What If? Imagine Possibilities Of UVA Win Over Irish

By Jerry Ratcliffe

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Regardless of the outcome of Saturday afternoon’s game in the shadow of the Golden Dome, beneath the blessings of Touchdown Jesus, Bronco Mendenhall’s Virginia football team gets a taste of the big time. Heck, it’s a mouthful.

Everyone knows Notre Dame’s story. They’re essentially the New York Yankees of college football. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Irish are always going to be in the national limelight.

To quote everyone’s favorite greenskeeper, Carl Spackler, Virginia is “a Cinderella story.” They’re not household in the college football world. Even when they shockingly rose to No. 1 for three amazing weeks in 1990, the genius of George Welsh couldn’t make it last.

Bronco’s boys are decided underdogs today in the nation’s only clash between Top-20 programs this weekend. Vegas said 12 points early in the week, now down to 10.5.

On paper, that sounds about right. We all know about that story. Lost causes provide evidence of that every week in the world of athletics.

Nobody wearing a Virginia helmet will be sweating the point spread in pre-game prep in storied Notre Dame Stadium. There’s actually more pressure on the Irish to win this game than the Cavaliers.

If UVA loses, so what? It was supposed to lose. It’s a nonconference game and the Wahoos are still alive for what matters most, a shot at the ACC’s Coastal Division, a seven-team standings they have never ruled.

The Irish?

Lose today and what’s there left to play for? One bowl better than another? Notre Dame football doesn’t belong to a conference. The only throne they compete for is the big one, the one that Clemson and Alabama take turns playing a high-stakes version of musical chairs.

The Domers already have one loss, albeit an impressive one Between the Hedges last weekend. Still a loss — making the ascent back toward the playoffs very iffy. A loss to Virginia, and the Irish are done.

You see, the beauty of being a sportswriter is that we get to play the ‘What If? Game’ all we want. We put into words what players and coaches put into dreams. Sometimes it happens, most of the time it doesn’t. But, ahhh, there’s always that possibility.

So, What If, on Saturday afternoon upon the hallowed ground where Knute walked, where the Four Horsemen gallopped into gridiron lore, where Rudy sparked those unthinkable dreams — what if undefeated and 18th-ranked Virginia defies all the odds and stuns the Irish? What If?

How big would the moment be for Virginia? 

Certainly this doesn’t appear from the outside to be one of the greatest teams in Wahoo history … unless.

Should Bronco’s team walk out of South Bend with a 5-0 record, talk about a giant leap. Every football show — TV and radio — would be all over the Wahoos for the following week. The world wide web and the magazines, anyone who reports on football, will know exactly what UVA did and precisely what a difficult chore it successfully tackled. Bronco & Co. would be splashed from coast to coast.

Mendenhall is always talking about advancing the program. A win over the Irish in this setting would push that advancement to warp speed. It would open recruiting doors, it would open up donor’s purses, it would make Carla Williams’ Master Plan go up a whole lot faster than anyone thought possible.

All of a sudden, a UVA fan base that had been mostly apathetic, kind of wandering in the college football desert for the past decade, would be braggadocious again, festooning themselves in outrageous orange-and-blue decor.

Scott Stadium, which has sat half-empty for a long span, would be threatening the attendance records.

And, yes, there would be whispers of the ‘U’ word. Beat Notre Dame, and think of the possibilities. There’s not another team on UVA’s schedule that would likely be favored over your Wahoos.

Yes, they go to Miami, but get a bye week to prepare, and the Hurricanes have been rocky out of the gates. 

Duke? Cutcliffe’s Devils manhandled the Hokies on Friday night and put the Sandman to sleep early. Still, Virginia has owned the blue-clads for the last four years. Louisville? Nah. The Hokies? After Friday? Really?

If, and that’s a mighty big word heading into hallowed ground Saturday, Virginia wins, watch out. Could the Cavaliers run the table?

Don’t at me. Playing what if is fun, but this ain’t my first rodeo. I’ve seen just about everything one could imagine during my career covering sports. I know that Virginia’s not supposed to win. I know what the odds are. I’m aware that even hinting at the ‘U’ word (undefeated for those of you who haven’t caught on by now), is a reach.

So was winning three consecutive games while trailing in almost impossible situations on college basketball’s biggest stage.

Virginia’s players wear T-shirts that read ‘Believe’ for a reason.

A win Saturday would be one of the biggest in Wahoo football history. Sure, other UVA teams have beaten higher-ranked teams than No. 10 Notre Dame (although I don’t think they have on the road).

As big as the win would be, what would follow, what the Cavaliers could springboard toward, would be even bigger. Wouldn’t it be fun?

What If?