oppenent. That makes us look weak.

The use of idle weeks before playing ND suggests we are at least as significant as a conference opponent. But it's a bad look if teams start resting starters when they play non-conference ND.

this year, a down year for other ACC powers, may be more important than beating Notre Dame.

That said, he still might play against us with a rib jacket.

Tenn was 7-1, No. 9, and essentially out of the running for the BCS title game which USC and OU were cruising toward. Thus, the game took on an air of a soccer "friendly" with Vols fans concerned with their shot at an SEC title (and generally entertained by ND fans chanting "Fire Ty" during the pregame). While we are much better than in '04 and UVA is not UT, it would not be surprising if Bronco protected a banged up QB for the ACC title shot. Conversely, I expect the fan base wants some revenge after Will Fuller abruptly cancelled their party.

It has everything to do with the current status quo.

If Virginia wins the conference, they play in a NY6 bowl. If they don't win the conference, even an upset win over us, even without Armstrong, won't be enough to get them into the NY6.

If you're Bronco Mendenhall, given that set of facts, which of the remaining games on the schedule is the least relevant?

I think that our game is big and very meaningful to them. But winning the ACC is a ticket to a major bowl game. Their starter has a nasty injury and *could* be cleared after a few weeks. The Pitt game for them is three weeks after the injury occurred, which is the minimum time for that type of injury to start healing. Playing against us at 2 weeks - in a game that likely will not impact their ability to reach a major bowl game - probably would not be a wise decision. It's not like they're angling for a playoff spot at this point.

When ND beat Virginia Tech, for instance, Hokie fans shrugged it off, saying that it was irrelevant to the ACC title and "all of our goals are still in front of us."

Virginia would love to beat ND for national exposure, but they want to win their division and play in the ACC Championship game much, much more.