CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Brady Wilson missed three straight games after being injured in Virginia’s win over Stanford back on Sept. 20. The transfer center from UAB returned to the field Saturday against North Carolina and said, physically, there was some rust to knock off after being out.

Mentally, though, Wilson had no trouble remembering the calls he makes as the anchor of the Cavaliers’ offensive line.

“That’ll be with me ‘til I’m 80,” Wilson said.

Wilson said he is 100% back from the calf injury that kept him out, an injury pointed to explain Virginia’s recent offensive struggles. After averaging over 45 points and more than 530 yards per game through the first five contests, UVA’s production has fallen off.

It’s averaged just 265.7 yards and 23 points per game over the last three games. And that’s with two of those three going to overtime.

Guard Drake Metcalf slid over to fill Wilson’s center spot while Wilson was out, and Kevin Wigenton II moved into the lineup to play right guard in place of Metcalf.

Saturday, at North Carolina, UVA (7-1, 4-0 ACC) got back to its original lineup – but that group struggled. It allowed a season-high six sacks in the 17-16 win over the Tar Heels. That’s one more than Virginia had given up through its first seven games this season.

In Chapel Hill, N.C. the Cavaliers ran for a season-low 59 yards, getting just 1.7 yards per carry.

“It takes all 11 guys on the same page, but they’ve they owned it,” UVA coach Tony Elliott said of the offense’s lackluster performance at UNC. “We owned it as coaches. We’re going to get better and I’m excited to see him come out this week I think that’s the that’s the great thing about the game of football is there’s always humbling opportunities for you to get better.”

Elliott said getting Wilson back at center wasn’t as simple as just sticking him back out there. The chemistry and timing of the offensive line and the entire offense needed to come together again.

“The rhythm will reestablish itself,” Elliott said. “I don’t know if it’s easy as just plug and play, especially offensively. But man, the guys battled, they found a way.”

Wilson said getting that timing back is a process.

“You’ve just got to get everybody back on the same page,” he said. “It’s hard. It takes time. It does. But that’s our goal this week. Just get everything back in the rhythm of things.”

This week, assuming Virginia can handle the cross-country to Berkeley, Calif., the offensive front faces a far less daunting matchup. Cal is giving up 4.6 rushing yards per attempt, the third highest mark in the ACC. The Golden Bears (5-3, 2-2) have recorded just 13 sacks through eight games, the second fewest in the league.

The offense should get a lift from the expected return of slot receiver and return specialist Cam Ross, but Elliott announced this week that running back Xavier Brown (knee) will miss the rest of the season. Brown is the team’s most adept pass catching coming out of the backfield.

Couple that with the issues up front and the fact that quarterback Chandler Morris’s left shoulder injury seems to be both impacting his accuracy on deep balls and how frequently he tucks the ball and run, and it’s easy to see that the offense has lost some of its dimensions.

“Guys gotta make plays, playmakers gotta make plays,” Elliott said. “And then we gotta do everything we possibly can to put them in the best position possible. And I’m confident in the staff and they’ve been doing that. They’ll continue to do that. And I’m confident that guys, given an opportunity, will step up.”

The fact that UVA’s defense has elevated its play, helping the team win four straight one-score games and six in a row overall, has helped take some pressure off the offense. The Cavaliers have essentially come through this rough stretch unscathed record-wise and still control their own destiny for a spot in the ACC title game.

Elliott said, despite the drop-off in production in recent weeks, the offense remains confident in what it can do.

“They understand that the offense, that was once being praised, that’s now kind of being questioned a little bit, is the same offense that’s sitting in this room,” Elliott said. “It’s the same, it’s the same guys.”

Because of that belief, running back Harrison Waylee said, the offensive issues in wins over Louisville, Washington State and North Carolina were particularly disappointing.

“We know what we can do,” Waylee said. “We know how we can produce. We know how we can go out there and play and start playing to our standard. It’s frustration, because we know what we can do. We have to go out there and perform.”