourth game in a row he’s gone for 200 or more through the air. Lately, he’s looked ready.

Verica was a deer in the headlights when U.Va. struggled; Cedric Peerman, who rushed for 118 yards Saturday, needed time to recover from injury. As the offense came around, so did the defense.

Yet it’s unlikely that every U.Va. fan is in a giddy mood right now. The most cynical Groh critics hoped that a disastrous season would grease the skids. But Al, it appears, isn’t going anywhere. Saturday, U.Va. even exploded a bedrock criticism of Groh teams – that they come up very small on the road.

With this latest victory, the Cavaliers are the best story in the ACC. Not the best team; they aren’t even assured a bowl berth. But leading up to Saturday’s visit from Miami, U.Va. is a major topic of conversation.

Showing the clip of Peerman diving into the end zone for the winning score in Atlanta, ESPN’s college studio crew marveled at U.Va.’s turnaround.

“Al Groh’s best coaching job at U.Va.,” said Lou Holtz.

A comment like that must set Groh’s critics’ teeth on edge. It’s not as if his detractors don’t have legitimate complaints. They can point to the loss of key players this year for academic and disciplinary reasons. They can grouse that U.Va. plays in only small bowls and that Groh has beaten Virginia Tech only once since he arrived.

What they can’t do is separate Groh from this winning streak, the biggest story in the ACC so far. Groh is the central figure of U.Va.’s far-fetched scenario because he didn’t let the team or the season get away from him.

In September, the scribbler dismissed U.Va., writing, “Duke may be the last winnable game” on the schedule.

Frequently wrong, seldom uncertain – that’s my motto.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com