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No start to Groh on at UVa.

Struggles after trying offseason leave job in doubt

Originally published 04:10 a.m., October 2, 2008, updated 12:21 p.m., October 2, 2008

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Reliability and steadiness are usually welcome traits for any team.

Unless, that is, those apply to Virginia's football program over the last year.

Rarely a month passed in the offseason when there wasn't some roster attrition. And just five weeks into the season, the Cavaliers (1-3, 0-1 ACC) would be shackled with their worst start since 1982 if they can't surprise Maryland (4-1, 1-0) at Scott Stadium on Saturday.

It's the worst sort of consistency imaginable, especially since it is nearly impossible to escape the constant stream of setbacks facing the program.

"One of the things we've always understood is that adversity and the negativity that goes with it is just a part of life," coach Al Groh said. "If you're impacted by that, it just drains away all the positive energy needed to produce positive results. It's an ongoing thing where teams need to insulate themselves from those circumstances."

Perhaps now more than ever in Charlottesville.

Groh's future is a popular topic, with murmurs circulating of a possible firing if the Cavaliers can't reverse a woeful September. The month ended with Saturday's 31-3 loss at Duke, which snapped the Blue Devils' 25-game conference losing streak.

But it isn't so much that Virginia is struggling a season after Groh was named the ACC coach of the year for producing a 9-4 season filled with fortuitousness and a New Year's Day date in the Gator Bowl. It's that a brutal offseason filled with academic and disciplinary matters sapped the Cavaliers of much of their remaining talent.

Losing a pair of first-round NFL Draft picks (defensive end Chris Long and guard Branden Albert) didn't help. Then quarterback Jameel Sewell, a two-year starter, left school for academic reasons, as did cornerback Chris Cook and defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald.

Ultimately, almost a dozen players with eligibility remaining aren't around - with opening-week starting quarterback Peter Lalich the latest to join the list after his dismissal from the team last month in the wake of a probation violation related to underage possession of alcohol.