2011 Virginia Cavaliers football team
The 2011 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cavaliers were led by second year head coach Mike London and played their home games at Scott Stadium. They are members of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in the Coastal Division to finish in a tie for second place. The Cavaliers appeared in the AP and Coaches poll for the first time since 2007. Memorable moments from the season include: upsetting then #12 and undefeated Georgia Tech and defeating Florida State in Tallahassee for the first time in school history. They also became the first team in NCAA history to win games at Miami and at Florida State in the same season. They were invited to the Chick-fil-A Bowl where they were defeated by Auburn 24–43.
Previous Season
The Cavaliers went 4–8 in 2010, their third losing season in a row, and first under new head coach Mike London. Despite having an off-season recruiting class among the best in the country, a major upset versus the then #22 Miami Hurricanes, and a near-upset in the week two game versus the University of Southern California Trojans, the Cavaliers were plagued by penalties (ranked 117th out of 120 in the country) and turnovers, and finished 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal division. In the ACC Preseason Poll,[1] they were picked to finish at next to last place in the ACC Coastal division, and 11th of 12 overall. ESPN predicted that UVA would be one of the only two ACC teams (alongside Wake Forest) to not achieve bowl eligibility.[2]
Schedule
Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
September 3 |
6:00 PM |
#3 (FCS) William & Mary* |
|
Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA |
ESPN3 |
W 40–3 |
51,956 |
September 10 |
7:00 PM |
at Indiana* |
|
Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN |
BTN |
W 34–31 |
41,549 |
September 17 |
3:30 PM |
at North Carolina |
|
Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry) |
ESPNU |
L 17–28 |
54,100 |
September 24 |
3:30 PM |
Southern Miss* |
|
Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA |
ACCRSN |
L 24–30 |
43,220 |
October 1 |
3:30 PM |
Idaho* |
|
Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA |
ESPN3 |
W 21–20 OT |
39,827 |
October 15 |
3:30 PM |
#12 Georgia Tech |
|
Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA |
ESPNU |
W 24–21 |
47,692[3] |
October 22 |
3:30 PM |
NC State |
|
Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA |
ESPNU |
L 14–28 |
46,030 |
October 27 |
8:00 PM |
at Miami (FL) |
|
Sun Life Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL |
ESPN |
W 28–21 |
40,403 |
November 5 |
12:30 PM |
at Maryland |
|
Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD (Rivalry) |
ACCN |
W 31–13 |
37,401 |
November 12 |
3:00 PM |
Duke |
|
Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA |
ACCRSN |
W 31–21 |
45,733 |
November 19 |
7:30 PM |
at #23 Florida State |
|
Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL (Jefferson–Eppes Trophy) |
ESPN2 |
W 14–13 |
77,178 |
November 26 |
3:30 PM |
#6 Virginia Tech |
#24 |
Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup) |
ABC/ESPN2 |
L 0–38 |
61,124 |
December 31 |
7:30 PM |
vs. Auburn* |
|
Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA (Chick-fil-A Bowl) |
ESPN |
L 24–43 |
72,919 |
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time. |
[4]
Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
| Week |
Poll |
Pre |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
Final |
AP |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
24 |
NR |
NR |
NR |
Coaches' |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
25 |
NR |
NR |
NR |
Harris |
Not released |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
25 |
NR |
NR |
Not released |
BCS |
Not released |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
Not released |
References
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| Venues |
- Madison Hall Field (1888–1912)
- Lambeth Field (1913–1930)
- Scott Stadium (1931–present)
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| Bowls & rivalries | |
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| Culture & lore | |
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| People | |
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| Seasons | |
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