The Heels’ real opponent this weekend will be against complacency.
The Tar Heels return to Kenan Stadium this weekend to take on the 1-5 Virginia Cavaliers. The Hoos finally won their first game of the season last weekend against William & Mary thanks to their strong offensive performance. Focusing on the losses, the sneakiest thing about their season so far is that they barely lost to NC State and Boston College. The counter, of course, is that Tennessee and Maryland dispatched them easily, so basically the name of the game for UNC is not to downplay their opponent and everything will be fine.
Let’s discuss three keys to this weekend’s rivalry game.
Don’t eat the cheese
On the subject of downplaying opponents, Mack Brown spoke during his weekly press conference about a conversation he had years ago with former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells. This is what he said:
“I was at Texas and we had just beaten Kansas 66 to 14. We were undefeated and we’re second in the country and it was 2005, and we’re getting ready to go play (Texas) A&M and they’re 4-7 and we’re going to play A&M. I get a call from Coach (Bill) Parcells, he’s the head coach of the Cowboys and I had played for him at Florida State. He is a dear friend and I admired him so much. And he didn’t say hello. He said, “You’re in trouble, man.” I’m like, ‘We just won 66-14, we’re doing great, man.’ And he said “you’re in trouble, because you’re sitting around talking about yourself and USC and the national championship game.” This is Texas A&M’s bowl game. They’re not going to a bowl game, so their only chance to save their season is to bat.
“He said, ‘You’re like the big rat that eats the poisoned cheese.’ He said, “You’re going to die now.” You will eat the poisoned cheese and you will die. I mean, I was really scared on the phone.
While we can all agree that some coaching talk can be really grating, Parcells’ point is loud and clear: Now that the Heels are 6-0, they don’t have the luxury of relaxing facing inferior competition. It’s very likely that Virginia won’t finish the season bowl eligible, so the best they can do is shock the world by knocking out a top ten Carolina team that has hopes of winning the ACC and maybe even make the College Football Playoff. It’s not just the Cavaliers, either: Aside from Duke, the Heels will face four teams that would love to put a “We beat No. 10 Carolina” feather in their cap. The idea of an easy match should be abandoned by everyone in the locker room, because now begins the battle against bloodthirsty teams, as well as their own complacency.
How often can UNC get to Tony Muskett?
When it comes to quarterbacking this season, UNC certainly did a much better job than in 2022. Granted, the bar was on the ground, but the Heels generated quite a bit of pressure against every quarterback they faced. were confronted. away, and we’ll probably see the same thing this weekend.
Virginia is currently tied for 116th in the nation in sacks allowed according to NCAA.com, easily making it one of the worst in this category. UVA quarterback Tony Muskett was sacked four times against William & Mary, which is somewhat of an improvement from the six sacks he had against Boston College. The Heels will have a big opportunity to put together one of their best defensive games thus far, and it wouldn’t be surprising to hear the names Kaimon Rucker and Cedric Gray often. How many sacks can they muster against the Cavaliers’ struggling offensive line? Sky is the limit.
Another defense with an asterisk
If there’s one compliment that can be paid to the Cavaliers, it’s that their defense is 34th in the nation in passing yards allowed. However, much like Miami’s run defense, they have had the advantage of playing some pretty mediocre passing attacks thus far. The toughest opponent they faced this season was Tennessee, who only threw for 212 yards despite scoring 49 points. Do the Heels still have to respect them and what can they do? Yes. Do I think Drake Maye could tear them up? Yes too.
If the Cavaliers keep Drake Maye & Co. in check, Chip Lindsey should have no problem using Omarion Hampton early and often. He is coming off a monster game against Miami and finished with 197 rushing yards and a touchdown. Again, it’s hard to imagine Virginia’s defense being good enough to take on players like Drake Maye, but it never hurts to have an insurance policy in your backfield. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if everyone ate this game. Let’s just hope they don’t eat poisoned cheese.
Learn more
