Virginia was the surprise team in the ACC last season when the Cavaliers went into the season finale against Virginia Tech needing a victory to win the Coastal Division and play in the conference championship game.

But the Cavaliers lost that game 33-21, and nothing much has gone right with them since.

They blew a late lead and lost to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl, lost a key offensive lineman when guard Branden Albert declared for the NFL draft, and then saw a half-a-dozen players declared ineligible for academic or, in one case, legal troubles.

And the spring failed to produce a clear-cut answer at quarterback, where three candidates are vying for the job held the last two years by Jameel Sewell, one of the players who ran into academic woes.

The ...More