By Jerry Ratcliffe
Should 16th-ranked Virginia keep up its winning ways, especially by the hairs of its collective chinny-chin-chins, the Cavaliers will look back to this autumn day in the confines of Kenan Stadium as a key moment in program history.
The host Tar Heels, coached by a man with six Super Bowl championships, were decided underdogs, bringing a backs-against-the-wall, nothing-to-lose mentality to the game. If Bill Belichick’s blue clads were to salvage the season, Saturday was their line in the sand.
Winless against Power 4 opponents this season, Belichick’s reputation as a defensive genius would come into play during this most disappointing experiment. With plenty of film out there to study Virginia’s vulnerabilities, bet your bottom dollar that “Chapel Bill” and his staff dissected and explored every possibility on how to pull off the upset.
Just like UVA’s last three previous opponents, Carolina came within whiskers of its goal.
But the same thing that has haunted the Tar Heels all season long, jumped up and bit them yet again, blasphemous turnovers in the red zone with a recent penchant of an allergic reaction anywhere near the goal line.
For the second straight game, UNC frittered away scoring opportunities just shy of pay dirt. Early in the game, wide receiver Kobe Paysour fumbled while stretching for the pylon, the ball tumbling out of the end zone for a touchback. In overtime, a pass to Ben Hall on a daring, 2-point conversion play that would have won it for the Heels, was stopped inches short by Virginia free safety Ja’Son Prevard, who has saved the Cavaliers’ bacon at least three times during their recent spree of Thriller Dillers.
Last week, in a loss at California, UNC’s Nathan Leacock lost the pigskin at the goal line, on a play that would have given Carolina the lead and likely the win.
Cursed? The Tar Heels’ five red-zone turnovers are tied for the most in the FBS.
Blessed? The Cavaliers are one of only nine teams in college football history to have won three overtime games in the same season (the overtime rule began in 1996).
It was UVA’s fourth consecutive dramatic win, having avoided a possible upset last week by scoring a late-game safety to hold off Washington State, 22-20.
With the wins, Virginia is 7-1 overall, 4-0 in the conference, joining Georgia Tech (5-0) as the only teams unbeaten in ACC play.
“I told our guys, man, we’ve been here before, right?” UVA coach Tony Elliott said. “This is, unfortunately, this is what we do. Our guys had confidence that we’re gonna play however long it takes, however long it takes to find a way to win.”
With a 46-38, double-overtime win over then-No. 8 Florida State, followed by a 30-27 overtime triumph at Louisville, and a 22-20 win over Washington State, Saturday’s 17-16 overtime win in Chapel Hill was anything but a shocker.
Virginia’s coaches had pointed out Carolina’s recent week-by-week improvement, but nobody was listening. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have temporarily misplaced their offensive mojo, partially due to injuries, including quarterback Chandler Morris playing despite a bum shoulder, and opposing coaching staffs coming up with strategies to slow UVA down.
“People have got more film to be able to find ways to try and stop us,” Elliott said afterward.
Belichick and his son, Steve, who serves as defensive coordinator, came up with a five-man front, which gave them an “extra hat” in the tackle box, while creating one-on-one man coverages, playing wide ends and not allowing Virginia backs to get outside.
One of UVA’s counters to that strategy was for Morris to pull the ball down and take off, putting himself at risk, and sending him to the sideline medical tent a couple of times in the second half after taking hard hits.
“We did a pretty good job of keeping [Morris] in the pocket,” Belichick said in his postgame.
The Virginia quarterback, who had been sacked only five times in the previous seven games, was dropped six times by the aggressive Tar Heels pass rush.
Neither offense offered much to write home about. The game was deadlocked 10-10 at the half and stayed that way until overtime.
“We only scored 10 points, and they only scored 10 points, so I wouldn’t say either team was an offensive juggernaut,” Belichick cracked. “We turn it over three times inside the 5-yard line, so that’s not good.”
It all came down to overtime, definitely chartered waters for Virginia, which scored a touchdown while gaining the first possession — a 2-yard TD run by J’Mari Taylor on a direct snap.
Carolina got it down to the 9 on its ensuing possession, then scored on a pass to Davion Gause, setting up the dramatic 2-point attempt, when Belichick rolled the dice.
“I was trying to win the game … I don’t know what else you want me to tell you,” the veteran coach said.
Elliott was surprised by the decision.
“I would have kicked it and given the guys another opportunity in the second overtime, because then you have to go for two,” Elliott said. “But hey man, he’s won a lot of football games and I mean he’s one of the best in the business for a reason.”
Chalk up another nail-biter for the Cavaliers, who are probably getting more NIL donations from local cardiologists these days.
“We thrive in situations like this … when it comes up, we’re ready for it,” said seventh-year safety Antonio Clary, who had one of two UVA interceptions (bandit Mitchell Melton had another at the Cavaliers’ 5-yard line late in the third quarter).
Virginia returned to Charlottesville where it will seek cures for an offense that has been anemic the past three weeks after becoming one of the most explosive offenses in the country earlier in the season.
The running game, which was averaging more than 200 yards a game, could only muster 59 net yards against the Tar Heels (No. 36 in the nation against the run). Of course, there were 44 lost rushing yards due to the six sacks.
Still, for Virginia to return to a dangerous offense, it must reestablish the run. Maybe this week’s trip to California might prove to be the cure. The Bears surrendered 357 yards on the ground in Friday’s 42-34 loss to Virginia Tech.
