In the midst of a six-game losing streak, the Virginia football team entered its matchup against North Carolina looking for answers. Instead, they left once again wondering what went wrong as the Tar Heels completely dominated the game en route to a 45-14 win.
The Cavaliers (2-8, 0-6 ACC) came out strong offensively on their opening drive, marching 50 yards downfield on 11 plays, but were eventually forced to punt. North Carolina (4-5, 3-3 ACC) capitalized immediately, scoring on its ensuing drive to take a 7-0 lead.
Sophomore quarterback Marquise Williams led the Tar Heels on the 12-play, 86-yard drive capped off by an eight-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Quinshad Davis. Williams and Davis would hook up again at the end of the quarter, this time with Davis finding Williams on a 29-yard touchdown pass on a double reverse to go up 14-0.
Cavalier sophomore quarterback David Watford struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, going just 8-for-15 for 58 yards. Virginia had just 116 total yards of offense in the half. North Carolina scored once again before the break when freshman wide receiver Ryan Switzer returned a punt 85 yards to send the game into halftime with the Tar Heels leading 21-0.
North Carolina continued to dominate early in the second half, adding another score as Williams found the end zone on a 3-yard rush. Virginia would eventually get on the board late in the third quarter when junior tailback Kevin Parks scored on an 8-yard rush, briefly giving the Cavaliers some life.
After an interception by junior safety Anthony Harris on the next drive, Virginia looked poised to make a comeback. Just two plays later, though, Watford threw an interception to Tar Heel freshman defensive back Dominique Green, who returned it 62 yards for a touchdown and extended the lead to 35-7.
The Tar Heels pushed the margin to 42-7 early in the fourth quarter, but Virginia scored once more when backup redshirt freshman quarterback Greyson Lambert found freshman wide receiver Keeon Johnson for a 23-yard pass to make it 42-14. North Carolina added a field goal with 10:11 remaining to cap its blowout victory.
Virginia now has a bye week to get ready for a road matchup against No. 23 Miami at Sun Life Stadium. The Cavaliers will look to break their current seven-game losing streak, the program’s longest single-season skid since 1981.
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