Things were going so well for the Virginia football team.

The Cavaliers had won four straight games, taken over the lead in the ACC's Coastal Division and dispelled all the negativity associated with a 1-3 start.

And while it might have been a little premature to call Virginia a top-25 team, the Cavaliers surely had shown they were one of the nation's most resilient bunches.

Then I get home tonight, fire up my laptop and see an e-mail with the subject line "Statement From UVa Athletics Director Craig Littlepage."

This, I assumed quite correctly, could not be good.

Turns out fullback Rashawn Jackson was arrested this week and charged with two felonies --- grand larceny and breaking and entering, as the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Jeff Whiteexplains much better than I could here.

Here, by the way, is Littlepage's statement:

"At this time Rashawn Jackson is still a participating member of the football team. This matter will be handled within the team and the athletics department, and his final status with the team will not be determined until such time as the legal process is resolved or additional information becomes available. The athletics department will not have additional comment until this case is resolved."

As White points out, Jackson is at least the sixth Virginia player to encounter difficulties with the men in blue in 2008. That number was troubling when the Cavaliers were struggling, and it's just as troubling now.

At the very least, the already plucky Cavaliers will need a little bit more resilience to deal with their latest distraction.

--- Patrick Stevens

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