Previewing NC State’s Opponent: UVA

NC State isn’t quite sure who will be playing Quarterback for UVA tonight. Senior Tony Muskett entered the season as the starter, but hasn’t played the past two weeks after suffering a shoulder injury in the season opener against Tennessee. Muskett is a transfer from Monmouth, and won the starting job in Fall Camp. When Muskett is healthy again, he is expected to retain his starting position, but he is still day-to-day at this point. In Muskett’s absence, Freshman Anthony Colandrea has passed for 640 yards in the Cavaliers past two games against James Madison and Maryland, with 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

In the receiving game, there are two names to watch for: Graduate Malik Washington and Junior Malachi Fields. Washington is a Graduate Transfer from Northwestern, where he earned 3rd Team Big Ten honors from PFF last season, finishing the year with 65 catches 694 yards and 1 touchdown. Last week against Maryland, Washington reeled in 9 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown. Against James Madison the week before, he had 5 receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown. In the past two weeks, Fields has caught 15 passes for a total of 144 yards and 1 touchdown. Heading into this week, UVA and Miami are the only two ACC schools that have two receivers with 200+ receiving yards through 3 games, and for the Cavaliers, those two receivers are obviously Washington and Fields.

The rushing attack has been poor to say the least for UVA. As a team, they are averaging 1.9 yards per carry. For comparison, NC State is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The Running Back room is a three-back rotation of Senior Mike Hollins, Senior Kobe Pace, and 6th year Perris Jones. Jones might be third on the depth chart, but he leads the team in carries (26) and rushing yards (87), and he is tied for the team lead with 2 rushing touchdowns. The other back with 2 rushing touchdowns is Hollins, but he is averaging an ugly 2.1 yards per carry. Kobe Pace leads the team in yards per carry, with 3.6, and has also picked up 103 receiving yards and 2 touchdown receptions.

The Cavaliers Offensive Line has given up 10 sacks. With that being said, Graduate Guard Brian Stevens boasts a PFF grade of 81.5, which is the highest of any offensive player on the squad, and the 2nd highest grade by a Guard in the ACC.

Junior Free Safety Jonas Sanker leads UVA in tackles (28) and pass breakups (4). His PFF grade is 68.2, which ranks 4th on the team. Left Cornerback Coen King (6th year) has the highest PFF grade on the defense (75.9), with 17 tackles and 3 pass breakups. 6th year Defensive End Kam Butler leads the team with 4 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, and ranks 2nd in tackles (19).

Even though UVA enters ACC play tonight against the Wolfpack with an 0-3 record, they shouldn’t be taken lightly. They have led by double digits in each of the last two losses. They started off the game against Maryland last week with a 14-0 lead, and were beating James Madison by 11 points in the 4th quarter.

The Cavaliers have zero desire to start the season with an 0-4 record, something they haven’t done since 1982. UVA Head Coach Tony Elliott isn’t accustomed to the prospect of an 0-4 start. He’s accustomed to winning. Prior to being hired as the head coach before the 2022 season, Elliott worked as an assistant coach for Clemson from 2011-21, where he also served as an Offensive Coordinator for 8 seasons.