Virginia Athletics recently reopened access to the Hill for all ticketed fans, and Virginia’s defense followed suit Saturday afternoon, opening access to the endzone in a humiliating 41-14 loss to North Carolina. The Cavaliers (4-4, 2-3 ACC) handed the Tar Heels (4-4, 1-4 ACC) their first conference win of the season in embarrassing fashion. The only question at hand is whether the offense or the defense was the worst part of the afternoon. Coach Tony Elliott didn’t mince words assessing his coaching performance.
“I failed at my job today,” Elliott said.
That failure is incredibly costly. Now sitting at 4-4, Virginia must win two of its final four games to earn a bowl game berth. Three of those games are against ranked opponents, and the final game is at Virginia Tech. Barring a pair of upset victories, the Cavaliers’ postseason hopes are on a deathbed. Beating North Carolina was a necessary step towards reaching a bowl game. Now, Elliott’s squad will lick their wounds and rebound. Saturday was one of the worst performances in Elliott’s career.
The passing game was a slog for sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who threw for 156 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Colandrea was under constant duress, as graduate center Brian Stevens and senior guard Ty Furnish both sat out due to injury. Colandrea was swarmed immediately by waves of Carolina Blue on numerous dropbacks.
“He was getting his back foot in the ground and guys were on him,” Elliott said.
Colandrea’s handling of this pressure left much to be desired though, as he held the ball too long and took a season-high nine sacks. Colandrea was not horribly inaccurate, he just never had a chance to set his feet and play within the structure of the offense.
In addition to porous play from the offensive line, Colandrea’s wide receivers were blanketed by opposing defensive backs once again — a theme that has persisted since junior receiver Trell Harris went down with a knee injury. The offense was cramped and unable to find any rhythm or identity.
Capping off the abominable showing on offense, Virginia’s rushing attack proved non-lethal. The team was held to just seven rushing yards as Carolina dominated the trenches. Junior running back Xavier Brown was able to contribute in the passing game with two nice productive receptions on swing passes, but that was about all Virginia’s backs could muster.
Brown came within a whisker of his second receiving touchdown on the season with an acrobatic dive for the endzone on the Cavaliers’ first drive. As he rocketed towards the front pylon Brown managed to extend the ball over the goal line, but replay revealed he touched out of bounds prior to scoring. An errant snap and two incompletions forced the Cavaliers to settle for a field goal by junior kicker Will Bettridge.
The Cavaliers' defense fared better initially, but the dam broke midway through the second quarter. After being held to 10 points through the team’s first four drives, the Tar Heels rattled off three straight touchdowns to go up 31-6.
Atrocious tackling by the Cavaliers' defense prevented the unit from getting off the field. The absence of senior linebacker James Jackson tormented Virginia’s defense, as fans emptied the stadium with every poor angle taken by his replacements. Consistently missing tackles is a surefire cause for defeat.
Senior running back Omarion Hampton scoffed at the Cavaliers’ futile tackle attempts as he ripped off one punishing run after another, amassing 105 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.
Virginia’s front seven wasn’t the only group unable to bring down ball carriers though. The Cavaliers’ secondary seemed downright uninterested in tackling senior receiver J.J. Jones, who scorched them for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns on five receptions.
Jones was a nightmare, haunting Cavaliers’ defensive backs at all three levels of the field. He scored the game’s first touchdown on a 37-yard tunnel screen in which he broke multiple tackles en route to the endzone. Already up by 11, with 11 seconds left in the half, Jones worked behind junior cornerback Jam Jackson and reeled in the 31-yard score even getting fouled. Jones’ second touchdown was the gut punch — and put the game out of reach.
Well even if a game is as good as over at halftime, the remaining two quarters must be played — much to the dismay of those in attendance at Scott Stadium. Even though the Tar Heels held a commanding lead, the following 30 minutes was an insulting and laughable slap in the face to every Cavaliers fan who did not have the heart to head for the exits early.
Colandrea threw two interceptions to defensive linemen, the second of which was returned 84 yards for the touchdown by senior defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie. The 290-pound Ritzie rumbled down the sideline, defying multiple tackle attempts with disproportionate grace.
The play, which seemed to unfold in slow motion, was a sort of microcosmic metaphor for Virginia's implosion — both in this game and on the season. A play so head-scratching and improbable that it would be funny, if it was not so agonizing.
After that embarrassment, Elliott inserted graduate quarterback Tony Muskett in place of Colandrea. Muskett made the most of his garbage time minutes, connecting with junior receiver JR Wilson for a 68-yard touchdown with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter. The score helped the optics, but not much else for the Cavaliers. This was a day that Elliott's squad would like to forget.
Virginia travels up north next week for another conference bout against No. 19 Pittsburgh. Kickoff time and broadcast location will be announced in the coming days. For now, Elliott and company have a lot to discuss.
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