Virginia Cavaliers NCAA Football Odds, Lines & Betting

2006 should be considered a rebuilding year for head coach Al Groh and his Virginia Cavaliers. They replaced 10 starters from the previous season, and Groh went young at many of those positions. Consequently, Virginia went 5-7 and broke a streak of four straight winning seasons with bowl bids. And the Cavaliers only managed to go .500 (4-4) in the ACC because of the overall weakness of the conference. Virginia started out 2-5, but won three of its last five. However, four of those wins came over Wyoming, Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State.

The offense struggled, ranking 113th (out of 119 1-A teams) overall and 100th in rushing, and the Cavs - outside of the Duke game - averaged just 13 PPG. But the defense played well, ranking 17th overall and holding seven opponents to 17 points or less. This year Virginia returns 18 starters, nine on each side of the ball. They include incumbent starting QB Jameel Sewell and all five offensive linemen, and good sets of DEs, LBs and defensive backs. But WR Kevin Ogletree, who placed second in the ACC in catches last year (52) as a sophomore, injured his knee in spring practice, and could miss this entire season. So the Cavs are now very thin at wide receiver.

The schedule is manageable, with visits to Wyoming, North Carolina, Maryland and Miami, and home dates with Georgia Tech, Pitt, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. Groh is 42-33 in six seasons in Charlottesville, and 25-23 in the ACC. Last year, Wake Forest came out of nowhere to win the ACC. But they did have a good coach who had been there awhile, and they returned 19 starters from a 4-7 team. Virginia, with Groh and all its returning starters, has a chance to become this year's Wake Forest in the ACC.

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