Over the first couple weeks of the 2016 college football season, many analysts wondered if Virginia was among the worst teams in a Power Five conference.

The Cavaliers have found life recently, however, shifting the narrative quite a bit—with some wondering if the UNC football team’s trip to Charlottesville this weekend should be viewed as a trap game.

Prior to the season, it was widely recognized that the stretch from the middle of September to the middle of October—the first four ACC games– would be toughest slate of opponents the Tar Heels would see all season.

 

Playing without senior receiver Mack Hollins--who was lost for the season with a broken clavicle--means unheralded players like Thomas Jackson will need to step up for UNC. (Smith Cameron Photography)

Playing without senior receiver Mack Hollins–who was lost for the season with a broken clavicle–means unheralded players like Thomas Jackson will need to step up for UNC. (Smith Cameron Photography)

While UNC’s loss against Virginia Tech was its first at home since 2014, the team can take pride in opening conference play 3-1 against a group that included three teams ranked in the top 25 at the time and a Pitt squad that remains one of the tougher groups in the ACC Coastal Division.

Taking into account Virginia Tech’s loss at Syracuse this past weekend, quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the Tar Heels enter the home stretch with a great shot to repeat as Coastal Champions, provided they stay focused on the big picture.

“I never thought we were out of it just because we lost one game,” Trubisky said at Monday’s press conference. “It’s a long season, and pretty much anything can happen.

“That gives us confidence because [we] want to see things fall in place for us to be able to reach our goals at the end.”

UNC’s defensive resurgence not only lifted the team to a win over Miami, it also gave the Tar Heels a return to the Top 25—coming in at No. 22 this week.

That hasn’t always meant good things, however.

On both occasions UNC has played as a ranked team this season, they’ve come up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Although nobody has confused this Virginia team for Georgia or Virginia Tech—which were each ranked when they beat UNC—the Cavaliers have gone 2-1 while averaging 38 points per game in their last three outings.

This comes after they opened the year 0-3 under new head coach Bronco Mendenhall–with a sputtering offense that scored just over 18 points per game in losses to Oregon, UCONN, and Richmond, an FCS school.

UNC defensive coordinator Gene Chizik spoke after practice Tuesday about the difference he’s seen in his opponent this season.

“It’s night and day different,” Chizik said of Virginia’s transformation. “I think they were really trying to figure out who they were, and what they wanted to be and what their players could actually do productivity-wise.

“They’ve definitely hit that groove now,” he continued. “They’re very efficient in what they do—throwing the ball and running the ball.”

Virginia tailback Taquan Mizzell has proven during his career that he is very dangerous with the ball in his hands--no matter how it gets there. (AP Photo/ Steve Helber)

Virginia tailback Taquan Mizzell has proven during his career that he is very dangerous with the ball in his hands–no matter how it gets there. (AP Photo/ Steve Helber)

Quarterback Kurt Benkert has been a large part of Virginia’s recent improvement, as he’s picked up his game significantly over the last three weeks. While Benkert is a serviceable player under center, Chizik pinpointed tailback Taquan Mizzell as the Cavaliers’ most dangerous threat.

So far this season, Mizzell leads Virginia in rushing and is fourth on the team in both receptions and receiving yards.

He also set an ACC record last season for most receiving yards in a single season by a running back, with 721.

“He’s really a great player,” Chizik said of Mizzell. “They find ways to get him the ball, and rightly so.

He’s great catching the ball out of the backfield and he’s great with the ball in his hands as a running back,” the coach added. “He’s just a very productive player.”

Taking into account UNC’s long-term goals and Virginia’s recent upswing in performance, it’s easy to see why it would be an awful time for the Tar Heels to sleep on their opponents this week.

Obviously every team wants to win all its games, but upsets happen all the time when one team overlooks another that could be considered less talented.

That, of course, is where the idea of the trap game originated.

Tar Heel fans shouldn’t fear, however, as Trubisky is doing his part to keep that negative mentality out of the locker room this week.

“I don’t see it as a trap game,” Trubisky said. “It’s a big game for us in the Coastal. Virginia’s gotten better each week. They’re gonna be a really tough team.

“It’s a big game for us,” he continued. “I don’t see it [as a trap], and I hope nobody else on our team sees it that way.”