The media at the 2014 ACC Football Kickoff event Monday picked Virginia to finish last in the Coastal Division in voting. The Cavaliers were the only team from the division that received zero first-place votes.

The worst part about all of that? None of it is breaking news. Wahoo fans – and likely the players and coaches – expected preseason forecasts to be down on UVa’s chances this season. After back-to-back losing records, including a simply disastrous 2-10 mark in 2013, the only easier pick would be for a weatherman to predict wet conditions when it is already raining. And let’s face it, it’s been monsoon season around these parts for a while.

So, the real question isn’t where the Hoos will be picked in the preseason. The answer in any and virtually all polls, magazines, and anything else like that will be last in the Coastal. The real question is can the Cavaliers prove them all wrong?

It’s hard to be optimistic after a two-win season. That’s coming from someone who is an optimist by nature. And from someone who thought last season would be very different than it turned out. That view was based, in part, on the competitiveness of the team during 2012’s 4-8 campaign, which featured four losses by one touchdown or less.

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