Previewing Virginia

The University of Virginia Cavaliers is game #1 in the 'Heels quest to make a bowl game. It is homecoming for North Carolina, Marquise Williams gets his second start of the season and all of the snaps will belong to him unless another injury occurs, North Carolina's defense is playing better football, and UNC's running game is showing signs of life and Williams provides an additional threat running the ball from the QB position. Virginia is a little bit of a "wild card" for North Carolina. They are 2-7 and 0-5 in the ACC. They have nothing to lose and you don't know what you are going to get. Are you going to get a Virginia team that tries to exploit North Carolina's weakness against the run or are you going to get the Virginia that passed the ball 61 times a game or two ago? The bigger worry is that they completed 43 of those 61 passes. North Carolina should win and I expect them to win. Renner being out will hurt the passing game as he is a more precision passer than Williams. The running game should be better as Williams provides an additional threat. Defensive End Kareem Martin has been playing the kind of football everyone expected from him at the beginning of the season. He leads the team with 5 1/2 sacks and has putting intense pressure on the opposing QB's in the past three games. The defense has been opportunistic and has been intercepting the ball with more regularity thereby giving UNC more posessions. Its basic football 101- limit the turnovers and penalties and play opportunistic football and that should equal a UNC win.