UNC Football: Virginia Scouting Report
It is Homecoming this weekend in Chapel Hill and it appears the Tar Heels have the perfect opponent in the Virginia Cavaliers- the ACC’s worst team this season. The Cavaliers are 2-7 this season and 0-5 in the conference, which has landed their head coach Mike London on the hot seat despite landing two of the top 10 players in the 2014 recruiting class. The Cavaliers have struggled all season long on offense as they rank next to last in scoring offense and 10th in total offense in the conference. The defense is not much better as it ranks last in scoring giving up 32 points per game and 12th in total defense allowing 417 yards per game. The Heels should win this game easily to continue building momentum toward a possible bowl berth.
Quarteback
Name to know: Pete Thomas
Stat to know: Pete Thomas is averaging 205 yards per game.
The Cavaliers passing offense is 11th in the ACC. The Cavs have only passed for more than 300 yards once and have been held under 200 yards 4 time including last week against Clemson. Last week, Thomas had a passer rating of 62.36 with a completion percent of 41.
Running Back
Name to know: Kevin Parks
Stat to know: Parks is averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
Kevin Parks has been the rare bright spot in the Cavs dismal offense. He has 696 yards this season to go along with 9 touchdowns. He is averaging 77 yards per game which is 4th in the ACC and has 3 games over 100 yards this season. The next leading rusher on the team is Kalek Shepherd with 256 yards this season.
Wide Receiver
Name to know: Tim Smith
Stat to know: No Virginia player has more than 350 receiving yards this season.
No where are the struggles of the offense more apparent then in the passing game and their lack playmakers. Their leading pass receiver Tim Smith only has 23 catches this season for 350 yards. The running back Kevin Parks is next with 32 catches for 305 yards. No player is averaging more than 38 yards per game or has more than 3 touchdowns.
Defensive Line
Name to know: Eli Harold
Stat to know: Harold has 5.5 sacks this season.
Eli Harold leads the team this season in both sacks and tackles for loss with 10. Joining him on the is Jake Snyder who has 42 tackles this season and David Dean who is second on the with 4 sacks.
Linebacker
Name to know: Henry Coley, Daquan Romero
Stat to know: The have allowed over 1,600 yards on the ground this season.
Henry Coley and Daquan Romero are the leading tacklers for a defense that has struggled all season long. The Cavs are giving up over 180 yards on the ground per game while allowing 4.51 yards per carry. The Heels will likely run early and often on this weak run defense.
Secondary
Name to know: Anthony Harris
Stat to know: Harris has 6 interceptions this season the rest of the team has just one.
Just like on Parks on offense, Harris has been the lone bright spot on an otherwise terrible defense. His 6 interceptions leads the ACC and he is 3rd on the team with 69 tackles. The Cavs are giving up over 230 yards per game in the air. So it does not matter if the Tar Heels choose to attack UVA through the air or on the ground the Heels should have no problem putting up a lot points on this defense.
Nov 2, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels safety Tre Boston (10) cornerback Tim Scott (7) and defensive back Brian Walker (27) celebrate a victory against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Carter Finley Stadium. North Carolina beat North Carolina State 27-19. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports