Virginia Shocks No. 10 North Carolina With Huge Road Win

For the Virginia football team, the rallying call this month has been simple. Tired of being close. On Saturday night, the Hoos rode that mantra into Chapel Hill and ripped a 31-27 victory away from previously undefeated North Carolina.

The Wahoos had lost close games late against JMU, NC State, and Boston College during September with those three defeats coming by a total of 7 points. Virginia is now 2-0 in October with the wins against William & Mary and UNC sandwiched around a bye week. The victory against the Heels is the first against a Power 5 or conference opponent since defeating Georgia Tech almost exactly a year earlier on Oct. 20, 2022.

After laboring through a losing streak that reached 8 games and spanned nearly a calendar year before the W&M win, Saturday night’s victory was not only unexpected, it was unprecedented. UVA had never defeated a top 10 team on the road in program history prior to the upset in Chapel Hill.

Then for the Hoos to do it the fashion that they did, rallying from 10 points down in the second half after suffering through the opposite end of that storyline multiple times this year? And to overcome a Virginia curse, Rule 2B type of moment with a fumble through the end zone instead of a put-it-away touchdown? And with everything and every burden that came with last year’s tragedy that took the lives of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler, and D’Sean Perry?

The Cavaliers’ victory ended up equal parts captivating and cathartic.

“It’s awesome. For me, it’s really just the sounds, the smiles, the smell, just everything about it and being present in the moment,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. “That’s what you coach for is an opportunity to see your guys celebrate victory and more so just a confirmation of all the work that they put in, the belief that they had for 60 minutes, just the hard days that they’ve been through to all culminate to experience that joy in the locker room. It’s an experience that’s hard to describe, but that’s why you coach to see these young men experience joy like that.”

“Elated,” UVA offensive coordinator Des Kitching said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “I’m so happy for Coach Elliott, so happy for these players. I mean the sweat, the equity, just the fight we’ve been putting in every day. The belief within ourselves. … We left some points out there, but these kids fought hard, fought hard, fought hard and came away with a W. I’m so proud of the kids and really proud for Coach Elliott, he deserves this as the leader of this program.”

Storylines were not hard to come by for the Hoos.

First, running back Mike Hollins put together a strong game against the Tar Heels. He gave the Hoos a 7-0 lead early with an 11-yard run and scored again on carries of 3 yards and 1 yard. He finished with 66 rushing yards and those 3 touchdowns. He nearly had a fourth score, but as he approached the goal line with less than 5 minutes to go and Virginia on the verge of a possible game-ending touchdown, the ball popped free. The fumble bounced off of Hollins and rolled out of the back of the end zone for a touchback that kept UNC’s hopes intact.

Still, Hollins helped the Virginia offense post a big rushing effort. The visitors had 54 carries for 228 yards, a clip of 4.2 yards per carry. In addition to Hollins, Perris Jones added 67 yards and quarterback Tony Muskett had 66. Kobe Pace chipped in another 30 as well. Muskett was also sacked just twice to help keep his total up. All of that speaks volumes about the performance of the much-maligned offensive line. The Cavaliers came up with 254 yards and 17 points after halftime, which included a shuffle on the right side that saw Ty Furnish return to right guard after falling out of the rotation and Blake Steen pick up his first major playing time as a Hoo at right tackle.

Beyond Hollins and the O-Line, the passing game produced some more interesting stories. Muskett finished 20-30 passing for 208 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. That pick came on a throw into the end zone late in the second quarter and contributed to a 17-14 halftime deficit. Carolina moved ahead 24-14 at the 9:35 mark of the third quarter, but Muskett showed his resolve for the second straight outing after steadying his team against William & Mary two weeks ago. First, he engineered an immediate response drive of 13 plays that included a 20-yard keeper and a key third down completion.

Then with UNC up 27-24 in the fourth quarter, Muskett produced a drive for the lead. This one took 7 plays to cover 73 yards. Muskett went 3-3 on the drive with a 30-yard completion to Malik Washington in an open hole and a 13-yarder to Malachi Fields to keep the chains moving. He capped it off by sliding away from some pressure on 3rd-and-4 at the Carolina 19-yard line and throwing to Washington in the middle of the field. Washington did the rest, fighting through would-be tacklers to get the 14-yard touchdown on the board and the Hoos into the lead.

Washington posted yet another 100-yard receiving game, his 5th of the season, with 12 catches for 115 yards and that go-ahead touchdown.

“That was a big boy play, that’s what I told Malik,” Elliott said. “And that’s what you’ve seen out of this team. They fight. They’re not going to back down. Now we’ve got to play smarter at times and play more complementary football at times, but one thing that you can’t question about this team is their resilience and they’re willingness to fight. So that’s just a testament to this group of individuals.”

Defensively, created some clutch moments too. None were bigger than a one-two punch to seal the victory in the final minute.

North Carolina took possession with 1:12 to go and a final chance to salvage its undefeated record. Drake Maye completed consecutive passes to get the ball into Virginia territory when Paul Akere and James Jackson closed the deal for the Cavaliers. Akere blew past UNC tackle William Barnes on the pass rush and hit Maye as he tried to throw. That sent the ball sailing off target and Jackson snared it out of the air for the interception to put the win away.

Akere had missed several weeks with an injury, making his play a moment of triumphant return. Jackson, meanwhile, had received a gut-punch moment against NC State with a penalty on a field goal kick – he blocked the initial attempt, but got hit with a personal foul leaping penalty and the Wolfpack made the second try to win the game. For him to seal the huge road victory was a moment of redemption. Jackson finished with 6 tackles and 2 QB hurries too.

Other solid stat lines belonged to freshman linebacker Kam Robinson, senior defensive back Coen King, and junior safety Jonas Sanker. Robinson continued his rapid development with 8 tackles and 2 hurries. King matched those 8 tackles and added a pair of pass breakups, which included a play in the end zone North Carolina’s second-to-last drive that helped preserve the win. Sanker added 7 tackles.

“I’ve told the guys from day one they can do it. I told them they could play with the first opponent all the way through this one,” Elliott said. “The key is believing that you are going to be the guy that’s going to make the play and not waiting on somebody else. I think that’s what you saw. You saw more guys tonight saying you know what, let me be the one that makes a play.”

It all added up to an exciting night for the Wahoos and their fans. Virginia had not secured a win against a top 10 team since the Oct. 15, 2005 victory against Florida State at Scott Stadium. So the celebratory mood from the locker room in Chapel Hill to social media and living rooms across the Commonwealth and beyond was well warranted.

“They’ll enjoy it, they’ll get a bunch of text messages tonight on the way home,” Elliott said. “Hopefully they won’t get too caught up in that and just understand that hey this is what you’re capable of and there’s no turning back. Let this be that fuel to the fire that just wants them to get back on the practice field and let’s go so see what more can we do as opposed to OK well this is just a one off. Hopefully these guys will understand this is what I’ve been telling them all year, this is what you’re capable of.”

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