How the Hoos Have Done Recently After Getting Beat by 20-Plus

Back in 2015, Stanford opened their season with a 16-6 loss at Northwestern. Christian McCaffrey was held to less than 100 yards and Kevin Hogan averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. Random, I know, but if you fast-forward a few months, that same Stanford team was celebrating a Rose Bowl victory after blowing out No. 6 Iowa. And on the way to “The Granddaddy of Them All" they beat a slew of ranked teams.

I’m not saying Virginia is going to the Rose Bowl but I am saying that good things sometimes come from ugly, hideous sporting events. Hell, there’s a perfect example right across the street! See below:

If you haven't watched that speech in a while it's a great way to spend 16 minutes. Promise. Watch here.

There are a ton of other examples we could use to deliver the same message but that’s not going to do us a ton of good. Instead, we just have to turn the page and get right. You know everyone in the program is embarrassed. They, like me and I’m sure some of the fanbase, thought we were immune to any scenario where we could actually not put up gaudy offensive stats. Then we took a little trip to Champaign and you know the rest. We’re back down to earth. Like Coach Elliott mentioned in his postgame, “to win football games, you never get it at half price.”

I’m sure coach and the team are going to pore over this tape and glean all sorts of good nuggets to ensure they never lose again. Me, on the other hand, will not be going back to watch that game. Ever. For the first hour after the final bloody second ticked off the clock, I thought about hiding for an entire week until I had something positive to talk about. Just pop back up like everything’s all goooood after our next win. Instead I rallied, hopped behind the mic for a reaction pod and got back to it. Just like it was one of those “For All Virginia” hype videos.

By now you know went wrong in the game (rough BA game, protection issues, one third-down conversion) and there’s nothing I can say here that hasn’t been said already. I did speak about the game in the pod above if you want to hear it, though. Leave a review while you’re there 😁 and thanks a ton if you really do! What I thought might be cool is to see how the Hoos bounced back in the last few years after losing by 20-plus points.

September 24, 2021: Wake Forest 37, Virginia 17

Last season, Virginia lost an ugly one at one to eventual Atlantic Division champ Wake Forest. I remember being at Scott Stadium for the game and it wasn’t pretty; we were down 20-3 at halftime before showing a few signs of life in the third quarter. The Deacs got ranked after the win, while it was certainly a wake-up call for UVA as well.

What followed was…four straight wins! Back-to-back TOUGH road wins at Miami and at Louisville followed immediately, then UVA beat both Duke and Georgia Tech at home.

December 19, 2019: No. 3 Clemson 62, No. 22 Virginia 17 (ACC Championship Game)

This is one that Tony Elliott certainly remembers. The ACC title game was close for a little while but Clemson was just too loaded. On the bright side, Virginia was there, and that’s awesome. It was a memorable year for UVA football and the high point of the Bronco era. It was the high point of the decade, actually.

What followed was…a bid into the Orange Bowl! OK, so the Hoos didn’t win (Florida 36, Virginia 28) but they went toe-to-toe with an SEC power until the end. A loss is never a win but you can bet those Gators respected them, and so did the 65,000 people in attendance. After all, Florida’s only losses in 2019 were to No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Georgia, and they blew the doors off most SEC teams completely. The Hoos kept it within one score and went down swinging. Not much disappointment on the face of Bronco.

That’s really it. No 20-point losses in the 2018 Belk Bowl year and I think going back before that is moot. So the next step now is to respond with a solid performance against ODU at home.

Speaking of, Coach Elliott is holding us fans accountable. I talked in Ep. 43 about the attendance difference between the first and second halves in the home opener, and he addressed it on Tuesday. In regards to the upcoming game against in-state foe ODU, “I liked the fact that the students showed up. Need them to stay the whole time.”

He continued, “I would like those folks that love Virginia football to not come when things are going good, but man, show these young men that you support them regardless because that’s what being a fan is. Man, you’re there with us, thick and thin, good and bad.”

Also, tickets are still available! It’s going to be a get-right game; I can feel it!

For all Week 3 ACC betting lines and our weekly ACC four-word game (Week 2) listen below !

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