With Virginia’s regular season in the books at 8-3, I thought it would be a good time to go back and review the preseason Absolutes and Desirables that I submitted in August.

At the beginning of the season, I thought an ACC championship was a realistic goal. But there were certain things that the Cavaliers absolutely needed to do to achieve it, and other things that were desirable in order to have a successful season. How did the Wahoos fare in those categories? Let’s look…

2004 Absolutes

1) Improve the rushing defense

One thing is certain: Championship teams stop the run. Of the 12 teams that have won or split the last 10 national titles, all but one finished in the top 25 in rushing defense and nine finished in the top 10.

Teams that shut down the run force opponents into passing situations. That makes opponents one-dimensional and creates more takeaway possibilities.

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