Five takeaways from UVA football’s disastrous blowout loss to UNC

The Virginia Cavaliers fell to 4-4 (2-3 ACC) on Saturday afternoon inside Scott Stadium after getting manhandled by a North Carolina team that entered Charlottesville on a four-game losing skid.

In an embarrassing, spirit-crushing loss for the ‘Hoos, the Tar Heels completely dominated the game on both sides of the ball in a 41-14 win.

Here are five takeaways from the undeniable low point of the Cavaliers’ season:

It doesn’t get any easier from here

Now losers of three in a row, the ‘Hoos get a desperately-needed bye next weekend before three consecutive dates with ranked opponents to begin November. Virginia will be on the road to face Pittsburgh on the 9^th before a trip to South Bend to play Notre Dame on the 16^th.

After a 4-1 start, the ‘Hoos looked primed for bowl eligibility, but that dream is fading fast. Getting manhandled by a below-average UNC team is an absolute gut punch for the program. Saturday’s matchup with the Tar Heels was almost certainly the last time the ‘Hoos will be favored in a game this season, meaning UVA will need to pull off a pair of upsets just to finish the season at .500.

Needless to say this is not the stretch that Wahoo fans were expecting after such a promising start, and Saturday’s result will surely prompt rumblings regarding the future of the Tony Elliott era in Charlottesville.

Virginia’s offense disappeared

North Carolina entered Charlottesville giving up 30.4 points and 399.9 yards per game. Just a few weeks ago, the Tar Heels were torched by James Madison for 70 points (!!!) in Chapel Hill.

Yet on Saturday afternoon, Virginia’s anemic offense was completely shut down by the ‘mighty’ Tar Heels. The ‘Hoos totaled just 288 yards (including a season-low 77 in the first half), couldn’t run the football (7 yards, 0.2 yards per carry), and couldn’t move it much through the air either.

The ‘Hoos managed just 17 first downs while getting tackled for loss 12 times as a Virginia offense that was once dominant earlier this season seems to have completely fallen apart.

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea, albeit dealing with constant pressure, played his worst game of the season and arguably of his brief UVA career. The young gunslinger finished with 156 yards on 16-of-28 completions with no touchdowns and a pair of backbreaking interceptions (including a pick-six in the red zone).

It’s been a rough stretch of games for Colandrea in a season that largely hasn’t been the step forward Virginia fans were hoping for. With the season quickly getting out of hand, it’s time for veteran Tony Muskett — who threw for 125 yards and a touchdown in a quarter of relief action — to get some run under center. He makes quick decisions, has an accurate arm, and knows when to find his checkdowns. Wahoo fans are paranoid about Colandrea transferring, but the ‘Hoos look like a beaten down group and are in desperate need of a spark.

The red zone struggles continued

In what has become a recurring trend this season, Virginia’s offense was once again abysmal in the red zone.

After driving to North Carolina’s one-yard line on their opening possession and coming within inches of a touchdown by a diving Xavier Brown, UVA went shotgun on first-and-goal rather than sending out Grady Brosterhous for the ever-reliable ‘Grady Bunch.’

The ‘Hoos promptly lost 11 yards on a bad snap that sailed over Anthony Colandrea’s head before having to settle for a frustrating field goal after three consecutive incompletions.

Late in the second quarter, Virginia would have to settle for another field goal on their only other red zone trip of the opening half after another drive stalled inside the 15-yard line.

Later in the game, with things already well out of reach, Colandrea had a pass tipped, intercepted, and returned for a touchdown after the ‘Hoos had reached the red zone for just the third time all afternoon.

This has been a serious problem for UVA throughout the season. First-half red zone struggles were a top culprit in the ‘Hoos loss to Maryland and some questionable goal-line decision-making helped things get out of hand quickly last weekend at Clemson.

The Virginia offense isn’t producing much to begin with, but an inability to capitalize in the red zone is torpedoing any chance of success for this team as of late.

Tackling abandoned the ‘Hoos on Saturday

John Rudzinski’s Cavalier defense was not the number one problem on Saturday, but it definitely didn’t do much to help either.

The ‘Hoos struggled to wrap up and make tackles all afternoon, leading to a 428-yard performance by a North Carolina offense led by backup quarterback Jacolby Criswell. Each of UNC’s three first-half touchdown drives were aided by crucial missed tackles and poor angles by the Virginia secondary; and the defeated defensive unit continued to find little success late in the game.

Virginia was commended for playing complementary football early on this year, but right now each unit is actively making life more difficult for the others.

Injuries on the offensive line finally caught up to them

The ‘Hoos were without starting center Brian Stevens and starting right tackle Ty Furnish on Saturday against the Tar Heels, marking the latest in a long string of injury issues to have plagued the offensive line this season.

The lack of cohesion up front finally caught up to Virginia’s offense on Saturday, as Anthony Colandrea spent the afternoon running for his life. The sophomore signal-caller was sacked nine times (and Muskett was sacked once) and knocked down on four other occasions. Backup center Noah Josey also launched the aforementioned snap over Colandrea’s head on the goal line in the first quarter, derailing UVA’s opening drive.

The line was bad in pass protection, yet perhaps worse while blocking for the run — the ‘Hoos managed just 7 total rushing yards on 29 attempts (good for 0.2 yards per attempt).

Getting some key pieces back up front would be a nice first step in getting this season back on track.