Virginia Football: Cavaliers to backslide in 2018 season

Bronco Mendenhall has done wonders to improve the Virginia football. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers are bound for a down season in 2018.

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When Bronco Mendenhall took over the football program at Virginia, the common feeling was that former coach Mike London let the program slide into oblivion. The Cavaliers played in only one bowl game during London’s six year tenure where he finished 26-45 overall with the Hoos.

When Coach Mendenhall took over he wanted to bring his hard-hitting style of play that he had instilled as the head coach at BYU. BYU may be part of the Latter Day Saints, but Mendenhall’s teams didn’t play very saintly between the whistles. During the initial purge of the 2016 season the Cavaliers finished 2-10 which was good enough for 88th in the S&P+ rankings.

During the 2017 season UVA made the most out of senior quarterback Kurt Benkert and senior inside linebacker Micah Kiser. The two senior leaders pushed the Cavs up to a 6-7 record and their first bowl appearance since 2011. Virginia is on the rise and managed the 60th best recruiting class in the nation.

The Virginia faithful have to be impressed with the improvements made in year two by Coach Mendenhall’s staff. He doesn’t just bring football to the table, he also brings class and culture to the Virginia football program. Can he keep the momentum going in 2018?