UNC Tar Heels Football Team Makes Another Comeback Run in the 2nd Half to Hold Off the Cavaliers

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The North Carolina football team faced off against Virginia on Saturday afternoon looking to get their fifth straight win and remain unbeaten in conference play. The Tar Heels came out and played a subpar first half, especially defensively. UNC seemed ill-prepared early on as Virginia’s offense caught fire and really found something in exploiting the Heels’ poor run defense.

The North Carolina defense was out of position, undisciplined in their gaps, and completely dominated in the running game as the Virginia Cavaliers rushed for 140 yards in the first half alone. Meanwhile, UNC’s offense also didn’t have their best performance in the first half and was a little out of sync both in running and passing game, only scoring on two of their five first-half offensive possessions.

Carolina was held to just 10 points in the first half with Drake Maye probably playing his worst half as a Tar Heels starter and for the first time, all season long didn’t score a touchdown in the first quarter. Virginia came in this game ranked 123rd in the country in scoring and scored 14 in the first half after not even scoring a touchdown in their game last week. North Carolina went into halftime down 14-10, the third straight game the Tar Heels have trailed at halftime.

In the second half, the North Carolina offense came out like a completely different unit scoring three straight touchdowns. The defense finally got a stop late in the third quarter and for the first time all game it felt like UNC had taken full control of the game. The next two Virginia offensive possessions resulted in punts and the Tar Heels led by 10 with about 6 minutes left in the game.

North Carolina had a chance to put the game completely out of reach on their next drive but went the conservative route calling three straight running plays including on 4th down. This resulted in a turnover on downs for the Tar Heels and Virginia took full advantage as they went down and scored a touchdown to put the game back within 3 points. Virginia attempted an onside kick on the next play, but the Heels recovered, got one first down, and pulled out the game with a win. This was the fifth straight win for the Tar Heels and the first time Mack Brown has won at Virginia in his coaching career. The North Carolina football team is now 8-1 on the season and remains in complete control of the first-place position in the ACC Coastal division.

UNC Game Stats

UNC Total Offense- 455 yards

Rushing 162 Passing 293

UNC Passing: Drake Maye 26-37-293 yards 2TDs

UNC Rushing: Elijah Green 22-91 yards 1TD, Drake Maye 16-74 yards 1TD

UNC Receiving: Josh Downs 15-166 yards 1TD, Elijah Green 1-22 yards 1TD

Virginia Total Offense– 418 yards

Virginia Passing: Brennan Armstrong 17-35-232 yards 1INT

Virginia Rushing: Mike Hollins 16-75 yards, Brennan Armstrong 12-64 yards 2TDs, Ronnie Walker Jr. 6-30 yards 1TD, Xavier Brown 5-17 yards 1TD

Virginia Receiving: Sackett Wood Jr. 6-94 yards

UNC Bright Spots

Drake Maye threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 74 yards and one touchdown.

Josh Downs had 15 catches for 166 yards and one touchdown.

Elijah Green had over 100 scrimmage yards, 91 rushing yards, and 22 receiving yards. He also had one rushing and one receiving touchdown.

Needs Work

The defensive line needs to do a better job of getting penetration in the backfield and getting more pressure on the quarterback which results in sacks. They are giving the opposing quarterback entirely too much time in the pocket

The rushing defense has to be much better. They need to do a better job of tackling in space and being in their gaps to stop huge running plays.

When it’s time to put the game away offensively, the offensive play-calling cannot be conservative because it allows teams to stick around in the game. It can give the opponent new life and a chance to actually win the game.

Final Observations

North Carolina moves to 8-1 on the season and 5-0 in ACC play. They remain atop the ACC coastal division. The Tar Heels didn’t have their best performance against Virginia but found a way to pull out the win. The way the defense struggled to stop Virginia early in this game today is concerning. Virginia came into this game ranked 123rd in the country in scoring and has not played well offensively since they entered conference play.

UNC allowed them to play their best offensive game which is totally unacceptable. The defense did finally step up in the second half to help give the offense possessions to extend the lead but they have to play better to start games. They cannot wait until halftime to make adjustments because it can cost them a game in the future.

Nevertheless, the Tar Heels are on a five-game winning streak including 5 straight road wins after going winless on the road last year. This turnaround on the road just shows how much improvement this team has made over this year and the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for helping these players get to this level of play on the field. The Tar Heels need just one more win to clinch the division so they are in a great position going forward. Next up is Wake Forest on November 12th at 7:30 P.M.