CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (PSF)—UNC falls to 6-1 and #17 in the rankings after being defeated by UVA 31-27 at home Saturday night.

Offense:

UNC’s dominant offense faltered against UVA.

This game was a back-and-forth game, with Virginia striking first and getting the upper hand.

UVA’s first drive resulted in a touchdown and UNC responded with a quick drive that ended in a Drake Maye and Tez Walker connection for a 25-yard touchdown.

Down by seven going into the second quarter, Carolina responded quickly with a huge 62-yard touchdown to tight end Bryson Nesbit.

After UNC turned the ball over on downs, they were able to get the ball back and kick a field goal right before the half. They led 14-17 going into the locker room.

Carolina struck first in the second half with Maye running the ball for a 3-yard touchdown. UVA followed suit on their next drive to keep the game close.

This back-and-forth occurred again with field goals, making the score 24-27, until UVA scored another touchdown.

Trailing by four early in the fourth, UNC had the opportunity to capitalize on a touchback, but unfortunately, the offensive struggles of the night resulted in a turnover on downs.

With a little over a minute left of the game, UNC had the ball at their own 25-yard line and needed a touchdown drive to win the game. With about 25 seconds left, Maye threw an interception that secured UVA’s victory.

Almost everyone on Carolina’s offense was off this game. Maye threw for 347 yards but only completed 50% of his passes. This was due to Maye not being as accurate as he usually is- overthrowing or throwing too high- and an incredibly high number of dropped passes by his receivers.

Walker continues to be Maye’s #1 target, finishing the game with 11 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown. Nate McCollum, one of UNC’s top receivers this season, had an off day with only two catches for 11 yards and was inevitability subbed out in the fourth quarter.

Running back Omarion Hampton also had a solid game with 19 carries for 112 yards

Defense:

Carolina looked like a completely different team today, and the defense also fell into this category.

UNC’s defense could not stop Virginia’s run game. UVA had three running backs- Perris Jones, Mike Hollins and Tony Muskett- run for over 60 yards a piece. Hollins also had three touchdowns on the day.

The defense was able to create some critical turnovers. Defensive back Armani Chatman had a huge endzone interception in the second quarter, but unfortunately, the offense did nothing with the takeaway and went three-and-out. Similarly, the defense forced a fumble that resulted in a touchback, but the offense did not capitalize on this.

Linebacker Cedric Gray led the defense again with 18 total tackles. Linemen Kaimon Rucker and Beau Atkinson accounted for the two sacks of the night.

Takeaways and Looking Forward:

The penalties were critical in this game. UNC had six penalties for 58 yards and UVA had six penalties for 40 yards. The reffing was interesting in this game as flags were being thrown on what felt like every other play, and they were not calling big, obvious penalties.

Like UNC’s offense and defense, the special teams were not on their A-game. The longest punt was only 39 yards, compared to UVA’s longest punt being 61 yards, and gave UVA great field position each time.

UVA was a 24-point underdog and took advantage of UNC’s out-of-sync team to control the game.

Carolina has been humbled by this loss and it should serve as a lesson to not get cocky because there is always a possibility for an upset.

UNC will be on the road at Georgia Tech on Oct. 28th where they can hopefully redeem themselves and generate positive energy again.