The Virginia Cavaliers went on the road and beat up on the North Carolina State Wolfpack, surprising most of the country with a 33-6 pounding of their ACC rival.
Virginia's defense played extremely well, limiting N.C. State to just 19 yards on the ground.
Over at Streaking The Lawn, Brian Schwartz talked a little bit about the defensive performance:
Mike London and the coaching staff clearly had the unit fired up, focused, and ready to play today, a tall task for a 2-6 team with little hope remaining coming off a bye week. This led to players being in the right place, playing to the whistle, playing aggressively, and making big hits, which is how a team picks up 5 turnovers. Some of our past struggles were bad luck, just as some of our success today was good luck.
However, there are ways to make your own luck, and the Hoos did so today. A good defense forces punts. A dominant one picks up 5 takeaways, 6 sacks, and a safety. A performance to be proud of today.
For most of the season, Virginia has been a team without much punch offensively, largely due to a quarterback situation that still needs resolving. Phillip Sims and Michael Rocco split duties on Saturday, and it obviously worked out pretty well in the victory.
The biggest difference against North Carolina State was the turnover differential. For most of the year, the Cavaliers have constantly been the giver of gifts, and not so much the receiver. However, they flipped the script this weekend, only turning the football over once and forcing five by the Wolfpack.