Carolina dominated in every facet of the game at Virginia in Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 41-14 win to snap a four-game losing streak.

The Tar Heel defense amassed 10 sacks against the Cavalier quarterbacks on the day, the team’s most in a single game since the 2000 season. By comparison, UNC hadn’t posted a single sack in the previous two games combined, and had only 15 in the season’s first seven games. The Carolina defense put points on the board as well, as defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie picked off a Virginia pass in the third quarter and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown. Defensive end Kaimon Rucker also intercepted a pass.

On offense, running back Omarion Hampton carried the ball 26 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Along the way, Hampton surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the second consecutive season. Receiver J.J. Jones finished with five catches for a career-high 129 yards and two touchdowns, including a 31-yard score from quarterback Jacolby Criswell with five seconds remaining in the first half. That catch increased Carolina’s lead to 24-6 at halftime and was the Tar Heels’ second touchdown in the half’s final 1:32, transforming what had been a 10-6 game into a blowout.

Rucker picked off Cavalier quarterback Anthony Colandrea on Virginia’s first drive of the third quarter, and Hampton rumbled in for his second touchdown of the day on the ensuing Tar Heel drive to increase the lead to 31-6. Ritzie’s 84-yard highlight came midway through the quarter, as the Cavaliers were driving to potentially cut the lead to 31-13.

The Carolina defense held Virginia to just seven rushing yards on 29 attempts, for an average of 0.2 yards per rush. The leading Cavalier rusher had 24 yards on the ground. On the other side, Criswell finished 19-30 for 293 yards and two touchdowns while adding 27 yards on the ground.

The win improves UNC to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in league play. The Tar Heels will be back in action next weekend when they visit Florida State in Tallahassee. The ACC announced late Saturday that kickoff will be 3:30 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Football on Twitter

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