Louisville at Virginia features fresh starts
Greyson Lambert was talking about University of Louisville quarterback Will Gardner, but the words would make sense in describing U of L's football relationship with the University of Virginia.
"We're really just acquaintances," said Lambert, one of UVA's quarterbacks who grew up 75 minutes away from Gardner in south Georgia.
"I knew of him. We kind of stayed in touch or just followed each other's paths. That's really it."
U of L travels to Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff at UVA's Scott Stadium, and it feels a lot like the meeting of two acquaintances.
Louisville and Virginia have played 2,193 games in their combined 219-plus seasons of football. They've played each other twice.
Virginia, meet Louisville. Louisville, Virginia.
It just so happens that Saturday will feature its fair share of firsts for Louisville, too.
It's Louisville's first Atlantic Coast Conference road game. It's Bobby Petrino's first time coaching in the entire commonwealth of Virginia, at least by his estimate.
It's also Gardner's first college start away from home.
"We'll learn a lot about our team," Petrino said. "How do we get ready to go play a tough game on the road?"
About a month ago, this particular road trip wasn't really considered a "tough" one. Virginia, coming off a 2-10 season, was picked to finish last by a wide margin in the ACC's Coastal Division.
The 2014 season stood as a potential job-saver or job-killer for Virginia coach Mike London, who was losing support by the day despite the Cavaliers' impressive recruiting classes in recent years.
In four-plus years at UVA, London's teams are 19-32.
Virginia (1-1) isn't off to a brilliant start by any stretch, but much of the preconceived notions about the Cavs' chances seem overblown through two games.
UCLA was happy to leave Charlottesville with a 28-20 season-opening win against a feistier-than-expected Virginia team that rallied back from a 21-3 first-half deficit.
And last week, Virginia crunched FCS program Richmond 45-13 to snap a 10-game losing streak that began last season.
"Believe it or not, (Sunday) was back at work, back at the grind," London said. "We're happy for the win, but we're nowhere near satisfied with where we are right now.
"We have a challenging opponent coming in. It's an ACC opponent. It's an opportunity for an ACC win. The focus has been on climbing the ladder, and we're just another step in the rung right now."
Surely Louisville fans have looked at their team's schedule. Surely there's an undercurrent of confidence that U of L could be 6-0 ahead of its Oct. 11 game at Clemson.
That confidence comes from a sense that the Virginia game is, to steal London's words, "just another step" on Louisville's ladder.
Imply that this week, though, and Petrino and his staff and players would flatly reject it.
Like Louisville, UVA's run defense has been stellar, allowing 87.5 yards a game in two contests. UCLA, a top-10 team entering the season, ran 39 times for 116 yards, or 2.97 yards per carry.
"They've been impressive on defense," Petrino said Monday.
"They play very fast. They have a very experienced group. When you watch last year's games, most of those guys (in 2013 film) are in the games now."
The last time the two teams played, Virginia won a 16-15 thriller in Charlottesville. That defensive struggle was 25 years ago.
The defenses will be strong again on Saturday, and though Vegas bettors don't think the score will be as close as it was in 1989, the afternoon meeting gives the teams a chance to conjure up some new history.
Friends and foes always begin as acquaintances.
Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).