The Sunday Sampler 2011 – VT

The UVa football team used a David vs. Goliath motivator to take down Florida State in Tallahasse for the first time. That’s not surprising. For most of the 2011 season, the Hoos had been riding a nobody-believes-in-us mindset. The Cavaliers invested in that underdog mentality to rally from a last-place division finish 2010 to a chance at the Coastal Division title in the final week. They needed much more than that on the regular season’s final Saturday.

That’s because the final obstacle came in the form of rival Virginia Tech, the biggest bully on the ACC block now-a-days. The Hokies, who defeated the Hoos for the eighth straight time Saturday, don’t just have Virginia’s number. They’ve had most of the conference’s number since joining the league in 2004. Virginia Tech has won five Coastal Division titles in that time and it is playing for a fifth ACC crown this coming weekend.

I don’t say all of that to anger Cavalier fans. The point is simple. Sometimes, it takes more than the ultimate underdog mentality to overcome the neighborhood bully. Especially, when that bully is your biggest rival.

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