At halftime, the North Carolina football team and Virginia are tied at 13. Virginia will receive the opening kickoff in the second half. Here are three things to note about the first 30 minutes of game action.
1. Virginia rushing attack
Entering Saturday’s game, the Cavaliers averaged just 112.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks 119th in the nation. But through the first half, UVa’s ground game appears to be its biggest strength – Virginia has 133 rushing yards in the first half. The longest run was a 53-yarder by running back Daniel Hamm. After the long run, the drive eventually resulted in a touchdown for Virginia. Hamm has 69 yards on five attempts while Taquan Mizzell has 61 yards on 15 attempts.
2. Williams escaping the pocket
As usual, senior quarterback Marquise Williams made plays with both his feet and arm. Williams is 10-14 for 141 yards. His longest pass was a 36-yarder to junior receiver Bug Howard, which set-up a three-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Elijah Hood. On the ground, the senior led UNC with 68 rushing yards in the first half, the longest being a 31-yard scamper.
3. Turnovers hurting the Tar Heels
In the first half, the Tar Heels committed two turnovers – a fumble by redshirt sophomore Mack Hollins on UNC’s first drive of the game, and an interception by Williams late in the second half. Both turnovers resulted in a field goal for the Cavaliers. The interception by Williams was his seventh of the season.
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