Greg’s Grades & Trends: Virginia Football At North Carolina

Greg's Grades & Trends provide analysis of the Virginia football team.
Micah Kiser and the Virginia defense have plenty of reasons to celebrate lately. ~ Photo Courtesy Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Media Relations

In last week’s grades and trends, I noted that one of the biggest trends in Virginia football this season is not a statistical trend but a psychological trend. After watching the 20-14 defeat of North Carolina on Saturday – while I am not ready to start predicting ACC Coastal Division titles and big-time bowl games for the Hoos – it’s clear that this team has a different mindset than teams we’ve watched over the last decade.

The two quick scores by UNC early in the second half would’ve completely demoralized some previous Cavalier squads. They would not have recovered and there’s ample proof of this. This team took the blow from the Tar Heel offense, cleaned up the run gap fits, and ultimately left Chapel Hill victorious.

It would’ve been hard to blame anyone following the Indiana game for doubting how much, if any, progress the team had made from 2016 to 2017. The win over Connecticut offered more hope but there were still red flags, especially considering how the outcome was by a much slimmer margin than the final score suggested.

Boise State could easily have been perceived as either a fluke or a picture of what was possible. The Duke and North Carolina wins, however, have offered greater assurance that this is truly a different kind of Virginia team as I highlighted last week in the trend section.

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