Virginia stopped UNC running back Ben Hall inches short of the end zone on a potential game-winning two-point conversion in overtime, and No. 16 Virginia beat Carolina 17-16 in Kenan Stadium Saturday. It’s the Cavaliers’ fourth win in their last five trips to Chapel Hill.
“Good effort by a lot of areas,” said head coach Bill Belichick afterward. “But in the end, we just came up a little short today.”
Carolina went for two and the win after scoring on a Lopez pass to Davion Gause. On the deciding play, Lopez rolled out to his right and found Hall out of the backfield. Hall made his way toward the pylon, where he avoided one Virginia defender and lunged for the goal line, but was stopped just short by another Cavalier.
The hectic finish came after what had been a defensive struggle for most of the afternoon. The two teams both went scoreless during the second half with the game tied at 10-10. The Tar Heels held decisive advantages in both total yardage and time of possession in the first half, but key miscues kept the game tied. On what appeared to be a touchdown for UNC in the first quarter, receiver Kobe Paysour was ruled to have lost control of the football while reaching for the pylon. The play was ruled a touchback and the ball went back to Virginia.
Carolina also missed a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The miss came after UNC’s Rece Verhoff made his first attempt, but Virginia had called timeout just before the snap of the ball.
In the second half, UNC continued to shoot itself in the foot. Lopez threw an interception inside the Virginia red zone in the third quarter, but the Tar Heel defense kept the Cavaliers from taking advantage on the ensuing possession. Lopez’s second interception of the game came in the waning moments, as the South Alabama transfer attempted a long pass from midfield to a streaking Madrid Tucker down the sideline. Tucker, a true freshman, leapt up and got his hands on the ball, but it deflected into the hands of a Cavalier for the interception. Virginia kneeled out the remaining 14 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime.
“It wasn’t one play that lost us the game,” receiver Jordan Shipp said. “It was a bunch of small plays that did it for us.”
In overtime, Virginia converted a key 3rd-and-7 play on its way to a touchdown, putting the pressure on UNC’s offense to match the score. Lopez and Gause did just that, setting up the final play.
UNC ended the game with nearly 100 more yards of offense than Virginia, finishing with 353 while holding the Cavaliers to 259. Virginia’s rushing offense, which came into the afternoon averaging more than 200 yards per game, ended with only 59. Carolina also recorded six sacks, more than the Cavaliers had allowed in the first seven games of the season combined.
“It feels good to see the things I do in practice finally show in a game,” said edge rusher Melkart Abou-Jaoude, who accounted for three of UNC’s six sacks. “I do it every day. You’ve gotta give credit to [defensive coordinator] Steve [Belichick], the play calls, the secondary… it just feels good for everything to come together.”
Overall, the UNC defense has allowed 38 total points in its last two games after allowing 35 in the first half against Clemson on October 4 in Chapel Hill.
Saturday’s loss is Carolina’s fourth in a row. It drops UNC to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they visit Syracuse next Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Featured image via Chapel Hill Media Group/Chance Bragg
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