PINEHURST, N.C. -- On his drive south for the ACC Football Kickoff, Virginia coach Al Groh amused himself by predicting the preseason order of finish.

"It wasn't my picks, but the way I thought these picks would come out," Groh said. "Each one of the divisions turned out the way I thought the voting people would pick them."

That included a choice of the Cavaliers as the fourth-place finisher out of six teams in the Coastal Division.

"I don't think it was without basis," Groh said. "I can understand why all those picks were made."

Virginia also was picked for fourth last year, when the Cavaliers finished third in the Coastal Division at 4-4, with a 5-7 overall record.

Groh didn't predict that Virginia would return to the form it held from 2002-05, when UVa had four straight winning season, "but it's a season the staff and players have looked forward to with significant anticipation," he said.

It's not hard to find a preseason annual that lists Groh among ACC or national coaches on a "hot seat."

Groh avoided that term Monday.

"Thinking specifically of the years I've been coaching when I was the head coach, this will be the 14th time," he said. "Each one has felt the same for me going into the season.

There's just an urgency to try to win games.

"I hate to throw it back the same way [the question was phrased]. I don't want to give you a cliche answer, but truthfully I really feel the same about every season.

"I feel the challenge on a season-by-season basis to make our team add up to everything it can be. It's an ongoing thing. It's what we live with, but it sort of energizes us, too."

A major factor in the Cavaliers' success will be the status of quarterback Jameel Sewell, who started nine games as a redshirt freshman but required surgery on his right (non-throwing) wrist in December.

Sewell originally injured the wrist before the season but that didn't prevent him from accumulating 95 rushing attempts to go with 143 passes.

"He's been a full participant in the summer off-season program," Groh said. "He's positive about where he is. We're positive about where he is.

"He told me they were working one day on the field and he tripped and put his hand out to cushion himself. He got up after the play and it was like, 'Wow, this is still good.' "

With the departure of tailback Jason Snelling, who had a team-high 183 carries for 772 yards, UVa might be well-served to make greater use of Sewell's running ability.

"It's a skill that he has," Groh said, "but you've got to balance that with, 'He's our key guy right now.' We don't want to overexpose him to unnecessary hits.

"We spent a lot of time trying to protect the quarterback so he doesn't get hit. We don't want to go over to the other side of the street and suddenly start exposing him to 18 or 20 hits."

Groh spoke last week of programs where it seems possible to win at least nine games a year by pushing the right buttons. Virginia has won nine games or more only five times in the past 50 seasons, one of them under Groh.

"I think we have a little bit of a sense," said Groh of Cavalier prospects for 2007. "It's mitigated a little bit, not because of talent, but there is some question about the quarterback position.

"That creates a little bit of an unknown for our team, but we've got a lot of players well-prepared to play well."