CHARLOTTESVILLE | Virginia suddenly is the only team in the ACC without a loss in league play.
The Cavaliers have won three in a row, including two games in conference play. Despite an 0-3 start, Virginia will have to be viewed as a contender in the Coastal Division with a victory against No. 11 Georgia Tech this week.
Avoiding that kind of looking ahead could be critical to pulling off the upset, especially since the Yellow Jackets are playing as well as anyone in the league.
“Teams here and the players that have made up the teams, I think, are pretty strong believers that this is about one week at a time,” coach Al Groh said Monday. “And if you do the right things during the course of the week to really prepare yourself for a peak performance, you’ve got your best chance to get the result you want.”
In three weeks, the Cavaliers (3-3, 2-0) have gone from a reeling team with a coach in jeopardy to one that has real reasons to feel positive. But Georgia Tech (5-1, 4-1) looks like the favorite in the division after dominating then-No. 4 Virginia Tech 28-23 on Saturday, sending the Hokies tumbling to No. 15.
However, Georgia Tech’s travels through Charlottesville rarely have gone well. The Yellow Jackets haven’t won at Scott Stadium since 1990, when they beat No. 1 Virginia 41-38. Georgia Tech has lost eight in a row in Charlottesville since and five of six overall in a series often marked by wild games.
The status of Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell likely won’t be known until Thursday, when the school is required to issue an injury report. Sewell was helped off the field with a right ankle sprain in the third quarter of Saturday’s 20-9 victory at Maryland.
“If I knew, I probably wouldn’t tell you,” Groh said.
Also unclear, likely until Saturday, are the statuses of defensive end Matt Konrath, who twisted an ankle against the Terps, and tailback Mikell Simpson, who missed the game with a shoulder injury suffered the week before.
Defensive end Nate Collins, named the ACC’s defensive player of the week after scoring on a 32-yard interception return and recording nine tackles against the Terps, said the holes caused by injuries only highlight a “next man up” philosophy critical to the team’s success. He said the team adopted a “chipping at the rock” mantra, signifying its willingness to use physical play from the first snap to the last snap to wear down the opposition.
The strategy worked against North Carolina, Indiana and Maryland. Making it work against the Yellow Jackets, who boast the nation’s No. 2 rushing offense (286 yards a game), will be another challenge entirely.
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