Has UVa begun a second decade of futility against Virginia Tech? I don’t know but sadly some of the old demons of the past, the demons that made the Hoos a 2-10 outfit a year ago, were prevalent in Friday’s 24-20 loss to the Hokies. “No talent” mistakes that I have harped on the past two seasons, plays like an offensive lineman being 12 yards downfield on a pass play and selfish penalties, popped up in the loss. So did a lack of discipline, poor offensive line play, poor quarterback play, horrendous game management by the coaching staff, and another disastrous blocked punt. All of that contributed to Virginia’s 11th consecutive loss to Virginia Tech.

Maybe the positive out of this debacle was that with how poorly the Cavalier offense played and with all the boneheaded mistakes, the Hoos actually were winning with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Last year, this effort likely would have led to another 20-point loss. But the fact is Virginia is an improved football team compared to a season ago.

Looking at the seasons side by side, penalties are down, stupid penalties are down, no-talent mistakes are way down, offensive line play has improved though it struggled down the stretch, and the defense certainly has allowed fewer explosive plays than it did last season. I’m not going to play the “what if” game, suggesting that UVa was two or three plays away from this record or that record, because it’s meaningless. That said, the Hoos lost five games by one possession and were leading or tied with less than eight minutes to go in eight of their 12 games (excluding BYU, UCLA, FSU and GT). Regrettably, they still lost three of those games.

Why?

...