Offensive Struggles help UVA defeat UNC 16-3.

O is for Offensive, not Offense.
By Ed Lane
ESPN Radio 1160 AM (WODY)

God may have made the sky Carolina blue for gorgeous days like today, but the no hue of blue could cover up cold North Carolina offense. On a day where UVA Coach Al Groh temporarily silenced the “Groh Must Go” chants, the UNC offense certainly did their part to silence Groh’s critics in a 16-3 UVA win which wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated.

Much of the blame for Carolina’s porous offensive output can be traced to a young offensive line, pitted against the only 3-4 base defense the Tar Heels face all year long. The Heels’ patchwork offensive line struggled to block a UVA defense that, while not stout in size, gave UNC’s young blockers fits all afternoon. UNC Head Coach Butch Davis alluded in his press conference to this, noting the difficulty in teaching a young offensive line how to block a defense such as UVA’s.

Numbers don’t always tell the whole story of a game, but they certainly reflect the Tar heels’ anemic and largely inept offense.

The offense’s output certainly reflects the “growth” in progress, looking eerily similar to last week’s struggle at Georgia Tech. Last week, UNC gained 177 yards on offense. Today: 174. Last week the heels netted 44 yards rushing. Today: 39. And last week T.J. Yates threw for 133 yards. Today: 135.

Credit Butch Davis in his post-game press conference, admitting that his coaching staff may have found some answers to his offense’s struggles. The only problem some Carolina fans may have: for the most part, Davis pointed to his Offense’s youth. He noted the difficulty in inserting offensive linemen, particularly citing Cam Holland, into a game and that as a coach “you just can’t snap your fingers and expect it all to click.”

Seeing the film is one thing. Facing the attacks in person is another. “As far as I know they weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary that we hadn’t seen on film,” Yates said. “They brought a couple of blitzes we weren’t ready for, but we just got to go out there and execute.”

As realistic an assessment as that may be, the UVA defense deserves credit as well, and it starts largely with the front seven, which spent much of the afternoon finding their ways around Carolina’s linemen and into the backfield.

“They are taking advantage and looking at a young, inexperienced offensive line, and they are doing what good coaches do, which is try to exploit somebody,” Coach Davis said after the game. Somebody doesn’t exactly cover it for this game, though. UVA exploited an entire unit which, has produced 10 total points in the last two contests.

As the boos rained down form the Kenan Stadium bleachers and Carolina fans chanted for a change at quarterback, Butch Davis said the thought really didn’t cross his mind. “Sometimes you just have to play yourself through some poor performances. He didn’t play as well as we’d have liked for him to last week at Georgia Tech. He hit some throws today, but he was under duress. I don’t know exactly the statistics, but I want to say they either blitzed or pressured something in the neighborhood of 10 of the first 19 plays of the game.” After that, the ‘Hoos didn’t really have to blitz, largely due to their effective pass coverage from a group which saw seniors Chris Cook and Vic Hall both make solid contributions.

When the Wahoos only rushed three or four defenders. They benefited greatly from a pass defense which blanketed UNC’s inexperienced Wide Receivers, holding freshman sensations Erik Highsmith and Jheraine Boyd to a combined 23 yards on 4 receptions.

When 8 receptions for 63 yards (courtesy Greg Little) highlights your offense’s day, the word frustration comes to mind. “It’s extremely frustrating. The defense did a good job once again, the offense struggled. We struggled moving the ball down the field.”

While UNC would love to think about moving the ball down the field, the Heels must start with the basics: developing an offensive line can create those opportunities. Will it ever happen? Sounds like time and experience are some of the answers there.

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