Virginia is 3-0.
Virginia fans filled the stands for the showdown with Florida State. ~ Kris Wright

The Virginia football team picked up its first win as a ranked team in more than a decade when it swiped a 31-24 win away from Florida State on Saturday night. The Cavaliers entered the game ranked No. 25 in The Associated Press poll and moved up to No. 21 following the weekend’s games. It marked the first win with a number by their name since the 2007 shutout demolition in Miami.

Leading into Saturday night’s game, varying progress markers during Bronco Mendenhall’s tenure already included: UVA returned to bowl play for the first time in six years, secured a winning record for the first time in seven years, won a against a ranked team for the first time in four years, and won a bowl game for the first time in 13 years. So adding the victory as the ranked team instead of as the underdog marked an important step for the program’s continued rebirth as the Hoos check off little milestones along the way.

With that in mind, here are some more quick thoughts from the game.

1. Atmosphere

The buzz grew early in the week and gained momentum all the way to kickoff. The official attendance mark registered at 57,826. That easily outdistanced any crowd in the Mendenhall era to date and represented the largest crowd in Scott Stadium since Notre Dame came to town in 2015.

That game, of course, produced the ‘Sad UVA’ fan meme that became symbolic of the program’s dire straits near the end of the lost decade. It was in national media like USA Today.

That’s why I thought prior to the kickoff that the Florida State game was arguably one of the most important games of the Mendenhall era to date. If that many people showed up and allowed themselves to believe in Virginia football - and fun - again, particularly those outside of fanatical status, then it was critical for the team to produce a win with that platform. This was the opportunity to bring people back and increase their interest and you couldn’t pull a Lucy and yank the football away.

The fans delivered with a noisy atmosphere at all the right times. The team delivered with a down-to-the-wire win with plenty of drama. Then everybody celebrated. That’s the way to capitalize on an opportunity!


 

 

 

 


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So great to see Scott Stadium alive again! #UVA #wahoowa #gohoos


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