And truth be told, if Groh could find a way to listen in on London's strategy sessions and chats with players and assistant coaches Saturday, he's likely to hear familiar words.

"A lot of the stuff that I use - terminology, just kind of philosophical stuff - I got a lot from him," London, 47, said of Groh, his boss from 2002-04, when he was recruiting coordinator, and again the last two seasons, when he was Virginia's defensive coordinator.

His football manual isn't as large, but "It's been pretty good, and then I get to put my own personality, what I want to accentuate, in, and it's worked out pretty good."

It has started out well, too, and the teams converge from different directions.

The Spiders (1-0) are ranked No. 3 in the Football Championship Subdivision, having thrashed nationally ranked Elon 28-10 on the road in their opener last Saturday.

Virginia (0-1) was manhandled by Southern California, now the nation's top-ranked team, 52-7, making a victory critical to any hopes Cavaliers fans have of seeing a turnaround.

Perhaps with some cognizance of the damage another loss would do to his program, Groh this week said he intends to keep things "very impersonal" as he goes about his planning.

"Mike is a dear friend and was a great colleague here, and we think he did an awful lot for us while he was here," Groh, in his eighth year, said. "But for this particular week, there really are no personal feelings about it. It's just what do we have to do to get ready. We're pretty sure they're not going to take it easy on us just because Mike likes us, either."

Not likely.

The game will be the first for London against one of the coaches that have helped shape his career. That group also includes Jimmye Laycock, now in his 29th season as the head coach at William & Mary, who had London on his staff as a defensive assistant from 1990-93.

London also counts former Spiders coach Jim Reid among those that have influenced him along the way, and said that even while he will work hard this week to find a way to beat Groh's team and players he knows very well, something will remain long after the final gun.

"Hopefully there's a part of coach Laycock and coach Groh that says, `You know what? I helped train and develop this guy and I'm proud of the opportunities he has,"' London said.

From Groh's point of view, familiarity with how London coaches doesn't make preparing for a London-prepared team any easier since it uses a different defense and offense.

"I'd say probably other than knowing Mike's workout routine and what he prefers on his pizza, there's not much we're going to be able to apply," Groh said this week.

The game have been billed by Virginia as a "retro" game, and the theme stretches all the way to tickets, which will cost 1989 prices: $16. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:45 p.m.