Quarterback Bryce Perkins totaled 329 yards of offense and four touchdowns, Olamide Zaccheaus became the school’s career leader in receptions, and the defense held a potent offense in check as the University of Virginia football program defeated North Carolina, 31-21, Saturday afternoon in Scott Stadium.
The win means Virginia (6-2) is bowl eligible for the second consecutive season, a feat the program hasn’t achieved since 2004 and 2005. This Cavalier team has bigger goals in mind, though, as they now sit atop the ACC Coastal Division with a 4-1 conference mark and are in control of their own destiny in terms of reaching the ACC Championship game.
“We expect to go to a bowl game now,” sophomore outside linebacker Charles Snowden said. “We are obviously very proud that we qualified, but it is what we expected going into the season. We are happy and going to celebrate but we will keep moving forward. This is the new standard. We are taking it one day at a time.”
“I’m just thrilled for our team,” Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “I’m thrilled that the new standard is being fulfilled, and part of that, again, is that we expect to win football games. We expect to play in the post-season. It’s not something to wonder or marvel about, it’s something that is real and it does happen. And that this team is doing that and has done it now back to back is a significant accomplishment and it’s worth pausing to consider what that means for Virginia Football. I think there are roots being established, I think there’s momentum that’s been generated and I think the expectation has shifted now to winning football at Virginia. I’m really excited for my team, my coaches, and thrilled for a moment to just enjoy that.”
UVA, which before today had not defeated UNC in Scott Stadium since 2008, began the 123rd edition of the “South’s Oldest Rivalry” with an emphatic 13-play, 83-yard touchdown drive to take an early 7-0 lead. Perkins accounted for 75 yards on the drive, including 10-yard touchdown run for the game’s first score.
A hot North Carolina offense – the Tar Heels totaled over 500 yards of offense in each of its previous two games – answered Virginia’s score with one of their own when quarterback Nathan Elliott connected with Hampton (VA) native Dazz Newsome on a 30-yard touchdown pass. The Tar Heels marched 75 yards in 11 plays on their opening drive, tying the game at 7-7.
The Cavalier offense responded with another touchdown drive, this time going 75 yards in six plays. Joe Reed’s 27-yard touchdown catch boosted the Cavalier lead to 14-7. The Hoos scored on three of their first four drives to snatch a 17-7 lead, but the Tar Heels closed to within three at 17-14 when Elliott hit tight end Carl Tucker on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 5:01 remaining in the second quarter. UVA’s defense was shaky for most of UNC’s 8-play, 80-yard drive, a concern considering the visitors had possession to start the second half.
However, in three plays on the opening drive of the third quarter, the Tar Heels gained just two yards and were forced to punt. The Cavalier offense capitalized with a 4-play, 60-yard drive capped off with a Perkins 33-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Hasise Dubois.
“They came out with momentum, but we stole the momentum back and that’s definitely a big thing for us,” senior safety Juan Thornhill said of UNC’s first drive of the second half. “We got the ball back to the offense.”
The Cavalier defense put the clamps down throughout the second half, particularly in the third quarter, when they held head coach Larry Fedora’s offense to just 38 yards, two first downs, three punts and a fumble on four possessions. The latter came four plays after UNC had stopped Virginia on downs. On 3rd-and-10 from the Tar Heel 40, Cavalier senior outside linebacker Chris Peace sacked Elliott, whose fumble was recovered by Cavalier junior cornerback Bryce Hall.
Virginia capitalized on the turnover with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Perkins to senior tight end Evan Butts, whose score – his second touchdown in as many weeks – boosted the Cavalier lead to 31-14 early in fourth quarter play. North Carolina punted on its next possession, and the game was firmly in the Cavaliers’ control. The Tar Heels scored another touchdown with over 10 minutes remaining but would get no closer than 31-21.
The UVA defense surrendered some big plays at times. For the most part, though, they were fantastic, limiting the Tar Heels to 337 total yards, including a meager 66 yards on the ground (3.0 yards per carry). UNC entered the game averaging 188 yards rushing per game. Antonio Williams, who Bronco Mendenhall noted postgame as a player who had impressed him, managed only 21 yards on seven carries.
Third-down conversions, which Mendenhall noted prior to the game as being key in slowing down an up-tempo attack like North Carolina’s, went in Virginia’s favor. After converting two of three 3rd downs on its opening drive, UNC converted only two of 11 the rest of the game. UVA’s offense converted six-of-13 on 3rd down, enabling the Hoos to decisively win the time of possession battle, 39:05 to 20:55.
Thornhill led the UVA defense with seven total tackles, and Hall, Peace and Rob Snyder contributed six tackles apiece. Virginia had seven pass breakups, including two each by Hall and Snowden.
Perkins led the way in rushing with 112. Meanwhile, senior running back Jordan Ellis, whose status was uncertain because of an ankle injury suffered last week, contributed 64 yards on 16 carries. Zaccheaus had 30 yards rushing, most of which came on a nifty fake-reverse play that went for 29. In total, the Hoos racked up 425 yards of offense, including 208 yards on the ground and 217 through the air.
“The previous two years were a completely different style, so his ability to not only take on content, but then perform and allow us to expand each with just this poise and just kind of solid week in and week out and day in and day out mentality,” Mendenhall said of Perkins, who broke the rock in the postgame celebration. “It’s just so nice not to have the wild ups and wild downs, and he keeps getting better. So certainly, I would say he is exceeding expectations and just a joy to have on our team.”
Where OZ did most of his damage was in the passing game, finishing with 10 catches for 108 yards. With 213 catches, he has passed Billy McMullen as Virginia’s all-time career receptions leader.
“It’s an honor, but I’m not satisfied at all,” Zaccheaus said of his record. “We are in the same position we were in last year, and we took it for granted then. I will not allow that to happen this year. The record isn’t something that I’m worried about right now, but after college is over I will reflect on it and be proud. I’m grateful for the people around me who have helped me get here.”
Virginia welcomes another ACC Coastal foe, the Pittsburgh Panthers, to Scott Stadium next Friday night for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Asked about the potential of his team this year, Mendenhall said: “Why take anything off the table?”
– Highlights
