Translating the word Wahoo

College towns are insular places. They feel like the world entire to freshmen. They start feeling cramped to seniors. Charlottesville is one of these towns. Tucked between the Shenandoah and Richmond, the town possesses a hint of Washington Irving’s narrative fiction—ghosts abound in Charlottesville. Thomas Jefferson is over one shoulder. Ralph Sampson is over the other. Somewhere on the Lawn is a room where Edgar Allan Poe toiled away, most likely in misery, or at least anticipating misery. Perhaps Sampson is nothing more than Poe’s imagination stretched so thin on a rack that his knees buckle and break. Oh! The misery!

Halifax, Petersburg, & Moses Malone

A younger Moses.

I can’t remember who said it, whether it was my granddad at the kitchen table, by some folkloric wood stove, or my uncle out in the driveway, weeping willow branches bending behind the backboard. But someone talked of Moses Malone and how he twice slayed the mighty Comets of Halifax County. What’s so strange about the telling is how no matter who told it the voice of the defeated rang with loud pride. These people—my family—were happy to have lost because of who had beaten them. His name, with its mythic metronome, was larger than any state championship run ever could be. And so Moses Malone moved and sifted through my early memories of how people talk about greatness and how children learn to shoot baskets in midst of this nearby talk. And I wrote about it at The Classical.

(Also, for more on the actual games between Halifax and Malone's Petersburg, here is an article written by Tom McLaughlin for SoVaNow.com.)

Bryan Harvey tweets @LawnChairBoys.  

LCB Picks: SEC and VA Games of the Week

SEC
Missouri v (7) South Carolina @ 3:30 on CBS:
Their is a slew of terrible games in the SEC this weekend. The Vandy-Georgia game could be and was expected to be good, but all signs point to the Dores returning to mediocrity and cruise-control for the Dawgs. Florida hosts the awful Kentucky Wildcats. It's a game they could overlook and lose but they'd have to overlook a ton to lose to this terrible excuse for an SEC team. Tennessee hosts the Akron Zips, moving the Vols to 3-1. This will surely reignite the fans hope for the season, only for them to fall flat on their face in Athens next week. Tyler Wilson returns for the Hogs to face-off against Rutgers, should be a real barnburner. For some reason, Ole Miss travels to Tulane. LSU travels to Alabama to stomp Auburn. FAU gets the treat of traveling to Tuscaloosa to be destroyed by Bama. Mississippi State and Texas A&M host South Alabama (transitioning FCS) and South Carolina State (FCS HBCU). Overall, just an awful slate. That leaves us with Missou traveling to Columbia. The Tigers are a good team. In most conferences, they would push for the conference title. However, they don't have the depth needed to keep pace for four quarters in the SEC. Marcus Lattimore has a big game, Jadaveon Clowney gets a couple sacks and Columbia rejoices. USC-E 31, Missou 17.

VA
(18) New Hampshire v (5) ODU @ 12:00 on CSN:
I don't know much about New Hampshire. The school is in Durham, NH, the mascot is the Wildcat, Dan Kreider played there, they are a perennial playoff team, they run the spread, they have a balanced attack and a decent defense. I also know that their 600-mile trip to Norfolk will be an unpleasant one. Coach Dee has the defense of ODU headed in the right direction, as the once-porous unit has not allowed a single point in either the first or third quarter through the first three games. If they can just keep the Wildcat offense out of the endzone a couple of drives, they'll give the nation's leading passer, Taylor Heinicke, all the space he needs to move the Monarchs to 4-0. I like the Monarchs to create a couple turnovers, win the game and continue Heinicke's Walter Payton campaign. ODU 45, UNH 28.

Elsewhere in the Commonwealth:
Virginia goes to Fort Worth to take on Casey Paschall and the #17 Horned Frogs. While this is a big game for the Cavaliers, Michael Rocco is still starting, turning this game into a must-watch to a probable blow-out. After their upsetting loss to Pitt, VT tries to rebound at Lane against Bowling Green. It should be a slaughter. I say "should be" because they should have beaten Pitt, a team who lost to Youngstown State. JMU makes the trip Kingston to play CAA cellar dweller Rhode Island. Liberty ends their OOC slate with Lehigh, a good team, for the Patriot League. Liberty gets the W, their first of the season. W&M hosts Delaware, a team that should move their record to 0-4. The Tribe troubles come from an inability to score caused by a bad QB and unimaginative play-calling. Lastly, Richmond moves to 3-1 with their trip to the Georgia Dome with a win over the mighty and future-SBC Georgia State Panthers.

LCB Picks: SEC & VA Games of the Week

Editors Note: I'm back, picking the best games on the SEC and Virginia D-1 slate. Sorry for missing last week, times are crazy. Work, school, wedding prep and three dogs make free-time a commodity.

SEC Games of the Week

(24) Florida v Texas A&M @3:30 on ESPN:
One of the LCGs best friends is an A&M grad. We had dinner the other night and talked about the upcoming season. She is extremely happy about their move to the SEC. She is even prouder of her school. With plenty of reason. The fans are great, teams competitive and have some of the best traditions in college football. Texas A&M is a fantastic addition to the SEC. However, it may be a while until there ready to compete. Sumlin will need a couple of years to transition from the predictable ground-and-pound offense of Mike Sherman to his spread. They should be competitive. They may even beat Florida today (Muschamp seems like Zook 2.0 and the offense isn't helping), but the SEC West can be a murderers row for a new head coach. The Aggies may have added two conference championships and two national titles this offseason, but I don't see '12 being added to the exterior of Kyle Field any time soon. Florida 28, Texas A&M 24.

Washington v (3) LSU @7:00 on ESPN:
This game is getting a lot of push from the networks. I have no idea why. While the team from Seattle has been prepped for Mike, they aren't ready for the Tiger defense or Tiger Stadium. LSU 35, UW 17.

(7) Georgia v Missouri @7:45 on ESPN2: 
Mark Richt just cannot catch a break. First Crowell, Commings and Vasser; and now Ogletree and Rambo piss dirty. The former is now playing FCS football for HBCU Alabama State. The latter four, all defensive starters, have been rumored to be suspended for this game. Despite the suspensions and their "old man football" style, the Dawgs are good. Aaron Murray is probably the best quarterback in a great group of QBs in the SEC, though the Tylers -Wilson and Bray- have pretty good arguments. And I like him to lead the Dawgs to a victory in Columbia, with a little help from John Jenkins and the defense. Pinkel's team will be more competitive than Sumlin's in the first year but I think today they struggle with the difference in size and speed from the top-heavy Big 12 to the loaded SEC. UGA 24, Missou 21.

Virginia Game of the Week
Penn St. v Virginia @12:00 on ABC:
This is the only "good" game in the state of Virginia today. The Dukes play host to Alcorn State, who haven't been relevant since Steve "Air" McNair was suiting up for the Braves. The Monarchs travel across the bay to play Hampton, a team who hung tough in Norfolk in 2011. However, Legree has graduated and taken any shot of an upset with him. The Tribe plays Louisiana-Lafayette, a patriot league team that should be destroyed at Zable. Though, if there are any upsets, it will be in Williamsburg. The Hokies have their annual bodybag game. This year's opponent, Austin Peay. It will get ugly. UR takes the weekend off to recover from their trip to Charlottesville with a game against Gardner Webb. Finally, Liberty plays Norfolk State. It should be a good game between two quality opponents. But neither team is good enough to warrant further mention here.

As for the Cavaliers and their game against Penn State. I think it will give us a good read on how much the Cavs have improved from last years bowl run to now. The Cavs struggled to put away FCS Richmond last week. The reason, starting quarterback Michael Rocco. Some may even call him a game manager. But when the game manager was lucky to not have multiple interceptions in the first game against a bad FCS team, that's not a good start. It doesn't help Rocco's future as a starter to know that the uber-talented Phillip Sims is waiting in the wings. I think, if Penn State can rebound to make Rocco pay for his mistakes, Sims plays the second half. But that's a big if. The Nittany Lions got beat by a good (better coached) but less talented Ohio Bobcat team last week. And the score was a lot closer than the actual game, leading me to believe the Wahoos win this one ugly. Hopefully, for the Cavs sake, this is Rocco's last start. It's time to unleash Sims on the ACC. UVA 24, PSU 20.

LCB Picks: SEC/VA Games of the Week

Editors Note: This season, on top of the usual SEC picks, we will be picking the best games on the Virginia D-1 slate. We, as in the LCB, all spent our formative years in Virginia. So, we probably should have been doing this all along. 

On Friday night, Oregon crushed UCLA 49-31 to win the first ever PAC-12 Championship game, earning a spot in "The Granddaddy of Them All," the Rose Bowl. LaMichael James rushed for 219 yards, helping his team roll and giving himself a leg-up in the Heisman race. But this was all news to me. Tonight, I took my fiancee out to eat, came home, took the dogs on a jog, and then started preparation for my upcoming finals. It was a fruitful night. However, when I logged on to write this preview I noticed update after update of the UCLA-Oregon game. To my surprise, it was tonight. Like most my age, I have a fairly busy schedule. However, I still feel like I'm just as likely to hear about a game of this magnitude through word of mouth as I am to see a commercial (which I didn't, at least until the game was finished). I had no clue this was happening and even though I could care less that I missed it. (The fact that UCLA got in a conference championship with a 6-6 record, just 1 win more than the "sky is falling" Tennessee Vols, and a fired coach is laughable at best.) I do have a lot of questions; What went wrong with their advertising campaign? Was this on TV? ABC, ESPN, VS, Animal Planet? Am I the only one that had no clue this game was happening? I can't be, right? Am I developing an east coast bias? Whatever the answers are, we all know that the PAC-12 Championship Game is another reminder of why we should all be thankful for the SEC.

SEC Championship Game
(12) UGA v (1) LSU @ 4:00 on CBS:
Many are saying if LSU loses they are still a lock for the BCS Title game, which is impressive. Not quite as impressive as who they've beaten and how they've done it, but impressive nonetheless. However, if Georgia wins and locks-up the automatic bid, the SEC could get four teams into BCS games. LSU, Bama, and UGA would be locks; with Arkansas having a pretty good argument towards their inclusion. This has to scare the other conferences, right? If you add USC to the equation, five teams in the SEC are eligible for a BCS game (though, they have no shot at a BCS game). No matter how you feel about the absurdity of not having playoffs is, it's still an impressive accomplishment for a conference.

Did you know Glamour Shots slogan is:
"We Bring Out Your Best ... Then We Take Your Picture"
Aaron Murray does!

To make matters worse for the non-SEC, it's clear the SEC East is suffering through a down year and yet they have two teams (that's more than most conferences) in the top 14 of the BCS rankings. This domination by the SEC is only going to get worse in the next couple of seasons. Florida will get better, Vandy is building something, UT will return, and the new guys (aTm and Missou) should be in a decent spot to contend. The SEC will continue to get better, until the rest of the conferences defect from the BCS and force a playoff; which has to be the only way to slow down this train. I like the Dawgs in the upset. Apart from them playing a seudo-home game and knowing Aaron Murray is the best QB LSU will face this season, I don't have much of a reason to believe this will happen. Just call it an inkling. UGA 28, LSU 24.

VA Games of the Week
ODU v (3) Georgia Southern @ 1:00 & JMU v (2) North Dakota State University @ 4:00 on ESPN3/Game Plan:
While trolling the message boards this week, I saw one question that stood out to me: "Would you rather your school make it to the Final Four or win a FCS Championship?" As you would guess, most of the answers revealed what sport that poster preferred. However, it's a fairly good question. If your team makes it to the Final Four, they gain national notoriety for the school, boost admissions, boost athletic donations (simultaneously helping the non-revenue sports), and you get a month of lifelong memories. But, you don't even win a Championship and your teams' coach is probably going to leave in the near future (See; Larranaga, Jim). However, if you win an FCS national championship, your school wins the most legitimate National Title in college football, gains a possible catalyst towards a jump to the BCS, a boost (albeit smaller) to athletic donations, and you get a month of lifelong memories. But noone that didn't/doesn't attend an FCS school cares/knows and while it may be more legitimate than the BCS Title game, it still doesn't include all of Division 1.

For me, I'd take the championship. Only because ODU is on the verge of announcing a major expansion to Foreman Field and they're "this close" to making the jump. I believe a FCS Title would be all they need to speed up the process.

Once again, no picks, but I am interested in what other "mid-major" fans would rather have; Fourth Place or First? CBS, Sports Illustrated, & ESPN or ESPNU?

LCB Picks: SEC/VA Games of the Week

Editors Note: This season, on top of the usual SEC picks, we will be picking the best games on the Virginia D-1 slate. We, as in the LCB, all spent our formative years in Virginia. So, we probably should have been doing this all along. 

Last weekend, around 22:00 EST, for the first time in my life I was joyous due to a UT win over Vandy. Over the years, the game was a mortal lock. The hiring of James Franklin appeared to have ended all of that. Vandy started turning teams over, hitting harder and playing four quarters; they finally started making teams earn a W over them. They thumped Ole Miss, Kentucky and all of their OOC opponents. But more importantly, they took Arkansas, Georgia and Florida down to the wire; inspiring many to claim that Vandy had surpassed the Volunteers. It even led Clay Travis to gather his followers, pitchfork in hand, to come for Derek Dooley's head (a man he claimed just last year would lead the Big Orange back to the promise land), so he could be replaced by Franklin.

This reasoning is clearly idiotic and the reason Tennessee got itself where it is today. The "time is now" attitude is what led UT to fire Phil Fulmer and hire Lane Kiffin. Which, of course, led UT to brash statements, back-alley dealings and even more resentment throughout the SEC. Even worse, that hire jeopardized the very future of the program. It's also why they hired Derek Dooley. Saddled with an uncertain future and a recent history of voluminous player arrests, the program needed cleansing. Derek Dooley has succeeded in that aspect in just under two seasons. They've dropped off the radar of the AP rankers, but, they too, have dropped from the Fulmer Cup standings. Now, that the tarnish is finally starting to dissolve, Clay Travis wants to fire Derek Dooley, who hasn't even finished his second season. To jump the gun and fire him now would be a bigger mistake than hiring Lane Kiffin ever was. It would set a precedent in Knoxville, one Raider and Redskins fans have become accustomed too; win today or you're out. We all know how well that mentality has treated both teams over the past decade.

Mark my words; the Vols will be back. It might not be under Dooley, but he will have a hand in their resurgence. Four years is what he deserves and what he must get. If he doesn't, the gap will continue to shrink between Nashville and Knoxville. And, for someone who is finally glad UT beat Vandy, I can't think of a worse thing. Now that I got that off of my chest, lets get to the picks.

SEC
(3) Arkansas v (1) LSU @ 2:30, Friday on CBS:
As a fan, there are two ways to look at this game. You can root for Arkansas to win, in order to create a three-way tie in the SEC West. This would, I believe, send Alabama to the SEC Championship, thanks to the weird tiebreaker rules in the SEC. This would end with the SEC possibly definitely sending three schools to BCS games, causing the ADs of non-SEC schools into a mode of jealousy driven panic and hopefully it would be the final straw to bring the playoff system we all desire. Or you can root for LSU to win, go to Atlanta, beat the Dawgs, and play Bama in the BCS title game. It all depends on how much chaos you'd like the BCS to deal with. For me, chaos reigns supreme and I'll be pulling for the upset. Arkansas 20, LSU 17.

VA
(6) Virginia Tech v (24) UVA @ 3:30 on ABC/ESPN2:
I spent Thanksgiving with my fiancee's family in Charlottesville. The main topic was, of course, this game. I asked them what they thought were the keys to the game. The answers I got were well thought out, concise and thoroughly pessimistic. The keys according to her family, who have been to every home UVA game this season, are as follows: UVA needs to shorten the field/win the field position battle, protect the ball, score on the few opportunities they will get from Tech, keep it a low scoring affair and find a way to make Logan Thomas uncomfortable. These are of course important to every team (outside of Arkansas and the low scoring aspect), every game. But these keys are even more important when it comes to this game, as UVA is clearly outmatched talent-wise (Directly attributed to the Al Groh era). If they can keep VT on the right side of the 50 and maybe even turn them over, UVA stands a shot. I hope. I'll be pulling for the upset. I'm just not sure how much faith I can put in a team that needed OT to beat Idaho and lost to Southern Miss at home. VT 24, UVA 17.

Elsewhere in the Commonwealth:
The 17th ranked Norfolk State Spartans travel the six miles to play the 9th Old Dominion Monarchs at the Spartans old stomping grounds and ODU's home field (Foreman Field). They'll bring the Legion and 1600 of their fans. The Monarchs will be hosting with 17,500 of their fans and the best mascot in all the land. It's going to be loud. It's going to be fun. It's even being referred to as the "Battle of Norfolk" and is clearly a rivalry in the making. This will be the first FCS playoff game for both teams, though it's taken NSU much longer to make it than it has the 3 y/o Monarchs. The game is sold out and should be a dandy. I'll be there, clad in blue and silver. I won't pick a winner. But I will say this, a MEAC team hasn't won a playoff game since 1999 (knock on wood).

Also, JMU (for some reason) travels to Richmond, Kentucky, to play EKU. The Dukes should roll, but they should also be hosting this game. So, who knows what'll happen? You can watch this one on ESPNU (the rest of the FCS games will be on ESPN3). Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, everyone.

LCB Picks: SEC & VA Games of the Week

There is only one game of the week for this weekend. It has everything every 80's movies purported to us as rivalries; north v south, rich v middle/upper-middle class, white v tanned skin, and mountain men v city boys. It is of course, Florida v Bama JMU v Richmond. JMU, the capital of New Jersey, resting in the Shenandoah Valley.  Richmond, sitting on the banks of the James River. JMU, full of Jersey Shore misfits waiting for the ending of "The Sopranos" and the next Arturo Gatti fight, both which will never come. Richmond, a campus full of aristocratic southern gentlemen from the banks of the Baltimore Harbor. It's gametime fellas, and these two, wholly Southern institutions are ready to brawl. It may be over a spilled Sam Adams or a Cape Cod, but it's still a rivalry damn naggit.

This makes the third week in a row that JMU partakes in the picks of the week, which is just by chance but also shows just how tough their schedule has been. First Liberty, then W&M, and now Richmond. All three ranked at kick-off, all three with talented offenses. JMU has overtaken the first two, but now it has to overcome the loss of QB Justin Thorpe (5-game suspension for substance abuse) and overcome the Spiders. The wacky-tobaccky gets em everytime.

I visited both teams message boards to get a feel for the game that Teach and his fiancee will be taking in. What I found was a lot of hate. What I learned is that Richmond fans typically wear sweater vests. Unbeknownst to me, this is the staple for the average Spider alumnus. What I learned for JMU is that they are all backward hicks who like to fornicate with their sisters. JMU also has a big stadium, which is easy to fill up since all of their alumni is young and lives in DC. Whereas UR has trouble filling an 8.5k field with their tiny "select" population of undergrads and sweatervest wearing alumni.

The game goes down at JMU, the crowd should be pumped, the stadium should be full, and the jerseys will be a color most commonly referred to as "a mix of last nights dinner from Tacos El Primo and jungle juice" also known as "Barney Juice." Da'Quan Scott is still running the ball, JMU wins by a hair, but makes it look easy. JMU 21, UR 18.

Elsewhere in the South:
Florida takes on Bama, and if they have any chance of winning, they'll need a big game out of QB John Brantley. Or in other words, Bama wins big, 34-17.

ODU hosts future D-1 opponent UMass, in a "blackout" game. I'll be there to take pictures and recap the first CAA home game of my favorite FCS squad. I hope they win. But I also hope they can win by a minimum of 14 points, all in the name of John Calipari. 

LCB Picks: SEC and VA Games of the Week

There are a lot of interesting and possibly great match-ups this weekend. I wish I could cover them all, but I'm running a little late on time. So, for this week, my picks are going to be slightly abbreviated. And yes, I do know I have all week to write this piece. Time management has always been an issue of mine. Just know that I'm working on it.

Editors Note: This season, on top of the usual SEC picks, we will be picking the best games on the Virginia D-1 slate. We, as in the LCB, all spent our formative years in Virginia. So, we probably should have been doing this all along.

SEC Games of the Week
(14) Arkansas v (3) Alabama @ 3:30 on CBS:
After a quick perusal on the google machine, it appears that Arkansas has turned into a fashionable upset pick for this game. I would guess it's due to the youth of Alabama's defensive front and the awesomeness of QB Tyler Wilson, which to me is always a funny reason (the youth, not the awesome QB) for a team to be favored. Aren't all of these guys young and inexperienced?  Sure, the freshman need to adapt to the speed of play in the SEC and realize they can't just touch a guy to insure a tackle (Fun-da-men-tals kids, WRAP HIM UP!). But that's why each FBS team has so many roster spots, to provide the depth needed to avoid starting a bunch of underclassmen. To be honest, the only teams that can use "youth" and "inexperience" as an excuse are the ones dealing with coaching turnover or a high amount of attrition. Alabama doesn't fit that bill. But it doesn't even matter, I could never pick Arkansas over Bama. Not, at least, with Trent Richardson playing for the Tide. Alabama 31, Arkansas 27.

(2) LSU v (16) WVU @ 8:00 on ABC:
This game, to me at least, holds more intrigue in the stands than it does on the field. Two of the more notoriously rowdy fanbases coming together for a night game in Morgantown. Couldn't these AD's just think of those poor couches for once? LSU 24, WVU 17.

VA Game of the Week
(8) James Madison v (16) William & Mary @ 7:00 on PPV:
If you read last week, you would know that I thought Liberty was the better team. I was clearly wrong as the Dukes overcame the challenge of playing in Lynchburg. What do they get for it? A trip to Williamsburg to play a ranked opponent that plays much better at home than anywhere else.

With lots of rain in the forecast, the weather is likely to be less than ideal. Add that to the fact that both teams have fantastic defenses and questions surrounding the quarterback position, and you get the most important ingredients to an ugly football game. Speaking of quarterbacks, JMU doesn't know which Justin Thorpe they're going to get, the one who almost blew the game against woeful CCSU or the one who helped lead them to victory over a ranked Liberty squad on the road. As for the Tribe, they just handed the reins from Michael Paulus to Michael Graham. This was a non-decision, as Paulus just couldn't seem to return to his pre-inury form and was hurting more than he was helping.  However,  if Graham's not the answer they're looking for and they can't find a way to move the ball with any consistency, it will be a long year in Williamsburg. Anyways, I like JMU to win, because they have Dae'Quan Scott and W&M doesn't. JMU 17, W&M 14.

LCB Picks: SEC and VA Games of the Week

It's week three of the college football season and I finally feel like I'm getting a good feel for the teams in the SEC. But I once defended the hiring of Lane Kiffin as the UT coach, so, take it with a grain of salt. As a way of deflecting that reminder of my lacking of judgment, lets get to the games.

Editors Note: This season, on top of the usual SEC picks, we will be picking the best games on the Virginia D-1 slate. We, as in the LCB, all spent our formative years in Virginia. So, we probably should have been doing this all along.



SEC Game of the Week
Tennessee v (16) Florida @ 3:30 on CBS:
Those pants are filled with magic (insert Michael Scott here), almost enough to pull off the upset. Just not enough. But that's why UT has Tyler Bray, who as Clay Travis points out is the best QB in the SEC and the reason why many NFL teams will try to lose games next year in order to draft him, he's just that good or he has been against some mediocre to average (at-best) opponents. Da'Rick Rogers and Justin Hunter force Dan Quinn to make a tough decision; go zone and get torched through the air, blitz and get burned across the middle, or go man and get ran all over. Either way he goes, it spells doom for a team that has had trouble getting to the QB (2 sacks total against shitdeous squads, FAU and UAB). Florida has the homefield advantage and the edge in the talent department, but the trio is just too good to keep pace. The Swamp is made silent and UT wins 38 to 32.

VA Games of the Week
Virginia v UNC @ 3:30 on ABC:
Virginia goes to Chapel Hill for the next chapter in the "South's Oldest Rivalry." After confidence builders against W&M/JMU and Indiana/Rutgers, both teams come in at 2-0 . UNC is just weeks removed from the firing of Butch Davis, but their defensive front seven might be the best in the ACC. They're big, fast, and relentless. UVA's offensive line will have to step up big for the Cavs to win this one. However, if they can somehow hold the Heels d-line back, the Hoos have a chance to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2005 (which is also the last time they went 2-0). It won't happen. That defense of the Heels is fierce. The pick: UNC 35, UVA 14

James Madison v (19) Liberty @ 7:00 on ESPN3:
Not knowing much about either team, apart from Jerry Falwell's affiliation with Liberty and that Mickey Matthews career is reminiscent of a roller coaster, I decided to check out JMU's message board to see their thoughts on how this game will play out. What I found was a largely dejected fanbase. But who can blame them after the woeful performance against Central Connecticut State. QB Justin Thorpe went 5-11 for a net of 47 yards (his long was 28 yards), with two of those incompletions going to the other team (If I replaced Justin Thorpe's name in this sentence with Jamarcus Russell, would you even call me out?). The feeling on the message board is that with how bad the Duke offense is playing, it won't matter much how good their defense is playing.

I'm with the Dukes' posters on this one; Liberty QB Mike Brown goes HAM (he's a lock for 250 yards through the air and 70 on the ground), leads his squad to a 35 to 21 victory, Mickey Matthews' seat gets hotter, and Liberty gives a moment of release for one of the most depressing cities in Virginia. Seriously, Lynchburg could make Richard Simmons sad.

Elsewhere in the South:
Auburn tries to continue their magical run with a trip to the other "Death Valley." Should be a good game, but Auburn still hasn't been able to rebound from the loss of Nick Fairley and Cam Newton. But how can you replace two of the most dominant SEC players of the last decade? You can't, at least, not cheaply. Even with losing those two, I still like Auburn as teams that get this lucky seem to put it together more often than not.

Old Dominion and Hampton play in Norfolk. Both teams are 2-0. Last years meeting resulted in a 28-14 win for the Monarchs. ODU should have no trouble in their last tune-up before starting conference play in their inaugural season as a member of the CAA. W&M, Virginia Tech and Richmond get to play patty cake with New Haven (Division II), Arkansas State and VMI. All three teams are a lock to move to 3-0.

2009-2010 ACC Previews: UVA

LCB believes that while teams have been playing games since the start of November the real college basketball season does not begin until conference play is in full gear. Over the next couple of weeks, we will preview each ACC team by remembering some of the conference's past players that may have gone forgotten in some circles.

Season Outlook: Last year Barack Obama inspired the nation with his campaign for hope and change, making people believe that we could all be a part of something bigger than ourselves. For the citizens of Charlottesvile, when it comes to their basketball program, they have been hearing news of hope and change for what must seem like eons. This longing was never more true than in 2001, when the Cavaliers had an incoming class of Roger Mason and Travis Watson. This duo was skilled enough to help UVA stay afloat in the talent rich waters of ACC basketball. But they were missing the extra something to make them truly special. That missing piece was Desagna Diop, who the fans of UVA hoped would bring great change to a struggling program. But that's the problem with hoping for change, sometimes it's not enough. Diop couldn't resist the temptation of the NBA, UVA continued to struggle, and the only change that occurred was the name on the door to the head coach's office. Diop could have made UVA an elite program, but it didn't happen; and now they are back at square one, hoping for change.

Key Players: G Sylven Landesberg and F Mike Scott

Top Newcomer: F Tristan Spurlock

Record at Time of Posting: 6-4

Teach's Prediction: 12th in the regular season

Langston's Prediction: 11th in the regular season

Iceman AD's Prediction: 12th in the regular season

Key Games:
L Stanford 52-57
L Penn State 66-69
L @ Auburn 67-68
NC State 1/09
@ Wake Forest 1/23
Virginia Tech 1/28
@ UNC 1/31
@ Virginia Tech 2/13
Duke 2/28
Maryland 3/06

William & Mary Defeats UVA

William and Mary, a school known more for its calculators and pocket protectors than its football, defeated perennial CAA power Virginia tonight 26 to 14. The team with the waste management logo upended the favorites in the CAA by forcing seven Cavalier turnovers, including 3 interceptions by defensive back B.W. Webb. This game could sway the balance of power in the CAA title race, as well as the recruiting battle that occurs every year between these two bitter in-state rivals. To say the least, Virginia faces an uphill struggle this season, playing in a conference that already boasts the 2004 (James Madison) and 2008 (Richmond) national champions in addition to the up and coming William & Mary squad.

After Saturday's events, the current CAA standings appear as follows:

North Division..............W/L

Hofstra...........................1-0 Defeated Stony Brook 17-10

New Hampshire............1-0 Defeated St. Francis 24-14

Maine............................1-0 Defeated St. Cloud St 34-27 (OT)

Rhode Island..................1-0 Defeated Fordham 41-28

Northeastern.................0-1 Lost to Boston College 54-0

Massachusetts...............0-1 Lost to Kansas St 21-17

South Division.............W/L

Delaware........................1-0 Defeated West Chester 35-0

Richmond.......................1-0 Defeated Duke 24-16*

William & Mary...............1-0 Defeated Virginia 26-14

Villanova........................1-0 Defeated Temple 27-24

James Madison.............0-0 Next Sat. @ Maryland

Towson.........................0-1 Lost to Northwestern 47-14

Virginia.........................0-1 Lost to William & Mary 26-14

*Duke is Division III in football.