After last season’s tailspin ended with nine straight losses, Virginia fans were frustrated to put it kindly. Still, the decision was made to bring back coach Mike London after a 2-10 record and after a 4-2 start to the season, along with some improved play, some fans let a little bit of hope and optimism creep back into their football minds.

Tasting the nectar of a men’s basketball championship and getting a savory whiff of a near National Championship in baseball in the months since last season’s 2-10 football finish rekindled the desiring fires of hope and possibilities. Make no mistake about it, many UVa fans are hungry – perhaps even desperate – for a football winner so no matter how improbable a turnaround seemed this season, a 2-0 start in ACC play was enough to stoke the coals. A bye week to heal up some injuries, two more home games, and an even group of teams in the Coastal Division, littered with below-average defenses to boot, was enough to dream just a little.

Boy, how quickly dreams can turn to nightmares.

Since the week off, the Cavaliers have dropped three straight games and frustration is back, perhaps at its most fever pitch of the London era. That’s what having the rug pulled out from under you, the football jerked back by Lucy, or some other such metaphor will do to fans. It’s the fourth time in five seasons, excluding only 2011’s bowl year, that the Hoos have been mired in a losing streak of that length or more. This season’s slide includes winnable games against Duke and North Carolina before this past Saturday’s lopsided loss in Atlanta. Now at 4-5, Virginia faces Florida State on the road before a second bye week sets up a two-game finale against Miami (home) and Virginia Tech (away).

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