After the Virginia Cavaliers molly whopped the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 48-7 in their season opener, they’re 2.5 point underdogs according to FanDuel ahead of this Saturday’s matchup against the NC State Wolfpack.
The Wahoos will head to Raleigh for kickoff against the Wolfpack at noon E.T. on Saturday for what is, technically, a non-conference game against a fellow ACC program.
As the final score suggested, UVA’s season opener versus Coastal Carolina was a massive success. The Cavaliers’ offense
came to life in the second quarter thanks to quarterback Chandler Morris connecting with wide receivers Cam Ross and Trell Harris for big plays.
“I thought he did a good job of settling in,” Tony Elliott said in weekly press conference on Tuesday. “Once he got settled, he was able to distribute the ball, manage the system, put together some scoring drives.”
While Morris went down with a left shoulder injury late in the third quarter, head coach Tony Elliott noted that Morris is a “full go” in practice this week and should be all set for Saturday’s matchup.
“My expectation is he’ll play his tail off,” Elliott said. “We’re gonna need him and he was back in practice yesterday in full go. So my expectation is that he has a great week of prep and he’s ready to go and brings his best game.”
The Wolfpack started their season with a victory against the East Carolina Pirates, winning 24-17 behind quarterback CJ Bailey. Bailey threw for 318 yards (24-for-34), a touchdown, and an interception while adding 29 yards and another score on the ground. Receivers Wesley Grimes (four catches, 121 yards, one TD) and Teddy Hoffmann (five catches, 93 yards) were Bailey’s primary targets.
“Their receiving core is big,” Elliott said. “They’re all long guys. They’re fast. The quarterback’s got a cannon, so he can make every throw.”
“We’re going to have to communicate,” he added. “We’re going to have to stay on top of routes. We’re going to have to get some pass rush.”
The Wolfpack defense is led by new defensive coordinator DJ Eliot. Virginia’s Elliott was impressed by that group in their debut versus East Carolina.
“It looked like a group that had been playing together for a while, even though it’s new pieces,” he said. “They look very well coordinated. They were in position all night. They were flying around, playing fast.”
If the ‘Hoos could score an upset win against NC State and move to 2-0, that’d be huge for the team’s momentum. This season’s schedule is not daunting for Virginia, so picking up wins in some of these coin flips could put them in a favorable position down the stretch.
