Late in Saturday’s game, sunshine flooded the upper deck above Scott Stadium’s south end zone. On an otherwise cloudy and overcast day, the golden splash of light glowed. Moments later, it was gone.
The symbolism for Mike London’s coaching career at Virginia is not lost. London took over during gloomy times at UVa, but the Hoos made a run to an 8-5 record and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in his second year in 2011. In the time since, that momentary ray of hope has faded among the clouds of three losing seasons.
Saturday’s loss to Notre Dame, in brutal last-minute fashion, despite a spirited effort provided a microcosm for the London era to date. Lots of hope. Lots of intangibles. Disappointing results.
London’s record fell to 23-40 at UVa after the Hoos came up short against the Irish. Many of those setbacks have come in maddening style. The Cavaliers have stood on the brink of wins 15 times in those 40 losses, dropping one-score games from the beginning at Southern Cal to the present against Notre Dame. In between, there were two narrow losses at former rival Maryland and there have been close calls against ACC Coastal foes Duke and Virginia Tech twice each, including the great Virginia Tech timeout caper of 2012.
To be fair, Virginia has squeaked out quite a few of those close ones in the London tenure too with 11 wins by eight points or less. Many of those have come at home, including last year’s Louisville and Pittsburgh wins. Three times in those 11 games, Miami has been the salve that prevented more heartbreak.
Overall, London’s record at UVa is 11-15 in games decided by eight points or less. It’s a thrill-a-minute, living-on-the-edge football program in that sense. Those tight contests and swing games have defined the London era. Close, just not close enough often enough.
Each time an almost happens, London says the coaches have to coach better and the players say the players have to execute better. And that’s the thing many times in sports and, in particular, with the Virginia football program. The ‘can’t put a finger on it’ nature of why close games are won or lost is always a vexing puzzle.
Ultimately, history tells us that London’s Cavaliers are going to be in more of these nailbiters this season – 41% of the games in his tenure have been one-score affairs after all. Will the narrative change in these games to save the 2015 campaign and possibly London’s tenure? So while silver linings – or momentary bursts of sunshine – shared the cloudy skies on Saturday, the weeks ahead will tell if the glow is merely fleeting.
