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For Virginia’s football team to get to a level that would save coach Al Groh’s job, the Cavaliers probably needed to beat visiting Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Of course, anything could happen. We learned that when the Cavaliers rallied from an 0-3 start to win three games in a row, but this team has problems that it hasn’t come close to resolving.

When new offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon installed the spread offense, some wondered how the spread would perform in short-yardage situations, particularly in the red zone. It was noted that Bowling Green had once ranked among the nation’s top teams in red-zone efficiency.

I don’t know how much UVa’s short-yardage situations relate to the spread, particularly since the Cavaliers have used a modified spread since Week 3. But, UVa’s inability to score a touchdown after picking up a first-and-goal at the Georgia Tech 2-yard line was pretty much the season in a microcosm.

Let’s say the Cavaliers had run three straight quarterback sneaks or handed the ball to 245-pound running back Rashawn Jackson three times in a row. All they would have had to average was two-thirds yards per carry to score a touchdown.

It’s a losing battle to convince UVa coach Al Groh that there’s any benefit to a quarterback sneak, but what about Jackson behind 6-foot-7, 315-pound left guard Austin Pasztor? After carrying for 73 yards in the second half of a 20-9 victory at Maryland, Jackson got one carry Sarturday.

Mikell Simpson got the start after missing the Maryland game with a neck injury and he didn’t deserve to lose the job after producing 149 all-purpose yards in a 47-7 triumph over Indiana. But  you could tell early Saturday that Simpson was tentative. He’s been tentative before and only recently had approached his 2007 form.

While you shouldn’t overlook the three-game winning streak, consider what the Cavaliers have done offensively in three ACC games so far, two of them wins. They had 254 yards in a 16-3 victory at North Carolina, 201 yards at Maryland and 198 on Saturday.

Virginia has scored three touchdowns in three ACC games, one of them a defensive touchdown – that on a 32-yard Nate Collins touchdown return. The Cavaliers had a 42-yard touchdown drive late in the North Carolina game and a 2-yard drive against Maryland.

You could blame it on the playcalling, you could say the running backs aren’t hitting the holes, but it’s mostly a problem with the offensive line. Either UVa hasn’t done a good job of recruiting offensive linemen, which it hasn’t, or the Cavaliers need to do a better job coaching them.

Fifth-year senior Will Barker is supposed to be the best of the bunch, but he picked up a costly holding penalty Saturday. Just when it looked like the Cavaliers had picked up a first-and-goal at the Georgia Tech 6 on a pass from Jameel Sewell to Joe Torchia, Barker was called for holding on the other side of the field, some 30 or 40 yards away.

(I’m still sure what Barker, the right guard, was doing on the left side of the field. Maybe it was misdirection because it looked like the Yellow Jackets were fooled).

In any case, a touchdown there would have given Virginia a 7-3 lead. Instead, the Cavaliers had to settle for the first of three Rob Randolph field goals. UVa had later possessions when it reached the Yellow Jackets’ 2 and 5 without scoring TDs. The word “hapless” comes to mind.

Groh pointed out that the call against Barker came from the same side of the field (i.e, the same official) as a fourth-quarter personal foul on Ras-I Dowling after UVa seemingly had stopped the Yellow Jackets with the score 24-9.

Hey, if an official screws up, I’m all for identifying it. But, when you’re outscored 34-9, outgained 447-198 and have the ball for 17:17 in a 60-minute game, you’ve got bigger problems than the officials. At least Groh didn’t burn any more redshirts, far as I can tell.

The UVa defense did some good things, particularly nose tackle Nate Collins with his 16 tackles, but that brings up something else. The way that Groh has praised Nick Jenkins on previous occasions, you’d have to think that he would find a way to have Collins and Jenkins on the field together.

John-Kevin Dolce had seven tackles (three solo, four assists) in his first start at defensive end, so he wasn’t the problem. Another first-time starter, sophomore Zane Parr, had 12 tackles at the other defensive-end spot. Of course, there were a lot of tackles to be spread around, given the Yellow Jackets’ 79 offensive plays (Virginia had 44, in case you hadn’t heard).

Virginia (3-4 overall, 2-1 ACC) has Duke coming in next week and the Blue Devils (4-3, 2-1) certainly have a chance to win at Scott Stadium, where they have lost 12 of their last 13. I don’t think the Cavaliers have quit on Groh and I’m sure UVa hasn’t forgotten a 31-3 licking last year at Wallace Wade Stadium, but want-to alone won’t get it done.

Neither will field goals.

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