The North Carolina Tar Heels enter Thursday night's game against Virginia in a daze after allowing 68 points last week in a loss against Georgia Tech.
North Carolina has been hot and cold all season. The Tar Heels had a nice four-game winning streak in the middle of the season, but have lost two of their last three games. The team has played only one ranked team this year, a 39-34 loss to then-No. 19 Louisville on Sept. 15.
North Carolina has been one of the best offenses in the ACC and the country. The team is ranked 9th in points per game with 40 and averages over 200 yards rushing.
Bryn Renner has been stellar at quarterback for the Tar Heels, passing for 2,736 yards and 20 touchdowns with only seven interceptions, while completing 63 percent of his passes.
Renner has built upon the success he had last season when he passed for 26 touchdowns and completed over 68 percent of his passes. His best game this season came in the loss at Louisville where he threw for 363 yards and five touchdowns with a rating of 173.2.
Sophomore Giovani Bernard has been essential to the offense, rushing for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns. Bernard has rushed for over 1,000 in two straight seasons and has been a threat catching the ball out of the backfield as well, catching 38 balls for 411 yards and four touchdowns.
At 3-3 in the ACC, the Tar Heels are still alive in the ACC Coastal division. Miami is one game ahead of North Carolina with a 4-3 record, but the Tar Heels hold the tiebreaker after defeating the Hurricanes 18-14 on Oct. 13.
Virginia is one of the more confusing teams in the ACC. The team started off with the season with two wins against Richmond and Penn State, but then lost six games in a row to play themselves out of the conference title hunt.
The team has won two straight against NC State and Miami, but North Carolina matches up well against the Cavalier defense, which ranks in the bottom part of the ACC. In last Saturday's win against Miami, Virginia was able to rally from a fourth quarter deficit and won the game 41-40 after scoring with six seconds left.
Virginia has done a good job stopping big plays this year, but are allowing nearly 30 points per game.
Junior Michael Rocco has been solid at quarterback for Virginia, passing for 1.585 yards and 12 touchdowns. His best game of the season came last week in the win against Miami, passing for 300 yards and four touchdowns.
Sophomore Kevin Parks is leading the team on the ground, rushing for 660 yards and five touchdowns.
The Tar Heels will finish the season next Saturday at home against Maryland, while the Cavaliers finish with Virginia Tech.
