Virginia hopes curse lives on

Clearly an underdog to the 11th-ranked team in the nation this weekend, Virginia needs to take advantage of the opportunity.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has lectured his football team all week long that Saturday’s game at UVa is an “elimination game” in the ACC’s Coastal Division. If the Yellow Jackets lose, their chances of winning the division and advancing to the league’s championship game diminishes.

However, we look at this game more as a “statement game” for both teams rather than an elimination game.

All the pressure falls squarely onto the ample shoulder pads of the visiting Ramblin’ Wreck, a program that hasn’t won in Charlottesville since 1990 — or, as Johnson put it the other day, “since Methuselah was a boy.”

While most football coaches claim they don’t believe in jinxes or curses — we’re not totally convinced they really believe this — fans certainly do.

Is it in their heads?

One Georgia Tech blogger wrote about the “Hoo Curse” this week and all of the Yellow Jackets players are keenly aware of their program’s recent history here:

1992: A 55-22 Wahoo win — and the beginning of the curse.

1995: 24-7 UVa win.

1997: 35-31 UVa win.

1999: 45-38 UVa win over the No. 7-ranked Jackets, who had record-breaking Joe Hamilton at quarterback.

2001: 39-38 UVa win, thanks to the Mike Groh-called “Hook and Ladder” play with Billy McMullen and Alvin Pearman.

2003: 29-17 UVa win behind the passing tandem of Matt Schaub and Heath Miller.

2005: 27-17 UVa win as Georgia Tech’s national ranking and three-game winning streak goes out the window.

2007: 28-23 UVa win, with Cedric Peerman having one of his shining moments.

Curses do count

While Virginia coach Al Groh — who has won four of those games in the streak — said that what happened in yesteryears doesn’t matter, we beg to differ.

It mattered when North Carolina came to town last year, expecting to beat a downtrodden Virginia team. The Tar Heels were very aware of the streak, having not won in Charlottesville since 1981 (boy, Methuselah must have really been old then) and talked about how they were tired of hearing about the streak and were determined to end it.

Didn’t.

Now, it’s the Yellow Jackets who must contend with this football voodoo that the Hoos do so well.

Now, back to the statement thing.

If Georgia Tech wants to establish itself as a true top-10 team, then the Jackets have to walk away from Scott Stadium with an impressive win. Narrow escapes don’t seem to help teams advance in the polls these days as poll voters seem to have become more difficult to impress. They want blowouts by the teams that are supposed to be elite.

If this Virginia team is ever going to make a statement this season, then it must do so on Saturday. Waiting until the season-ender against Virginia Tech is way too late.

If this bunch of Cavaliers really wants to be taken seriously, to uphold the honor of past teams and go out winners this season, then they need to make the Yellow Jackets feel the sting of the upset.

They need to stay in the upset mode. While knocking off the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, the Hoosiers at home, and the Terps on the road were all nice, those wins don’t amount to much if Virginia can’t keep that momentum and follow up with an upset over Georgia Tech.

That’s what makes news. That’s what opens eyes. That’s what attracts recruits. That’s what gets the fan base excited. That’s what saves embattled coach’s jobs. That’s what gets you on ESPN with Lou Holtz and the gang singing your praises. That’s what puts your program on the map.

So what if you’re the underdog and half your fan base doesn’t believe you can win.

It’s what the players believe that counts.

One-win Purdue’s fans probably didn’t have much faith that the Boilermakers were going to embarrass No. 7 Ohio State last week. Nor did Texas Tech fans think the Red Raiders would knock off 15th-ranked Nebraska. One-win Colorado, given up for dead by its fan base, didn’t let the negativity stop it from beating No. 17 Kansas last weekend.

So, this is gut-check time for the Cavaliers.

They need to uphold the tradition of the McMullens and Pearmans, and Peermans, and Schaubs, and Millers, and the rest. They need to use the “curse” to their advantage.

Virginia proved last year, in Atlanta of all places, that it could stop Georgia Tech’s option offense.

Stop the run and this game is in the bag. All of a sudden, the Yellow Jackets become a whole lot more vulnerable.

Easier said than done. The challenge is for Virginia’s front seven, that group of no-name players, unheralded guys, to do their work again.

A couple of old Cavaliers mentioned this week that this Virginia team could use a little help from its friends though, in terms of a big crowd that could produce a true home field advantage.

George Welsh used to say Virginia’s fans were worth at least a field goal to a touchdown for home games. Scott Stadium used to be considered a tough place for visitors to win, a tough place to play.

Bobby Bowden and many others have told this columnist that they never looked forward to coming into Scott Stadium over the years.

The curse. Will it live on?