Cavs still control own destiny in ACC race
With just three conference games left for No. 23 Virginia this season, the chance of reaching the Atlantic Coast Conference title game is becoming more and more realistic.
Saturday’s 31-21 win over North Carolina gave the Cavaliers their fourth conference win in five chances as they became bowl eligible before the month of November for the first time since 2007.
“It is now an accelerated week this week,” Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall said on Monday. “I thought (Saturday) was another thorough game from our team. All three phases were in-sync and performed complementary football.”
Virginia (6-2, 4-1) will now play a pivotal Coastal Division contest Friday night when it hosts Pittsburgh (4-4, 3-1) at Scott Stadium. Both teams are looking at a bigger picture which is a shot at the ACC Championship, but continue to take it one game at a time as the calendar turns over into the month of November.
“Pitt is a unique challenge. They are very physical and a tough football team,” Mendenhall said. “You have to be really sound in your fundamentals. Your eye control has to be very good because of the nature of the run-game. This will be a competitive matchup.”
The Panthers have won three-straight games in the series including a 45-31 affair the last time the two teams met in Charlottesville –Mendenhall’s first season with the Cavaliers. Despite the recent struggles with the Panthers, Virginia is playing its best football under the new coaching regime and will look for its seventh win of the season for the first time since 2011.
“It is a more meaningful and rich college experience for players to be in a conference and even more so to have a chance to compete for a conference championship,” Mendenhall said.
A win for either team would go a long way in determining how the competitive Coastal Division will shake out over the next month.