Virginia 20, North Carolina 14
Resilience and defense remain a theme of the Cavaliers.
For the second consecutive week, the defense made one last stand to preserve a UVa victory Saturday, this time for the program's first win over North Carolina since 2009. On fourth down on Virginia's 37, Chris Peace sacked North Carolina QB Brandon Harris -- yes, with the aid of a facemask -- to seal the win. It's tough to feel bad about a facemask not being called on UVa for several reasons. First, how many times has UVa gotten jobbed by referees in the state of North Carolina? Even on Saturday, I recall at least one blatant pass interference/hold on receiver Doni Dowling that was not called. Also, if you watch Peace's sack, Andrew Brown is coming around the end on the other side with a UNC lineman's hand right on his facemask. If the play is called correctly, it would be offsetting penalties, replay fourth down. But like I said, calls have gone against UVa at UNC many times, especially in basketball, so I'm not going to feel bad. Plus, as several people pointed out online after the game, it only seemed fair the game would end that way after UNC escaped serious penalties by the NCAA on Friday. That's not a reason for the facemask not to be called, but it certainly makes you feel even more OK that it wasn't.
I shouldn't go too far into this without mentioning Jordan Ellis, who was a true workhorse for the Wahoos. He carried 27 times for a career-high 136 yards, eating away valuable time for UNC in the fourth quarter. He runs really hard and even seems to seek contact at times. The pounding he put on some of the Tar Heels definitely wore them down. It was fun to see the locker room celebration video online in which Bronco Mendenhall walked in and grabbed Ellis, who was minding his own business off to the side, and walked him to the center of the room where players were gathered, and soon everyone began jumping up and down and hollering. Besides Ellis, the other big star was Olamide Zaccheaus, who caught a short pass and broke away for an 81-yard touchdown down the sideline, where he shook off a defender's attempt to grab him by the shoulders. It was Virginia's only second-half
touchdown and gave the Wahoos the lead back.
Back to the defense. Except for two plays in the second half and one early drive in the first half by UNC that resulted in a missed field goal, the unit played great. It gave up fewer than 300 yards for the second consecutive game, the first time that has happened two straight times against FBS teams for UVa since 2012. Of course, the two breakdowns led to long runs -- one was a rushing TD and another set up a TD -- that really hurt the team and gave the lead to the Tar Heels. But the team recovered after falling behind, just like against Duke (and Boise State when it was 7-0 very early for that matter), and still won, showing great resiliency again. And once again, like Quin Blanding has said, the defense seems to really like sudden change and relishing the chance to step up with the game on the line, because that's what the unit did again on the final drive. But basically, without two long runs by UNC, the defense wasn't that far from a shutout. UNC did not have a good passing offense, and the Tar Heels decided to go with LSU transfer Brandon Harris at QB instead of freshman Chazz Surratt. Harris threw several passes up for grabs, and UVa came up with three interceptions -- one each by Brenton Nelson, Bryce Hall, and Chris Moore -- and allowed only 46 passing yards. The Cavaliers are 10th in the country in passing defense, having given up just 169.8 yards per game, and they are tied for 13th with nine interceptions. Those are incredible numbers, but I hope to see the defense tested more, because I don't know if the Cavaliers are that good at pass defense or if the passing offenses they have faced are that weak.
The game was closer than it should've been for two reasons. Though UVa ran the ball pretty well the entire game, the team did not convert once it got close to the goal line, having to settle for two short field goals. The final score could've easily been 28-14. I am glad that freshman kicker A.J. Meija made both kicks, obviously -- though we still aren't sure what he can do on kicks over 30 yards -- but it would've been much better to see UVa finish off those two drives for TDs. There was also a drive in the second half where UVa got to about the UNC 30, but was pushed back and had to punt.
Secondly, the play calling on the final drive left a little to be desired. Run, run, run was the formula that was working that seemed like it was either going to a) score a TD for UVa and leave little time remaining, b) score a field goal for UVa and leave little time remaining, or c) simply run the clock out. But for some reason, on second-and-8 at the UNC 20 with about four minutes remaining, Virginia decided to pass the ball. That led to a block-in-the-back penalty which set Virginia up way behind the sticks and it never recovered, with Kurt Benkert scrambling around and fumbling on third down, which was picked up by North Carolina and luckily, ran back to only about the UNC 40. It looked like it had big-play potential. Amazingly, despite a dozen fumbles on the year before that one, that was the first one recovered by UVa's opponent. That means the team has gotten lucky and does in fact need to take better care of the ball. Benkert and running back Chris Sharp both fumbled in the game but neither went to UNC (Sharp's came on the last drive, too). Anyway, if anyone can explain why on that second-and-8, you should do anything but run, I'm all ears. There is no reason to pass there. Unfortunately, it reminded me of the UVa-BYU game in 2013 at Scott Stadium. BYU had the lead and the ball with a couple minutes left. Mendenhall was of course BYU's coach, and Robert Anae was the offensive coordinator. It had been a rainy day, and the field was slick. For some reason, BYU decided to pass the ball in its own territory. UVa intercepted the pass and ended up scoring a rushing TD for the win. Anae, run the ball! Don't get cute, please.
It was a good road win for the team over a rival it hadn't beaten in awhile. But there were several things that could've been improved upon. It is fantastic that Virginia is winning games where it isn't perfect. The 'Hoos actually have a margin of error and is winning close games, something it hadn't done much of in recent years. It is also good the team can keep improving on these performances. There's something new to work on every week, a fresh challenge. Against UNC, the team needed to finish off long drives with TDs, get smarter in the red zone, and also, the punt coverage team was not good. Lester Coleman shanked a couple of punts, and there was at least one long return that happened after Coleman had placed a punt in the corner of the field near the goal line.
At 5-1, UVa is one win from bowl eligibility. The team hasn't been to the postseason since 2011. In only Mendenhall's second season, it is a surprising development. As UVa fans know, though, it might not be easy to get that sixth victory. We are so used to things being difficult for the program. These past couple of games could've easily been losses. But it feels good to care again and know that the team has a chance to win games and improve at the same time.
Resilience and defense remain a theme of the Cavaliers.
For the second consecutive week, the defense made one last stand to preserve a UVa victory Saturday, this time for the program's first win over North Carolina since 2009. On fourth down on Virginia's 37, Chris Peace sacked North Carolina QB Brandon Harris -- yes, with the aid of a facemask -- to seal the win. It's tough to feel bad about a facemask not being called on UVa for several reasons. First, how many times has UVa gotten jobbed by referees in the state of North Carolina? Even on Saturday, I recall at least one blatant pass interference/hold on receiver Doni Dowling that was not called. Also, if you watch Peace's sack, Andrew Brown is coming around the end on the other side with a UNC lineman's hand right on his facemask. If the play is called correctly, it would be offsetting penalties, replay fourth down. But like I said, calls have gone against UVa at UNC many times, especially in basketball, so I'm not going to feel bad. Plus, as several people pointed out online after the game, it only seemed fair the game would end that way after UNC escaped serious penalties by the NCAA on Friday. That's not a reason for the facemask not to be called, but it certainly makes you feel even more OK that it wasn't.
I shouldn't go too far into this without mentioning Jordan Ellis, who was a true workhorse for the Wahoos. He carried 27 times for a career-high 136 yards, eating away valuable time for UNC in the fourth quarter. He runs really hard and even seems to seek contact at times. The pounding he put on some of the Tar Heels definitely wore them down. It was fun to see the locker room celebration video online in which Bronco Mendenhall walked in and grabbed Ellis, who was minding his own business off to the side, and walked him to the center of the room where players were gathered, and soon everyone began jumping up and down and hollering. Besides Ellis, the other big star was Olamide Zaccheaus, who caught a short pass and broke away for an 81-yard touchdown down the sideline, where he shook off a defender's attempt to grab him by the shoulders. It was Virginia's only second-half
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| Jordan Ellis was a beast against UNC, recording a career-high 136 yards. He should've been used even more on the team's final drive. |
Back to the defense. Except for two plays in the second half and one early drive in the first half by UNC that resulted in a missed field goal, the unit played great. It gave up fewer than 300 yards for the second consecutive game, the first time that has happened two straight times against FBS teams for UVa since 2012. Of course, the two breakdowns led to long runs -- one was a rushing TD and another set up a TD -- that really hurt the team and gave the lead to the Tar Heels. But the team recovered after falling behind, just like against Duke (and Boise State when it was 7-0 very early for that matter), and still won, showing great resiliency again. And once again, like Quin Blanding has said, the defense seems to really like sudden change and relishing the chance to step up with the game on the line, because that's what the unit did again on the final drive. But basically, without two long runs by UNC, the defense wasn't that far from a shutout. UNC did not have a good passing offense, and the Tar Heels decided to go with LSU transfer Brandon Harris at QB instead of freshman Chazz Surratt. Harris threw several passes up for grabs, and UVa came up with three interceptions -- one each by Brenton Nelson, Bryce Hall, and Chris Moore -- and allowed only 46 passing yards. The Cavaliers are 10th in the country in passing defense, having given up just 169.8 yards per game, and they are tied for 13th with nine interceptions. Those are incredible numbers, but I hope to see the defense tested more, because I don't know if the Cavaliers are that good at pass defense or if the passing offenses they have faced are that weak.
The game was closer than it should've been for two reasons. Though UVa ran the ball pretty well the entire game, the team did not convert once it got close to the goal line, having to settle for two short field goals. The final score could've easily been 28-14. I am glad that freshman kicker A.J. Meija made both kicks, obviously -- though we still aren't sure what he can do on kicks over 30 yards -- but it would've been much better to see UVa finish off those two drives for TDs. There was also a drive in the second half where UVa got to about the UNC 30, but was pushed back and had to punt.
Secondly, the play calling on the final drive left a little to be desired. Run, run, run was the formula that was working that seemed like it was either going to a) score a TD for UVa and leave little time remaining, b) score a field goal for UVa and leave little time remaining, or c) simply run the clock out. But for some reason, on second-and-8 at the UNC 20 with about four minutes remaining, Virginia decided to pass the ball. That led to a block-in-the-back penalty which set Virginia up way behind the sticks and it never recovered, with Kurt Benkert scrambling around and fumbling on third down, which was picked up by North Carolina and luckily, ran back to only about the UNC 40. It looked like it had big-play potential. Amazingly, despite a dozen fumbles on the year before that one, that was the first one recovered by UVa's opponent. That means the team has gotten lucky and does in fact need to take better care of the ball. Benkert and running back Chris Sharp both fumbled in the game but neither went to UNC (Sharp's came on the last drive, too). Anyway, if anyone can explain why on that second-and-8, you should do anything but run, I'm all ears. There is no reason to pass there. Unfortunately, it reminded me of the UVa-BYU game in 2013 at Scott Stadium. BYU had the lead and the ball with a couple minutes left. Mendenhall was of course BYU's coach, and Robert Anae was the offensive coordinator. It had been a rainy day, and the field was slick. For some reason, BYU decided to pass the ball in its own territory. UVa intercepted the pass and ended up scoring a rushing TD for the win. Anae, run the ball! Don't get cute, please.
It was a good road win for the team over a rival it hadn't beaten in awhile. But there were several things that could've been improved upon. It is fantastic that Virginia is winning games where it isn't perfect. The 'Hoos actually have a margin of error and is winning close games, something it hadn't done much of in recent years. It is also good the team can keep improving on these performances. There's something new to work on every week, a fresh challenge. Against UNC, the team needed to finish off long drives with TDs, get smarter in the red zone, and also, the punt coverage team was not good. Lester Coleman shanked a couple of punts, and there was at least one long return that happened after Coleman had placed a punt in the corner of the field near the goal line.
At 5-1, UVa is one win from bowl eligibility. The team hasn't been to the postseason since 2011. In only Mendenhall's second season, it is a surprising development. As UVa fans know, though, it might not be easy to get that sixth victory. We are so used to things being difficult for the program. These past couple of games could've easily been losses. But it feels good to care again and know that the team has a chance to win games and improve at the same time.
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