Wahoos Realize They Cannot Afford To Let Up Against 1-5 UNC

Bronco Mendenhall and his Wahoos know that although the Tar Heels are struggling, they cannot be taken lightly. (Photo Courtesy Matt Riley/UVa Media Relations)
With Virginia riding a wave of positive momentum and this weekend’s opponent coming to town with only one win, it would be easy for the Cavaliers to come into the 123rd edition of “The South’s Oldest Rivalry” overconfident against North Carolina.
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall and his Wahoos (5-2, 3-1 ACC) know that although the Tar Heels are struggling, they cannot be taken lightly come Saturday afternoon.
“I like the scheme. I like their talent,” Mendenhall said of the Heels’ offense in Monday’s talk with the media. “I think they’re explosive and capable. The same thing on the defensive side. It’s, I think, very good ACC talent with strong coaching and execution within schemes that probably just hasn’t been quite as consistent as they would hope.”
UNC enters the weekend with an overall record of 1-5 (it’s likely that mark would be 1-6, had a game against Central Florida not been canceled) and have essentially snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in each of the last two outings.
Two weeks ago, while you were likely watching Virginia pull off the upset against then-No. 16 Miami, the Tar Heels had Virginia Tech on the ropes late in the fourth quarter in Chapel Hill.
Up 19-14 with time winding down, Carolina forced a Hokie three-and-out and drove the length of the field — thanks in large part to an 80-yard pass on a 3rd & 15 from Nathan Elliott to tight end Carl Tucker — and had a chance to put it out of reach with a touchdown.
On a 1st & goal from the Tech 1-yard line, UNC’s Michael Carter was approaching the end zone when Tech’s Tyree Rodgers delivered a blow with his hat, popping the ball up in the air and into the hands of his teammate, Jovonn Quillen, with just over six minutes to play.
The Hokies then marched it 98 yards, including a crucial 12-yard Ryan Willis scramble on a 4th & 9 with a minute and a half remaining, and scored the game-winning touchdown with 19 seconds to go. The Heels lost a 22-19 heartbreaker despite out-gaining Tech by a margin of 522-375.
Last week in a shootout at Syracuse, Carolina overcame a 13-point, third-quarter deficit and led 27-20 late in the fourth, but fell 40-37 in double overtime.
Mendenhall said he believes his players will share his thoughts after watching film of the Tar Heels, that they will not be a pushover Saturday.
“When you consider the last two outings — not only statistically against Virginia Tech, the way that game went, and against Syracuse — they’re certainly capable of beating anyone in our league at any time on any Saturday,” Mendenhall said, “and for whatever reason just haven’t quite put the whole thing together yet.”
Added Bryce Perkins of the upcoming matchup, which with a win would clinch a second straight postseason berth for the ‘Hoos: “We’re not overlooking them. They’re a good team, they’re a solid team… [Mendenhall] is going to make sure that we’re not coming out this week’s practice lollygagging. The standard is set high for us in practice and that’s the kind of pride we have in this team, that we like to work hard and we like to do hard things together.”
The Tar Heels, who finished 3-9 a season ago, have actually gained nearly 40 more yards per game than Virginia in 2018, ranking ahead of the Cavaliers in both rushing and passing yards per contest.
The UNC offensive line has yielded just eight sacks in its six games and senior wideout Anthony Ratliff ranks fifth in the conference in all-purpose yards per game.
“They have a lot of talent,” said sophomore defensive end Mandy Alonso of the Heels. “They’re an ACC team, so we can’t really underestimate any team in the ACC.”
Elliott has been fairly solid under center if you take away the season opener at California, when he threw four interceptions in a 7-point loss. The 6-foot-1 junior has not thrown one since, and was 20 for 25 for 160 and a score in the first half alone against the Orange over the weekend.
Hampton native Dazz Newsome was named ACC Specialist of the Week after scoring his first career touchdown on a 75-yard punt return at Syracuse, while also posting career highs from his receiver position (seven catches for 90 yards and another TD).
Junior Antonio Williams, an Ohio State transfer that was named the conference’s Running Back of the Week, also had a career day at Syracuse, rushing for 116 yards and a score on 15 carries while adding 38 more yards on his six receptions.
“It’s not like they’re terrible,” Alonso said of the Heels’ recent woes, “it’s just close games — it’s basically from a couple, maybe two or three plays that could’ve decided the game — and they’re going to come out and play against us, of course.”
Then there’s the flip side. The Tar Heels rank dead last in the ACC in turnover margin, pass efficiency and third-down conversion percentage (31.6%), and are next to last in both scoring offense (23.3 ppg) and scoring defense (34.8). Carolina has scored just 11 touchdowns in 24 red-zone trips.
In addition to the four-pick game against Cal, the Heels turned it over six times in a 37-point blowout loss to Miami. They also gave up 510 total yards and were blanked in the second half of a loss at East Carolina, 41-19, in Week 2.
Still, the ‘Hoos, who enter the week as a 9½-point favorite, plan to prepare for a physical, competitive, athletic, aggressive opponent who will be hungry for a win.
“This is the ACC,” said third-year wideout Joe Reed, “so you never know what’s going to happen on Saturday. So we’re not really looking at their record, we’re just looking at them as another opponent that we have to get ready for to play this week, just like we would prepare for Miami.”