When the Virginia Cavaliers take the field on Saturday night against the Florida State Seminoles, there will be many eyes on the Cavaliers to see if the program has finally turned the corner that fans have been looking toward for so long. When Bronco Mendenhall took over the Cavalier program in 2016, it was in a sad state of affairs. Mendenhall has increased the UVA win total each year he has been there and has taken the Hoos to back to back bowl games, winning last years Belk Bowl in impressive fashion over the SEC’s South Carolina Gamecocks, 28-0.
Saturday nights tilt against the Seminoles has a different feel to it. It just feels that if Virginia, who is the favorite to win over a struggling Florida State team, can win this game, that the program will take the next step. The Cavaliers are ranked number 25 in this weeks Associated Press poll and the Cavaliers haven’t won a game as a ranked team since 2007.
In a year where the men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse teams both won National Championships, it should only be fitting that the football program that has long suffered through some dark times, is the favorite to win the ACC Coastal Division. Coach Mendenhall has brought his philosophy to UVA and it has translated on and off the field. Mendenhall is doing more with lower recruited players, than other schools are doing with some of the top players in the country coming out of high school.
Florida State is one of those teams who are struggling to get back on the national scene where they were for so many years under Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher.
Attendance issues have plagued the Cavaliers for many years. When the program was struggling just to win a few games a year, most of their games were scheduled in the dreaded noon kickoff block. Now that the team is winning and the hype surrounding the team is real, the Hoos are seeing a lot more night games on the schedule. Last weeks Friday night matchup with FCS William and Mary was one of the highest attended games in years with close to 50,000 fans in attendance. Coach Mendenhall also applauded the student section which was filled almost to capacity.
In fact, the team is promoting the students attempting to break the record for number of students to attend the game Saturday against Florida State. The stadium is only 100’s of tickets away from being a complete sell out which has not happened in 11 years. Everything about this years Cavalier team seems to be doing things that have either never been done before, or haven’t been done in over 10 years. Needless to say, Mendenhall has the team and the program heading in the right direction.
The Florida State Seminoles are not what they used to be. Not even close, but they do have the talent on their roster to be a good team. Whatever the problem may be with the Seminoles, it could be corrected at any moment and UVA cannot come into the game on Saturday with anything less than their best. As many Hoos fans know, anything and everything can happen with Virginia sports. Even though Florida State is struggling to start the season, UVA needs this win more than most people understand.
They would keep their ranking if not move up, they would have another quality power five win, the fans would be even more invested than they already are to keep coming back to the games and it would keep the Hoos undefeated. This win would mean more to the UVA program and fan base than many colleges around the country, but for a lot of different reasons. Saturday night is a crucial step for the Cavaliers if they want to continue this upward trajectory that Bronco Mendenhall has had them on since he arrived in Charlottesville.
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