CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2007 Virginia

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Al Groh.

Schedule and results

Virginia in 2007, game by game: lost at Wyoming 3–23; won vs. Duke 24–13; won at North Carolina 22–20; won vs. Georgia Tech 28–23; won vs. Pittsburgh 44–14; won at Middle Tennessee 23–21; won vs. UConn 17–16; won at Maryland 18–17; lost at NC State 24–29; won vs. No. 21 Wake Forest 17–16; won at Miami 48–0; lost vs. No. 8 Virginia Tech 21–33; lost vs. Texas Tech 28–31+48−20Lost 3–23 at Wyoming-20WyomingWon 24–13 vs. Duke+11DukeWon 22–20 at North Carolina+2North CarolinaWon 28–23 vs. Georgia Tech+5Georgia TechWon 44–14 vs. Pittsburgh+30PittsburghWon 23–21 at Middle Tennessee+2Middle TennesseeWon 17–16 vs. UConn+1UConnWon 18–17 at Maryland+1MarylandLost 24–29 at NC State-5NC StateWon 17–16 vs. No. 21 Wake Forest+1No. 21 Wake ForestWon 48–0 at Miami+48MiamiLost 21–33 vs. No. 8 Virginia Tech-12No. 8 Virginia TechLost 28–31 vs. Texas Tech-3Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atWyomingL 3–⁠2344%
Sep 8vsDukeW 24–⁠1380%
Sep 15atNorth CarolinaW 22–⁠2047%
Sep 22vsGeorgia TechW 28–⁠2344%
Sep 29vsPittsburghW 44–⁠1462%
Oct 6atMiddle TennesseeW 23–⁠2157%
Oct 13vsUConnW 17–⁠1658%
Oct 20atMarylandW 18–⁠1740%
Oct 27atNC StateL 24–⁠2960%
Nov 3vs21Wake ForestW 17–⁠1644%
Nov 10atMiamiW 48–⁠041%
Nov 24vs8Virginia TechL 21–⁠3338%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsTexas TechGator BowlL 28–⁠3144%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 31–⁠28 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 21
  2. Wk 11: 23
  3. Wk 12: 16
  4. Wk 13: 16
  5. Wk 14: 22

Ted Hendricks AwardChris Long, DE

Consensus All-AmericanChris Long, DE

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 16
Points
317–⁠256
Coach
Al Groh
Elo
1569 +65 this season
SP+ rating
7.5 No. 47 of 120; offense No. 85, defense No. 20, special teams No. 27
SRS
4.7 No. 52 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 28
Offensive coordinator
Mike Groh
Defensive coordinator
Mike London
Offense
West Coast
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense69th of 119
  • Defense35th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0238%0.9269th of 119
Defense0.0137%0.9435th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 322% allowed
Defense0.0own 312% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2007 class

Ras-I Dowling CB★★★★No. 105
J’Courtney Williams OLB★★★★No. 154
Chase Minnifield CB★★★No. 452
Aaron Taliaferro ILB★★★No. 608
Mark Ambrose TE★★★No. 608

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers22.50.811
Offensive line13.00.817
Linebackers23.50.891
Defensive backs43.30.868
Athletes and specialists22.50.782
Whole class113.00.841

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2008

The 2008 draft
Rd 1Chris Long DESt. Louis Rams
Rd 1Branden Albert OGKansas City Chiefs
Rd 6Tom Santi TEIndianapolis Colts

All-ACC

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2007 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2007 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech7–⁠111–⁠39
Boston College6–⁠211–⁠310
Virginia6–⁠29–⁠4
Wake Forest5–⁠39–⁠4
Clemson5–⁠39–⁠421
Georgia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Florida State4–⁠47–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠56–⁠7
NC State3–⁠55–⁠7
North Carolina3–⁠54–⁠8
Miami2–⁠65–⁠7
Duke0–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.