In a back-and-forth battle, the No. 17 North Carolina Tar Heels (8-1, 5-0 ACC) knocked off the Virginia Cavaliers (3-6, 1-5 ACC), 31-28, on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium.
What happened?
After taking the opening kickoff out to the UNC 35-yard line, the Cavaliers went to work. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong started Virginia's initial drive with a 20-yard connection to junior tight end Sackett Wood Jr. Three plays later, Armstrong kept the ball on a option-read and darted into the end zone.
On the next possession, UNC redshirt first-year quarterback Drake Maye’s 26-yard run drove the Tar Heels into the red zone for the first time. But a false start later in the same drive forced North Carolina to settle for a field goal.
Both teams would go scoreless for the remainder of the first quarter. North Carolina took over on its own 20-yard line, following a UVA pooch punt by Armstrong. In a methodical drive — which spanned almost six minutes and 13 plays — Maye reversed field on a quarterback scramble and found pay dirt to give UNC the lead, 10-7.
Virginia would respond quickly though, using its bruising run game to march down the field. With a little over two minutes left in the first half, first-year running back Xavier Brown’s first career touchdown helped the Cavaliers build a 14-10 lead heading into halftime.
Out of the break, North Carolina started with possession. Maye found junior wide receiver Josh Downs on a deep post to put the Tar Heels in plus territory. Shortly after, sophomore running back Elijah Green sliced his way in for a touchdown, giving UNC the lead again.
North Carolina’s lead was short lived, however, as Armstrong found Wood Jr. open down the sideline — a strike that would set up a one-yard touchdown run that gave Virginia a 21-17 advantage
Trailing for the third time, Maye and North Carolina’s offense responded. On the Tar Heels’ next two offensive drives, UNC found the end zone with Downs and Green, respectively. Green’s receiving touchdown extended North Carolina’s lead to 31-21.
