Ad Disclosure
North Carolina channeled its frustration and its emotion on Saturday with a decisive 41-14 win against Virginia in Charlottesville.
The victory didn’t just break a 4-game losing streak and avenged a damaging loss to the Cavaliers in Chapel Hill a year ago. It also provided some emotional healing as Mack Brown and his Tar Heels returned to the field for the first time since the death of teammate Tylee Craft two weeks ago.
“This is the start of the rest of the year for us,” Brown said after the game, adding that his team has taken on Craft’s rallying cry of “Keep Swinging.”
Craft lost his battle with cancer during UNC’s loss to Georgia Tech on Oct. 12. The team traveled to Sumter, S.C. to attend his memorial service during their week off. The Tar Heels also used their open date to their advantage on the field by regrouping and responding with their best performance of the season.
Jacolby Criswell threw for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to JJ Jones, while the Tar Heels’ much-maligned defense recorded 10 sacks on the way to UNC’s first win since beating North Carolina Central on Sept. 14.
Here are 3 takeaways from UNC’s win in the 292nd renewal of The South’s Oldest Rivalry:
Feeding frenzy in the UVa backfield
The combination of an injury-riddled Virginia offensive line and a week off to make some badly needed adjustments made for a big difference in UNC’s much-maligned defense. The Tar Heels came into the game having allowed averages of 30.4 points and 399.9 yards. But they only yielded 288 yards and 14 points in beating the Cavaliers.
The biggest improvement came in the pass rush. The Tar Heels had only recorded 15 sacks in their first 7 games combined. And none in the past 2 games before taking last week off. They got more than half that many on Saturday by taking Cavaliers quarterback Anthony Colandrea down in the backfield 10 times.
All-ACC edge rusher Kaimon Rucker led the way with 3 while book end Beau Atkinson had 2 to lead the sack attack. Teammates Jahvaree Ritzee, Antavious Lane, Amare Campbell, Desmond Evans, and Alijah Huzzie each finished with one. Rucker and Ritzee also had interceptions, with Ritzee taking his back 84 yards for a touchdown.
It’s the first time since a win against Wake Forest in 2000 that the Tar Heels reached double-digit sacks in a game.
Another milestone for Omarion Hampton
The ACC’s leading rusher had a pedestrian performance, at least by his standards, with 105 yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries before giving way to his backups early in the fourth quarter. It was the seventh time in 8 games this season that he has surpassed the 100-yard mark.
The most significant aspect of Hampton’s effort against the Cavaliers, other than the 2 scores, is that it put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight year. He came into the day needing 91 yards to hit the milestone. He surpassed it on a 4-yard first-down run on what ended up being his final carry of the day with 13:24 remaining.
Hampton has amassed 1,006 yards and has 4 games remaining to match or surpass his 2023 total of 1,504. He also caught 3 passes for 37 yards on Saturday.
Red zone woes continue for the Cavaliers
The good news is that UVa is converting their red zone opportunities into points. The bad news is that they’re doing it in multiples of 3 instead of 7. It’s a problem that continued on Saturday and helped set the tone of the game early when the outcome was still in doubt.
The Cavaliers had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line on their opening possession of the game after it was ruled that Xavier Brown’s left hand had touched the ground out of bounds before his right hand with the ball in it hit the pylon. But after a shotgun snap over Colandrea’s head and 2 incomplete passes, they had to settle for a 30-yard Will Bettridge field goal,
Then late in the second quarter, while trailing just 10-3, they failed to get into the end zone again despite having a first down at the UNC 12. Bettridge finished that drive with a 27-yard field goal with 4:02 remaining. That opened the door for the Tar Heels, who scored 2 touchdowns before halftime to take control.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
