Stat Comparison: How Virginia Stacks Up Against North Carolina on Paper

Matt Newton | Oct 24, 2024

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Virginia (4-3, 2-2 ACC) is set to host North Carolina (3-4, 0-3 ACC) on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville. As the Cavaliers and Tar Heels prepare to clash on Saturday at Scott Stadium, we've got a full statistical breakdown to see how these two teams match up on paper as well as some statistical notes on North Carolina.

See the chart below for a full statistical comparison for Virginia vs. North Carolina.

Virginia	Stat	North Carolina
4-3 (2-2 ACC)	Record	3-4 (0-3 ACC)
28.0	Scoring Offense	32.9
422.3	Total Offense	444.4
159.6	Rushing Offense	198.7
4.4	Yards Per Rush	5.2
262.7	Passing Offense	245.7
64.0%	Completion %	56.6%
38/105 (36%)	3rd Down Conv.	36/95 (38%)
8/15 (53%)	4th Down Conv.	6/14 (43%)
24/30 (80%)	Red Zone Scores	24/27 (89%)
12/30 (40%)	Red Zone TDs	17/27 (63%)
8	Turnovers	10
9	Forced Turnovers	6
25.7	Scoring Defense	30.4
406.0	Total Defense	399.9
133.4	Rushing Defense	160.3
272.6	Passing Defense	239.6
38/100 (38%)	3rd Down Defense	32/95 (34%)
11/18 (61%)	4th Down Defense	5/7 (71%)
12-59	Sacks by-yards	14-93
29:55	Time of Possession	29:39

See below for individual stat summaries for each team's starting quarterback, top receiver, top running back, and top defender (statistically).

Quarterback
UVA Anthony Colandrea: 140/220 (63.6%), 1,649 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions
UNC Jacolby Criswell: 105/187 (56.2%), 1,367 passing yards, 8 touchdowns, 3 interceptions

Top Receiver
UVA Malachi Fields: 40 receptions, 606 receiving yards, 4 receiving touchdowns, 15.2 yards per catch
UNC J.J. Jones: 21 receptions, 364 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, 17.3 yards per catch

Top Running Back
UVA Kobe Pace: 81 carries, 366 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 4.5 yards per carry
UNC Omarion Hampton: 155 carries, 901 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns, 5.8 yards per carry

Top Defender
UVA Jonas Sanker: 57 total tackles, 37 solo tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 1 quarterback hurry
UNC Power Echols: 48 total tackles, 26 solo tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 1 quarterback hurry

Some more notable statistics on North Carolina:

• Omarion Hampton enters the week as the ACC's leading rusher and the nation's fourth-leading rusher with 901 rushing yards on the season.
• North Carolina ranks fourth in the ACC in rushing offense, averaging 198.7 rushing yards per game. On the flip side, UNC's defense ranks 15th in the ACC in rushing defense, yielding an average of 160.3 rushing yards per game.
• After losing expected starting quarterback Max Johnson to a season-ending injury in the first game of the year, North Carolina's passing offense has been a work in progress. The Tar Heels rank 10th in the ACC in passing offense, averaging 245.75 passing yards per game. UNC's pass defense ranks 12th in the ACC, giving up 239.6 passing yards per game.
• North Carolina has the 7th-ranked scoring offense in the ACC (32.9 points per game) and the 6th-ranked total offense in the conference (444.4 yards per game).
• UNC has the 14th-ranked scoring defense in the ACC (30.4 points per game allowed) and the 15th-ranked total defense in the ACC (399.9 yards per game allowed).
• North Carolina is ranked last in the ACC in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score points on 26 of 28 trips to the red zone, and allowing touchdowns on 18 of those 28 trips.

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