UNC comes from behind to win another close road game. Tar Heels beat Virginia 31-28
No. 17 North Carolina trailed at halftime for the third consecutive game and for the third time in a row owned the second half as it won 31-28 at Virginia on Saturday at Scott Stadium.
The Tar Heels (8-1, 5-0 ACC) scored on their first three possessions in the third quarter and never looked back in moving one game away from clinching the ACC Coastal Division crown. The Heels notched their fifth road win of the season and it was the first win for UNC coach Mack Brown in seven trips to Charlottesville.
“We didn’t play well at times (Saturday) and the guys overcame it,” Brown said. “They kept their head up, they kept good body language. They kept their confidence and they just kept playing. We said this was gonna be hard. If you look at it, every game we’ve played on the road (has been decided by) seven points or less. That’s just what it is.”
Carolina followed what has become a familiar formula since league play began. Its defense clamped down while its offense opened up.
UNC quarterback Drake Maye, who was limited to just 109 passing yards in the first half, began going to receiver Josh Downs on virtually every situation that mattered. Maye added that his connection with Downs is still evolving since he’s only been the starter nine games and Downs missed two games with an injury.
“He’s a phenomenal player,” Maye said. ”He’s got a knack for getting open and when he’s open, I’m getting him the rock because that’s one of our better playmakers.”
It was Downs’ 32-yard reception on UNC’s first drive of the second half that led to the Heels’ first score in the third quarter. He had two receptions on third down — including a 19-yard score — for their second touchdown in the period that put UNC ahead for good.
The play Downs caught for his touchdown was not designed to go to him. But when he lined up, both Downs and Maye realized he’d be in single coverage and Maye made the throw.
“Drake’s a very high IQ quarterback, that’s what I can say about him,” Downs said. “So if I’m thinking of something, he’s already thinking of it probably ahead of me.”
Downs totaled seven receptions for 99 yards in the second half. He was one catch shy of tying the school’s single-game record for catches with 15 for 166 yards.
Before taking the field on the drive that put the Heels in the lead, Downs went up to Brown and told him, “We got this.”
“Coach Brown usually just comes up to me and he would just be like, ‘11, you got to make these plays,’” Downs said. “So then I went up to him and I just reciprocated the energy. I said coach, ‘Don’t worry, I got you right here.’ And I said that same thing to coach (Phil) Longo too.”
Maye’s second-half performance was also much better than the first two quarters. He finished 13-for-18 passing for 184 yards in the second half.
For all the offense did right in the second half, Brown was disappointed the Heels didn’t close out the game strong. Leading 31-21, Carolina was unable to put the game away on its next two drives — one of which started at the UVA 37 thanks to a 38-yard punt return by Downs.
“We had the ball twice with a 10-point lead, you have got to finish the game,” Brown said. “You’ve got to finish the game and we didn’t kill much clock or finish the game. And you’ve got to do that.”
It made the Heels sweat out their win a little more than they should have. When Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong scored on a run to pull within three, with 3:24 left, it still left hope for an onsides kick.
UNC receiver Antoine Green recovered the ball, and instead of returning it for a score, he fell down to give the Heels the ball. Carolina ran out the remaining 3:24 of the clock to secure the win.
Green remembered watching Bryson Nesbit return an onsides kick against Appalachian State for a score. Nesbit should have fallen to the ground because his score allowed the Mountaineers time to mount an answer and UNC needed a stop on a two-point conversion attempt to win the game.
Green could have run it back since so much time remained.
“He shouldn’t have gone down,” Brown said. “You go down when there’s less than two minutes left. So he remembered we made such a big to do out of Nesbit. But, 31-28.”
Carolina’s offense had more glitches than usual in the first half.
On its opening possession of the game, its drive stalled after reaching the UVA 7. Maye’s first-down pass looked to be intended for tight end John Copenhaver, but Green was in the same vicinity and attempted to catch it himself. The incomplete pass led to a third-down sack, and the Heels settled for Noah Burnette’s 35-yard field goal.
Green was on the wrong end of another mistake in the second quarter. This time, the ball was all for him, but he dropped what would have been a 31-yard touchdown catch.
The Heels’ one-minute offense, equipped with three timeouts, took possession with 2:04 left before the half sputtered to a three-and-out possession. Maye made the mistake of not throwing to J.J. Jones on a crossing route, instead trying to hit Green for a longer gain.
Those offensive glitches were the reason why Carolina trailed 14-10 at halftime. But they were also the reason why no one panicked. The Heels have been in the same position before, they’ve become accustomed to rallying in the second half.
“They don’t blink and that’s a really important thing,” Brown said. “... A lot of teams crumble and this bunch just hasn’t. They just continue to play at a high level with confidence and they continue to pick each other up.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 3:26 PM.