I think it was more a case of we were in a positive situational scenario and then it wore off. I warned of that last week, that teams on the road after a home loss as favorite generally are energized and start the game positively. But eventually it can wear off if there are frailties. I'm a first half bettor because I have plenty of angles that pinpoint how a team will start the game. In this case I never considered betting the Canes in the game without Duke Johnson but I did contemplate taking them in the first half. I was kicking myself at 17-7 and when we were driving at midfield. But then James Coley took care of that with the moronic abuse of empty sets when all we had to do was line up and smack them like the 4th quarter of the North Carolina game. Teams can maintain the motivational advantage if they are carrying the physical aspect of the game and demoralizing the opponent and their crowd. This is the first time I've criticized Coley all year, other than not using the middle of the field. He really deserves it and its ridiculous that fans don't grasp how masochistic it was to end up with only 29 rushes when we controlled the game early and never trailed by more than 1 point until the 4th quarter.
At the Virginia Tech game the nearby fans were going nuts when Stacey Coley split the defense and went the distance, and then when we stopped the subsequent drive. A guy next to me asked why I was atypically subdued. I told him I had a bad feeling about the game due to the situational aspect, and that the early momentum probably didn't mean anything. At 21-7 he said I see what you mean.
No excuses against Virginia. Virtually anything should work, including those empty set looks that I despise. Other than jumping out in front of Duke 22-0 at home a few weeks ago, Virginia has been horrendous.