Those long-suffering Carolina fans who had a hard time getting over Mack Brown’s last trip to Virginia in 1996 have a new nightmare to remember.
Brown’s 2020 team, which had climbed to No. 5 in the rankings and fell ten spots after a 31-28 loss at Florida State, flubbed his return visit to Charlottesville in a different way but with the same results. Like 24 years ago, it was a three-point defeat decided by a field goal that pretty much took the then sixth-ranked Tar Heels out of the national championship picture.
On the field, the 44-41 loss looked more like their 31-28 downer in Tallahassee. It was a night game against a struggling one-win team, and a missed field goal proved the difference between at least playing overtime. This time, Virginia was better than Carolina over 60 minutes and the UVA coaches called some clever plays that Brown’s staff had no answers for.
The Tar Heels went into the game with one of the best rushing attacks in America. Yet, it was the Cavaliers’ misdirection, multiple-QB offense that churned up 210 yards compared to Carolina’s 93. Some people will call it poor coaching, others may pull out the same old saw that Brown needs more players on defense. Either way, it was an embarrassing performance that, thanks to 443 passing yards and four touchdowns from Sam Howell, still might have been good enough if not for some incredible mistakes.
Let me count the errs.
Errors of omission:
- Chazz Surratt running underneath a flat pass by Virginia that resulted in a 71-yard touchdown.
- A holding penalty and Howell’s fumble that he recovered and became an inadvertent whistle turning a probable touchdown into Grayson Atkins’ second field goal.
- Fumbled punt by Toe Groves at his own 20-yard line that set up the Wahoos’ go-ahead touchdown 1:14 before the half.
- After driving 69 yards in 69 seconds, Howell’s blown backward pass and fumble at the UVA 2 that resulted in no points as the half ended.
“We just have to settled down and play better,” Brown told the ACC Network on his way to the locker room.
- Howell, who was otherwise fab, fumbling on the sideline trying to get more yardage, giving Virginia another short field and a 41-20 lead (Yikes).
- Two personal foul penalties by veterans Trey Morrison and Don Chapman that extended Virginia drives. Morrison’s late hit was before the Virginia punt that Groves fumbled away.
Errors of commission:
- Settling for three field goal attempts (one missed) when scoring touchdowns was the obvious order of the night.
- Letting Virginia go 75 yards in 11 plays with second half kickoff to fall behind by two touchdowns, 34-20.
- Defensive line getting blown off scrimmage too many times that led to long gains and critical conversions as Virginia went 3-for-12 on third down but 4-for-4 on fourth down.
- With the deficit miraculously cut to seven points, and the game pressure clearly back on Virginia, allowing the Cavaliers to eat up more than nine methodical minutes on the way to a short field goal and another two-score lead.
- After driving 75 yards in 76 seconds to Javonte Williams’ ACC-leading 13th touchdown and then forcing a Virginia fourth down, not being completely ready for the fake punt that effectively sent the Tar Heels home with a 4-2 record going into the Victory Bell game at Duke this Saturday.
“If we stop the fake punt, which we thought they might do and we had it stopped on one side and didn’t contain it on the other side, we still have a chance to win the game. We had one timeout left and plenty of time,” Brown said after the game.
It was a better night for other guys named Brown. Dyami got the first of three touchdown passes (and 11 receptions) just over a minute into the game on a 54-yard bomb from Howell. His younger brother, freshman Khafre, purportedly the fastest player on the team, caught a bullet pass over the middle and outraced the defense to the end zone for a 76-yard score.
The Tar Heels still have a chance for a fine season and major bowl, and outside shot at the ACC championship game with Trevor Lawrence out for Clemson and Notre Dame on the schedule. But, after Duke, comes resurgent Wake Forest (4-2 with four straight wins), the undefeated and fourth-ranked Fighting Irish at home and a trip to Miami; that suddenly becomes a very tall order.
Brown’s record at Virginia fell to 0-6 and 3-9 overall against the Wahoos, whose fifth-year coach Bronco Mendenhall has now beaten the Tar Heels four straight, the last two one-score games that went down to the last possession.
UVA’s excellent quarterback Brennan Armstrong left the game late with a knee injury but not before the left-handed, dual threat passed for 201 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 66 and another score. On this night, at least, he was the quarterback on the field who made the fewest errors.
And that, as it was back in 1996, became the name of this game.
Featured image via ACC Media
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