The Hoos came up short against UNC.

Headlines

• Big plays doom Hoos
• Heels end 29-year drought in Charlottesville
• UNC surpasses 480 yards of total offense for only the second time since Sept. 4, 2004
• Cavalier defense surrenders more than 400 yards for third consecutive game

First Impressions

If you like clinics on how not to manage a game as quarterback and how not to defend the passing game, then you got your money’s worth Saturday at Scott Stadium. A quick glance at the statistics over the last three weeks reveals just how far Mike London’s rebuilding process still has to go. The previous two weeks it was the Cavaliers’ hapless run defense that surrendered big plays and big yardage to Florida State and Georgia Tech. This time, it was the defensive secondary’s inability to stop the big play that served as the weak link in a defense that looked much different from the first three weeks of the season when it surrendered just 37 points. You have to go back to 1975 to find the last time the Cavaliers surrendered 33 points or more in three consecutive games.

The Virginia secondary shoulders much of the blame for this abysmal performance but after surviving most of the season with little pass rush and the spotty linebacker play continuing in coverage, which I’ve chronicled this year, this was a total team lapse.

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