Virginia is a 23.5-point ‘dog in Saturday’s game against #10 North Carolina, which is what it is. Tony Elliott is reminding his guys what happened when the two teams met last year.
“For us, it’s about opportunity and having confidence that they return a lot of guys, we return a lot of guys, we got some new additions, and last year this was a three-point ballgame, and it was a possession-for-possession ballgame,” said Elliott, describing the 31-28 loss in Charlottesville about as well as he could.
The ‘Hoos led that one 14-10 at the half, answered an early third-quarter UNC touchdown with a Ronnie Walker 1-yard run to go back on top, and narrowed a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to three on a gritty 8-yard TD scramble by Brennan Armstrong, before time just ran out on them.
Virginia, which like this year had problems gaining yards on the ground in 2022, actually put up 186 yards rushing, with Mike Hollins going for 75 yards on 16 attempts.
UVA gained 418 yards on the day with the Big Three – Keytaon Thompson, Dontayvion Wicks and Lavel Davis Jr. – all on the sidelines in street clothes.
Chris Graham on UVA-UNC
Now, yes, this year’s Carolina defense is markedly better, allowing 359.7 yards per game, down significantly from the 436.5 yards per game the Tar Heels surrendered in 2022 – that total ranking dead last in the ACC.
That D also allowed an ACC-worst 30.8 points per game; this year, UNC is giving up 21.0 points per.
The offense has the same guy at QB – Drake Maye, who is leading the conference in passing yards per game (317.0).
And Maye has a feature back who is also leading the ACC, Omarion Hampton, who is averaging 109.7 yards per game on the ground.
The Carolina offense is second in the ACC in total offense (501.3 yards per game), and has put up at least 31 points in each of its six games in 2023.
And it’s just now getting to full strength. The NCAA dawdled on the status of star transfer wideout Devontez Walker, initially ruling that Walker would have to sit out a year, before reversing course and clearing the way for him to play ahead of the Syracuse game in Week 5.
Walker, in last week’s 41-31 win over Miami, had 132 yards receiving on six catches, three of which went for TDs.
Hampton put up 197 yards on the ground in that one as the Heels ran up 508 yards of total offense against the ‘Canes, who rank third in the ACC in total defense (308.3 yards per game).
The one advantage for Virginia here is that the Cavaliers are coming off their bye week, meaning they’ve had an extra day or two to prepare, in addition to the extra rest.
UVA is coming off its only win of the season to date, a 27-13 W over William & Mary on Oct. 7 that was tougher sledding than the two-TD final margin might indicate.
But all in all, for a 1-5 team, Virginia is playing decent football of late – in the two weeks before the win over W&M, the ‘Hoos lost to NC State on a walk-off field goal, and lost at Boston College on a field goal in the final two minutes.
“If we can compete, which we’re learning how to do consistently and get the game to the fourth quarter, then hopefully we can flip it by finishing in the fourth quarter and having some success down the stretch, but this is what you want as a competitor,” Elliott said.
“That was my message to the guys this morning. Come on, man. It’s primetime. It’s 6:30. It’s on the road. Top-10 team. This is what you dream about. When you are a kid, these are the moments that you want to be in. We’re not going to make it something bigger than what it is, but be truly understanding of what the opportunity is.”
There are still myriad issues to get fixed – the O line can’t block, the D line can’t get pressure on the QB, the secondary is banged up almost beyond recognition.
Those are among the reasons Virginia is a 23.5-point ‘dog going into this one.
And yet …
“It’s a great opportunity,” Elliott said. “You know, it’s really why you come to a school like UVA is to be able to play in these type of games. My vision and hope is that we’re on the other side where we are the ranked opponent and having to learn how to manage success, but we have to get there.
“So right now, we have opportunity. The first half of the season, I feel like we didn’t take advantage of some of the opportunities that were there. We were close, but we’re tired of being close.
“What better opportunity than starting this week and then every week after it?” Elliott said. “Really, that’s what the ACC is. In my experience and my years, it’s week in and week out, are games that are very significant, so to speak, when they have ranked implications on the line.”
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