A great friend of mine, Bill Millsaps, the retired sports editor and columnist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and my writing idol while growing up in the business, sent me a terrific story the other day about one of my other idols, Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

While much of the gridiron world is down on UVa’s immediate future, the players and coaching staff travel across the state border knowing that a win against the Tar Heels will make the Cavaliers 1-0 in the ACC, which would most likely put them only one back of Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division.

Al Groh’s offense was broken and he did his best to fix it.

After covering Al Groh’s football teams for eight-plus seasons, there’s one thing I’ve learned about the guy.

After a horrible start, an injured starting quarterback, an offensive line that hasn’t been able to adjust to the new spread offense, and heaps of criticism, this columnist believes there’s one thing that has to change for Virginia’s football team to win on Saturday at Southern Miss.

Certainly in his nine years at UVa, Groh has used up some of his nine lives.

Two weeks and two lopsided losses into the new season, Virginia fans are looking around wondering what is wrong with their football team.

TCU coach Gary Patterson is convinced he’ll face a different UVa team this Saturday when his Horned Frogs trek eastward to open their season at Scott Stadium.

Al Groh may need to put together the best coaching job of his career to get this edition of the Cavaliers back on track, while staring down the barrel at one of the toughest schedules in the country.

Virginia’s new spread offense laid an egg large enough to cover the Commonwealth in omelet Saturday night in a mistake-riddled, 26-14 home loss to William & Mary.

When Ron Prince left his cozy job as Virginia’s offensive coordinator to become head football coach at Kansas State in the wild and wooly Big 12 Conference in 2006, he searched his soul to determine how he could most contribute to the Wildcats’ program.

Hall, who graduated from the University of Virginia in May with a degree in anthropology, will complete a dream this coming weekend when he lines up as quarterback for the Cavaliers in their season-opener against William & Mary.

A few weeks ago, we penned a column about one of Al Groh’s coaching philosophies concerning the three things that a team must have to enhance its chances of winning: good quarterback play, a solid defense and a reliable kicker.

Aaron Clark’s knee suffered heavy, season-ending damage. The ACL, the MCL, and the meniscus were all torn. His season, maybe even his career, was gone.

When Al Groh reshuffled his Virginia coaching staff, his decision to move running backs coach Anthony Poindexter to the other side of the football was hailed by the program’s faithful.

The most frequent question I’ve heard as I have traveled around the state this summer — particularly when I’m home in Central Virginia — has been, “So, who’s going to start at quarterback?”

Virginia coach Al Groh looks around and pines for the days that Connor Hughes’ spikes graced his practice field.

One of the key elements that help a spread offense become effective is a corps of wide receivers that can make something happen after the catch, or as Gregg Brandon said last December, “turn six yards into 60.”

Virginia coach Al Groh comes from a coaching tree that believes that while it takes more than three things to have a really good football team, there are three certain things a coach has to have above all else: good quarterback play; a good kicker; and a good defense.

Virginia’s Al Groh spent a portion of his media time dodging bullets during Monday’s ACC football kickoff session.

Vic Hall showed up at the ACC football kickoff on Sunday and was immediately smothered by inquiring minds that wanted to know if he would be Virginia’s starting quarterback come Sept. 5.

When Craig Littlepage was promoted to Virginia’s director of athletics in 2001, his charge was to build a consistently performing top 10 athletic program.

We should all be so fortunate to be remembered in the manner that Michael Colley was on Friday at John Paul Jones Arena.

Ben D’Alessandro, whom many of you know from his basketball background, will literally get the ball rolling on this project when his BD Basketball School hosts the National Marrow Donor Program’s Basketball Marrowthon fundraiser at The Dell on Emmet Street.

With a very strong shot at being Virginia’s starting quarterback, Vic Hall wants to be as prepared as he possibly can for the task. He’s in a three-way battle with more experienced QBs, Jameel Sewell and Marc Verica, so he has to be at the top of his game.

Saturday’s payday was a little larger as Roberto Castro graduated his play and his check in winning the eGolf Tour’s $300,000 Spring Creek Championship at the course near Zion Crossroads.

Scattershooting the sports world while reporting that Fork Union Military Academy’s Kevin Laue will be playing Division I basketball next season ...

Shammond Williams supplied Fork Union Military Academy with the best promotional material that the school could ever wish for during his acceptance speech into its Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday night.

The scenario out in Manhattan, Kan., which seems more akin to an Abbott & Costello routine — or, better, a Three Stooges episode — won’t have any impact on Virginia’s football program.

A Hollywood screenwriter would love to get his hands on this one.