Staff Photo by Robert Willett
UNC senior Cam Thomas (93) hangs his head on the Tar Heel bench after a 16-3 loss to Virginia on Saturday October 3, 2009 in Kenan Stadium.
CHAPEL HILL -- The boos began in the first quarter and the last round came in the fourth quarter after a late interception sealed North Carolina's 16-3 loss to a previously winless Virginia team on Saturday.
The difference in the reception for the Tar Heels compared to the last time they left Kenan Stadium, cheered two weeks ago after a feel-good win over East Carolina, was startling.
Those Heels were riding high at 3-0, ranked in the top 25 and with the world in front of them. Two weeks and two losses later, there's a question of whether it's the same UNC team.
"I don't think it is the same team," said Tar Heels coach Butch Davis, who's 0-3 against Virginia at UNC.
Davis lamented the loss of two starting offensive linemen and his tight end, a talent gap that has been exposed first by Georgia Tech and then on Saturday by Virginia's defense, which sacked quarterback T.J. Yates four times and intercepted him twice in the fourth quarter.
Then Davis quickly added there's no quick fix to UNC's 0-2 ACC start.
"There's no smoke-and-mirrors, there's no magic pill," Davis said. "This is a young, inexperienced football team and we knew that from Aug. 1. They have to continue to try to improve each week."
At least the Virginia game is behind them. The Cavaliers (1-3, 1-0 ACC) have won four straight in the series and 10 of 12. Going back to last year, the Wahoos had lost seven straight overall.
The defense came to life against UNC, limiting the Heels to nine first downs, and the return of Mikell Simpson boosted the running game. Simpson, who missed UVa's 37-34 loss to Southern Miss on Sept. 19 with a shin injury, ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on Saturday.
His eight-yard score with 5:49 at the fourth quarter capped a game-clinching sequence that started with the defense pressuring Yates into an interception.
Down 9-3, UNC had the ball on its own 46-yard line, one drive away from pulling a win out of a seemingly lost afternoon. After two plays for minus-2 yards, Virginia defensive end Nate Collins popped Yates and a wobbly pass floated to Chase Minnifield at the 42.
Five rushes by Simpson later, Virginia had its first win of the season and another win over UNC.
The Heels got the ball back one last time and that's when Yates' pick to Chris Cook inspired the last chorus of boos.
"It is what it is," said UNC receiver Greg Little, who had eight catches for 63 yards. "When you're front-runners nobody says anything when you turn the ball over, nobody says anything until you lose."
While UVa's running game got in gear, UNC's floundered. The Heels ran 23 times for 39 yards, which was a 22-yard improvement from last week's 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech.
There was no room to be found in the first half, when UNC ran 13 times for nine yards. The defense was able to keep Virginia out of the end zone, though.
Two field goals by Robert Randolph, from 36 and 38 yards, staked UVa to a 6-0 halftime lead.
Casey Barth's 39-yard field goal at 5:09 in the third quarter cut UVa's lead in half but they were the only points UNC could produce against a team that had given up 93 points in the first three games of the season.
While Virginia has new life, UNC will try to recapture the offensive production and lost momentum from the 31-17 win over ECU from two weeks ago.
"We can't give up on the season," Yates said. "We have to go back to work."
