Sunday progress report: Here are the grades for UNC after the loss to Virginia

Here are the grades from North Carolina’s 31-21 loss to Virginia.

Passing game: C+

Junior quarterback Nathan Elliott has thrown 213 passes since his last interception, which came against California on Sept. 1. But he’s lost four fumbles, including one against Virginia on Saturday. The fumble happened late in the third quarter as UNC attempted to come back. But the Cavaliers recovered and later extended its lead to three scores.

Elliott, who finished the game 22-38 for 271 yards and two touchdowns, was pretty good early. He threw a nice 30-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Dazz Newsome in the first quarter. He struggled late when the Tar Heels got down though. UVA’s pass defense had seven pass breakups.

Running game: D

UNC ran for a season-low 66 yards on Saturday, 122 yards below its season average entering the game. Prior to that, the Tar Heels hadn’t rushed for less than 150 yards in a game. Their previous season low was 161 yards against East Carolina on Sept. 8.

Junior running back Antonio Williams had 21 yards on seven carries. Sophomore running back Michael Carter had 42 yards on eight carries.

Credit Virginia’s defense, which has been stingy against the run. Virginia ranks 20th in the country in rushing defense. The Cavaliers are holding opponents to 113 rushing yards per game. If you stop UNC’s running game, you make Elliott vulnerable. That’s what UVA did.

Pass defense: C-

While UNC didn’t give up many yards, UVA quarterback Bryce Perkins still had success passing. He threw for three touchdowns and was even better with his legs. The Tar Heels did have one interception, but they failed to convert it into points. UVA halfback Olamide Zaccheaus was Perkins’ go-to target. He had 10 catches for 108 yards.

Run defense: D

UVA ran for 208 yards. Most of it came from Perkins, who ran for 121 yards and a score. The Tar Heels couldn’t seem to bring him down no matter how close they were. The Cavaliers’ averaged 4.7 yards per carry, which opened up things for the passing game.

Special teams: B-

The Tar Heels did not have a field goal attempt. They also did not have a punt return. UNC averaged 17.5 yards per kick return. There were no glaring mistakes made on special teams, offense or defense.

Coaching: D

UNC lost its sixth game of the season and third straight. Some of the play calling on first and second downs in the second half have not worked. UNC’s average distance to go on third downs was 6.4 yards. It was 4-for-14 on third downs Saturday. UNC is among the worst teams in the country in third down percentage at 31.2 percent.

For the second consecutive week, Fedora said, “I didn’t put them in a good enough position to win the football game.”