A Target On Their Backs

The North Carolina Tarheels two best players are Running Back Gio Bernard and Defensive Tackle Sylvester Williams. With the attention Virginia paid to those two on Thursday night, they sure thought so. Bernard was held to 57 yards rushing but that opened up the passing game and allowed QB Bryn Renner to go 29 for 36 for 315 yards and a couple of TDs. Freshman WR Quinshad Davis was the big beneficiary as he had an ACC record tying 16 catches. He would have broke the record but backup QB Marquise Williams threw him a groundball on the final play of the game. DT Sylvester Williams was the object of double and triple teams and was still a disruptive force. Two plays in particular stood out in my mind with Sylvester Williams. The first was an unnecessary roughness penalty on #72 of Virginia (I didn't even bother looking his name up) in which he tried planting Sylvester Williams into the ground well after the play was over on a double team and the play was well away from him as well. The announcer described it as "finishing the block" and thought it was a bad call. The second play was not called but was a blatant cheap shot by the same #72. On Tre Boston's 36 yard interception return for a TD Sylvester Williams was engaged in a block with another Virginia lineman, and #72 had no intention of trying to tackle Boston on his way by. He singled out Williams and drilled him as Boston ran by. He made no effort to even take a swipe at Boston. #72 was going to make sure he got his cheap shots in.