CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Virginia football team kept the nation's most accurate passer in check for long stretches at Chapel Hill Saturday, but sophomore quarterback Bryn Renner's efficiency proved contagious for the rest of the North Carolina offense. The Tar Heels turned each of their first four red zone trips into touchdowns and defied deficits in first downs, total offense and time of possession to hand the Cavaliers their first defeat of the season, 28-17.
Entering the ACC opener for both teams, Renner led the country with an 85.7 completion percentage and seemingly had the golden touch with every pigskin he tossed. On an overcast afternoon at Kenan Memorial Stadium, however, the Cavaliers cooled off Renner's hot hand simply by keeping him off the field early.
The Virginia offense hoarded the ball for 11:52 and 110 yards during the first quarter, but struggled to turn its possession advantage into points. Senior placekicker Robert Randolph converted a 38-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter for a 3-0 lead, but had pushed a 45-yarder wide right minutes earlier, his first miss of the season.
"What I'm discouraged about - whatever the stats were - [is] we didn't have enough points," offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. "We just need to evaluate how we start the game in a lot of ways ... and do a better job of getting points early in the game."
Virginia failed to put the Tar Heels in an early hole, and North Carolina punished the Cavaliers for it on the ensuing possession. After completing just two passes for 19 yards during the first quarter, Renner bounced back with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that lasted only 2:01. Renner went three-for-three for 52 yards during the blitzkrieg-esque drive, which he finished with an 18-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Jheranie Boyd.
"They do a nice job of play-action pass which will draw you up, and sometimes you lose an underneath defender," coach Mike London said. "That's what most of those passes were ... so that's something we have to address, because that won't be the last time we'll see teams play-action passing against us."
With Virginia down 7-3, freshman quarterback David Watford briefly replaced sophomore starter Michael Rocco under center two minutes into the second quarter. Despite being pinned back on his own 13-yard line after a muffed kick, Watford guided the offense into Tar Heel territory. The drive stalled on the 36-yard line, however, when London left Randolph's leg on the sidelines and instead watched Watford sail a fourth-down pass beyond the outstretched arms of freshman wide receiver Dominique Terrell. Rocco promptly returned at quarterback for rest of the game.
"A little high - Terrell was wide open, and [Watford] overthrew it, and they got the ball there," London said. "David will continue to play more series; we'll just bring him along, and I think he'll be a good talent once we get it all figured out for him."
With Virginia struggling to score points and Renner finding his rhythm, the Tar Heels' quarterback went for the jugular and orchestrated three more long touchdown drives during the next five North Carolina possessions. A one-yard touchdown run by goal-line specialist senior tailback Ryan Houston capped a 12-play, 64-yard drive. Fewer than two minutes into the third quarter, Renner hurled a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Thomas Moore for a 21-3 lead. Late in the period, a 36-yard hook-up between Renner and Jones set up Houston's second rushing score of the day from two yards out.
"Everybody is going to have to take a step up," London said. "Everyone that is playing, from the freshmen up to the fourth- and fifth-year guys, we have to play better and we have to put points up on the scoreboard and we have to stop teams from scoring."
Rocco was a respectable 6-of-9 for 58 yards during the first quarter, but the sophomore signal caller reinvigorated the offense when he reclaimed the reins after Watford's series.
Rocco's inexperience showed when he coughed up the ball at the North Carolina 37-yard line on the following play, but with Virginia on the ropes 21-3 early in the third quarter, Rocco connected with senior fullback Max Milien, whose 41-yard catch and run untouched down the right sideline marked Rocco's first touchdown pass this season.
"There were a couple of plays out there that showed the presence of what a quarterback has to do," London said. "I thought he made a couple of good throws."
Trailing 28-10 with five minutes remaining in the game, Rocco dropped back, slipped to his left to evade two bullrushing defenders, and then cut upfield and dove across the goal line to give Virginia a consolation touchdown and much-needed confidence boost for the weeks ahead. On an otherwise dreary day, Rocco's strides under center provided a silver lining.
"I feel confident and I'm comfortable as the leader of our offense, and our guys do a good job of responding to me and they expect me to lead," Rocco said. "Whenever your guys see you playing the game and doing well and leading the team, it kind of is like a ripple effect."
Rocco dismissed the idea of purely moral victories, but his demonstrated on-field energy and growth as a leader suggest the team is heading in the right direction.
"My job is to help the team win the game, so we failed in that aspect," Rocco said. "But there are positives in every game and there are also negatives, [so] we've just got to learn from them and get better next week and gotta get a 'W' [against] Southern Miss"
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