Lucas: Virginia Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Fans of offense got a treat on Saturday night at Kenan Stadium. Carolina and Virginia combined for 62 first downs and over 1,200 yards of offense, but the Tar Heels had the more consistent and more diverse production, and won a solid 59-39 decision.

2. It felt mighty good to end a four-game Virginia winning streak in this series. The Tar Heels needed this win for the course of the season, for the Coastal race, for recruiting, and just for the program's general health.

3. Pick your favorite offensive standout. It all starts with Sam Howell, of course. For the second straight week, he went over 300 yards passing (307) and over 100 yards rushing (112).

"It changes everything," Mack Brown told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "When they have to worry about Sam running the ball it changes their pass rush lanes.it also helps the run game inside because they have to be more aware of that plus-one player in Sam because he can definitely take the ball on the option or zone read. That softens up the middle some." Howell did a great job of remaining steady after what could have been a game-changing interception in the end zone in the first half.

4. There were other standouts. Josh Downs had perhaps the catch of the year on his diving first half touchdown reception, and finished with eight catches for 203 yards. Downs isn't becoming a star. He already is one, and don't forget that he also had a 38-yard punt return.

5. Here's the surprise, though—the Tar Heels paired that passing and catching with a very impressive ground game. Ty Chandler rolled up 198 yards on 20 carries, Caleb Hood chipped in an impressive 66 yards on nine carries, and Josh Henderson added three carries for 16 yards. Put it all together and Carolina rushed for 392 yards and an average of 8.3 per carry.

6. That diverse offense enabled the Tar Heels to convert all seven third down situations in the second half, when they were on the way to turning a 28-24 halftime deficit into a 20-point victory. 246 of those rushing yards came in the second half. The Tar Heels faced just one third-and-long situation (9+) in the game.

7. Don't forget to give credit also to an offensive line that has taken some criticism the last two weeks. Even juggling personnel and mixing and matching some positions, the Tar Heels opened wide running lanes all evening.

8. Which means it's time for a reminder that this was Virginia defensive lineman Mandy Alonso earlier this week speaking about Carolina: "They always try to come physical…Even if they come out swinging, we just have to be able to sustain it and we know they can't sustain it, because the past four years, they haven't been able to." The Tar Heels sustained it on Saturday, and the Cavalier defense seemed to suffer quite a few cramping issues on a mild Chapel Hill night.

9. Now, about the Carolina defense. It gave up a school record 554 passing yards to Brennan Armstrong, who had a terrific night. But Armstrong was also the sum total of the Wahoo attack, as they managed just 21 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Jay Bateman has been consistently good with halftime adjustments during his UNC tenure, and he did it again on Saturday.

10. The best way Carolina defended the Cavaliers in the second half was keeping them off the field. After the Hoos held the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the first half, Carolina had a 16:23-13:37 advantage in the second half.

11. In the best tradition of some of Carolina's standout defensive players, it's just fun to watch Ja'Qurious Conley play football. The safety covered a third of the field to come up with his second half interception and made five tackles to go with a quarterback hurry. His interception felt like a backbreaker, as it came one play after the Heels had taken a 45-31 lead and led directly to another Howell touchdown pass.

12. There's also a third element of the game—special teams. The Tar Heels have been good in that area the last two weeks, blocking a punt last week and getting the big punt return tonight. It's a nice weapon to be good in that element of the game.

13. The crowd was incredible. Kenan Stadium was full early, consistently loud, and played a factor in the game. It felt like a football day all day in Chapel Hill and on Franklin Street. It's going to be fun to be back in Kenan Stadium on Oct. 2 against Duke.

14. It's hard to believe this offense scored just ten points against Virginia Tech. But really it wasn't this same offense—this is the offense after having the benefit of playing two games and of shuffling personnel to create the best fits and the best usage for each of the pieces. Great tweaks by the Tar Heel offensive staff. "This is the offense we wanted," Brown said on the THSN. "We rushed for 392 yards, nearly 400 yards against a good defensive team that it's been hard for us to rush against the last two years."

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Ty Chandler

Ja'Qurious Conley

Josh Downs

Caleb Hood

Sam Howell

Related Videos