Virginia football kicks off the 2010 season just 50 days from today! Perhaps the best expectations for this season would be modest expectations, but where's the fun in that? And, hey, any football is better than no football. In honor of our 50-day wait, 50 (unabashedly rose-colored) Virginia football facts and figures ...
The program
Fans of teams who-shall-not-be-named might not call UVa a storied program, but the team has strung together some nice moments over the years.
(1) 1888: The inaugural Virginia football season (2 wins over area high schools, 1 loss to Hopkins)
(2) 10: Virginia's most wins in a season, in 1989
(3) 38.667: Virginia's highest points scored per game, in 1990
(4) 3: Weeks UVa spent at No. 1 in the AP Poll in 1990
(5) 1989 and 1990: Why George Welsh's bust sits Bryant Hall
(6) 39: Consecutive games from 1993 to 1996 in which UVa intercepted a pass, an NCAA record
(7) 11/2/95: Virginia handed Florida State their first-ever ACC loss
(8) 15th: UVa's best season-end AP ranking – in 1994 – since joining the ACC in 1954
(9) 13th: The Cavs best-ever season-ending ranking, in 1951
(10) 2004: The last time Virginia finished the season in the AP top 25, at 23rd
(11) 2: ACC Co-Champion seasons, 1989 and 1995
(12) 9: Shutouts by Virginia in the last decade
(13) 6: Of those shutouts against ACC opponents
(14) 8: Games decided by five or fewer points in the 2007 "Cardiac Cavs" season
(15) 22: Former Virginia players on NFL rosters at the start of the 2009 season
(16) 78: ACC players taken in the first round of the draft in the 2000s, more than any other conference
(17) 6: Of those first round picks to play for Virginia
The Coaches
It's Coach London's first season as the head honcho in Charlottesville. There's a lot to like about the guy.
(18) 24-5: Coach London's record in two seasons in Richmond
(19) 1: National Championship (FCS) on his resume
(20) 5: Defensive players drafted from UVa during London's six years teaching defense under Al Groh
(21) 6: Members of London's coaching staff with NFL playing experience
(22) 4: Members of the staff with NFL coaching experience
(23) 3: Seasons during which Wide Receivers Coach Shawn Moore gained 2,500 yards as QB at Virginia (1988-90)
The Team
There are good things happening on the sidelines, but what about the field?
(24) 49: First and second years on the current 91-man roster
(25) 15: Starters returning from last year's 3-9 team
(26) 3: Of those starters on the offensive line, they'll be needed to keep Marc Verica on his feet
(27) 6: Consecutive games in which Verica threw for at least 200 yards in 2008, only Matt Schaub has more among Virginia quarterbacks
(28) 2: Times more interceptions than touchdowns thrown by Verica
(29) 23rd: National rank of UVa's pass defense last year
(30) 6th: Virginia's overall defensive rank in the ACC, the only other category in which UVa finished in the top half of the conference
(31) 1: UVa player on ESPN's pre-season All-ACC team, CB Ras-I Dowling
(32) 92: Tackles on the 2009 season, as a (redshirt) freshman, by Steve Greer, a team best
(33) 17 of 19: Kicker Robert Randolph's field goal record in 2009
(34) 4-3: Virginia's everything-old-is-new-again defensive scheme
(35) 0: Plays the Cavs can be expected to run from the spread this year
(36) 5: Wins projected by Sporting News for the 2010 Cavaliers – 2 more than 2009
The Season
(37) 25-2-1: Virginia's all-time record against Richmond
(38) 2,557: Driving miles from Charlottesville to the Coliseum, USC's home; maybe that's a good thing
(39) 1: Game against UVa that VMI quit, on suspicion of a fixed game, or because they were down 22-0
(40) 1: Loss to Florida State vacated by the NCAA; time for us to get one on our own
(41) 1: Former Virginia head coach managing the defense at Georgia Tech
(42) 1981: The last time UNC won a football game in Charlottesville
(43) 0.885: Virginia's winning percentage against teams from the MAC, to which first-time opponent EMU belongs
(44) 2: Total point differential in Miami's favor after 6 regular-season games, despite four 'Canes Ws
(45) 0: Losses to Duke when Mike London is on the Virginia coaching staff
(46) 31-0: Score, in UVa's favor, last time Maryland visited Charlottesville
(47) 4: Games played and Virginia losses against Boston College, about time to turn that around
(48) 144: Driving miles from Charlottesville to Virginia Tech; not far enough
(49) 7: Wins Virginia (probably) needs to be bowl eligible
(50) 50: Days till kickoff!