Virginia

Mike had always been a good student. It wasn't like school was hard, but he did the little things it took to stay on top of his class. That meant hitting the books before the sun was up and making sure that he was always in class with the right attitude. This academic diligence was a habit as he climbed through middle and high school. It paid off when he got approved at the university of his dreams where he easily balanced the pressures of college and entered law school at the same school. This is where the troubles started. Years five through seven at this gorgeous brick and spired bastion was a real struggle. He was facing failure for the first time in his life as the bar approached. His parents had established a massive trust fund after their untimely exit, so he knew that if this lawyering thing did not work out, he was still going to be redonk rich. But, damnit, he wanted to be a legal powerhouse. He took the bar and bombed, then took it again and failed again. He chose a bunch of young students to assist in the process, and he apparently chose horribly. They only helped him decide he had to find much older students - maybe from other schools. Four weeks into his final prep, he took a practice exam. Aced it. Now, the real thing was coming up this Friday. He was not the only one nervous...

OK, enough metaphorical bovine defication (yes that is BS). This staff was coaching for their Seminole gear-wearing lives and they killed it. The players are way more social media aware than most of us, and they are undeniably aware of the pressure cooking in their building. But they played as hard as any Norvell squad since the 2022 & '23 openers. And for the first time in recent memory, this was a team feeding on each other.

 Doak was different yesterday. Not just a win, but the way it happened felt like home again. Especially  after a quarter of pretty awful football, then the good guys just hammered the Hoos 38 to nothing. It did not start swimmingly. The defense was again drowning in that hapless 3-2-6 crazy formation. Virginia was going no huddle, not allowing new personnel and running like a broken faucet right down our throats. Then, we adjusted with 8 in the box and because it was more obvious than an umbrella in a storm, they simply ran two drag routes and were in the end zone quicker than a hiccup. On offense, Ashton was dropping straight back staring at his targets like a stroll down sorority row, but like 19 year old me had nothing in him to close the deal. He was rudely sacked and wide open Noles were left head shaking on the sidelines. Then - to their eternal credit with it all on the line - both Mike and Tony adjusted and came out swinging. 

It started with the defense. On his birthday, and no twin in sight, Mandrell decided this was his 2026 coming out party. Granted, he was finally lined up on the edge where he was meant to be. But, he was a menace. He was greatly assisted by the emergence of Kevin Wynn, who seemed to be on a pitch count thus far this season, but he was a difference maker on Saturday. This defense desperately needs a dominant big man in the middle, and he is 325 pounds of dancing bear. It seemed like Tony finally just said F-it. He dumped the passivity and put five on the line with two backers always threatening a blitz, his corners on an island and blitzed like the Cavs stole his lunch money. With their coach putting them in a position to win, they did. Chris Jones making a drive ending wallop turned the game around. The other Jones and Rawls owned the pedestrian Hoo wideouts and when they did get open, they dropped passes. It was so far removed from any game we have seen this season, it just makes you shake your head and wonder what took so dadgum long. It is like Tony White took his kids on November 3rd to go trick or treating. The costumes were perfect, but the neighbors had already eaten all their leftover candy.. Let's hope this new mindset is not too late as well.

The offense also adjusted in quarter two. Although, it was force fed by riding the back of Ous. Holy smokes, I hope our admin team is locking this second coming of Greg Jones up now up for next year. He was a video game spin move on repeat to convert a crucial third down deep in our own end. He dragged half the Hoo defense with him all over the field; and because of the threat of this Cretan in cleats, the quarterback keep became a huge win for Ashton. All of a sudden, he broke the FSU rushing record for paydirt punches - all because the backs were grinding. On his crazy 81 yard scamper, two items to note. Look at the block Kromah throws as he starts, That poor Hoo limped to the sideline and called his Grammy. Also, Coach got a late start, but would have easily caught Daniels if given another 10 yards. How the QB casually jogged and no one in a white jersey caught him might have been more of a Charlottesville indictment than a compliment to Ash. Again, this offense is good enough to win a bunch of games. We just need something approaching average on the other side of the ball.

Has anyone - honestly - ever seen a punt like that apparently nonhuman from Virgina hit. It was as high as any ball I have seen, and went literally 90 yards in the air. He flushed it from inside his own 10 and it spiraled out of bounds near our goal line. Never have I ever. The good news is that when our guy Lopez is able to corral a punt, he is as twitchy as anyone we have had since Greg Reid. His big return, which followed a sack, and preceded a quick Nole score was the momentum moonshot that this season needed. We have absolutely no idea what is coming off the foot of our silver haired Aussie. He hit two like Tiger stingers on the ground. One punt was a rocket shot right at the returner who was so stunned, he just caught it and stopped. Meanwhile, our little Aguayo clone just continues to pump field goals  right up the middle without fail. Please don't tell him Miami is coming. I should mention that my tailgate people befriended two lost parental souls last week from Northern Ireland at the tailgate. Turned out to be the parents of our young kickoff guy, and it was their first ever trip to the States. Well, under our gracious tents, they discovered the joy of fried chicken, beer cheese dip and 20 different homemade desserts. They returned this week, and now they may never leave. 

The stadium was 3/4 full, but it was full throated Doak and Virginia had trouble with noise and momentum all afternoon. So, we got the huge home win to quiet the boobirds for a week, the negativity on social channels. and maybe some better sleep for your scribe. Now, can we win a road game for the first time in 3 seasons? A win in The Ville would probably mean the kids get to play with the coaches they chose until Thanksgiving. For that, I would be thankful. It's a short week. Mint Juleps on us!