After a first quarter that took more than an hour to play, Giovani Bernard rushed for 62 yards on fourth-and-inches on the first play of the second quarter to give UNC a lead it wouldn’t again relinquish in the first half.
UNC got off to a slow start offensively, but Sean Tapley returned a first-quarter kickoff 94 yards for the Tar Heels’ first touchdown of the day. The game-tying score was the first kickoff return for a touchdown allowed by Virginia Tech since 1994. Quarterback Bryn Renner then scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown, his first of the season, with 4:41 to go in the first quarter to put UNC on top 14-7.
On the next drive, Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas connected with Marcus Davis for a 49-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14. The pass was the longest allowed by the UNC defense this season.
After Bernard’s 62-yard touchdown, the Tar Heels held Virginia Tech to a 43-yard field goal before carrying out their 10-play, 76-yard final touchdown drive of the first half. Virginia Tech tacked on a field goal with 41 seconds to go to cut UNC’s lead to eight before halftime.
The Tar Heels had a season-high 10 penalties in the first half, including a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Virginia Tech’s first touchdown drive of the game. The touchdown, which was the first scored against the Tar Heels since the second quarter of their game against Louisville, was the first allowed by the North Carolina defense in Kenan Stadium this season.
Renner completed 9 of 18 passes for 115 yards in the first half, and Bernard rushed for 101 yards on nine carries.
