University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Finding a Way
October 26, 2014 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
by Turner Walston
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—By all rights, Virginia should have beaten Carolina on Saturday at Scott Stadium. The Cavaliers dominated time of possession by more than a quarter's worth, ran 23 more plays and rushed for 60 more yards than the Tar Heels. Carolina. meanwhile, did not snap the ball inside the Virginia 20-yard line until fewer than six minutes remained in the game.
And yet, when the final whistle blew, it was the Tar Heels who had a 28-27 win and had even their overall record to 4-4 and their ACC record to 2-2. It was the Tar Heels who emerged from Charlottesville with their third straight victory after trip after trip had ended in defeat prior to 2010. It was the Tar Heels who somehow managed to snatch the victory from Virginia.
“I am proud of our kids, because they did find a way to win,” Tar Heel head coach Larry Fedora said afterward. And that's perhaps the best lesson to take from Saturday, that this Tar Heel team, at this time was able to overcome a less-than-stellar performance, able to weather the storm and find that winning way.
The game was ugly early, from a Tar Heel perspective. The Cavaliers' first two scoring drives took more than four minutes off of the clock. Meanwhile Carolina used just 3:03 across their first two possessions. Even when the Tar Heels were scoring, they were doing so quickly; the score was evened after back-to-back drives of :45 and :31, respectively. After that first-half flurry, both defenses settled down, and the teams traded possessions in the second half, with a punt here and an interception there, a missed field goal over here. The only scoring of the third quarter was Ian Frye's 37-yard field goal to make it 27-21 Virginia.
Carolina had the ball in great field position on several times and yet was unable to capitalize. As frustrating as that was, it was just to set up the drama of the finish.
Late in the fourth, Carolina's Nazair Jones picked off Virginia quarterback Greyson Lambert, and the 6'5, 290-pound redshirt freshman rumbled 20 yards to give Carolina the ball at the Virginia 38. “I've never caught a pick,” Jones said later. “Never in my career caught a pick. I mean I caught some touchdowns in high school because I played tight end, but never caught a pick.”
Carolina then converted a huge 3rd and long –something they'd struggled with all day– with a completion to Ryan Switzer down the left sideline, giving them 1st and 10 at the Virginia 11. After he rushed for 5 yards to the 6, Marquise Williams was sacked, with his helmet flying off, at the 16. Right tackle Jon Heck too lost his helmet. Unless Carolina chose to use a timeout, Williams and Heck would have to come out of the game for one play. That play happened to be 3rd and 15 at the Virginia 16, with the Tar Heels trailing by 6 and 4:10 on the clock. Fedora considered a timeout, but felt that Trubisky, who'd spelled Williams at times through the season's first five games, could make the play.
And so it was that back-up right tackle R.J. Prince lined up down from back-up center Arien Smith, who snapped the ball to back-up quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who nailed a wide-open T.J. Thorpe for the touchdown.
“The team needed me to come in and make a play, and that's all I had to do,” Trubisky said. “All I was thinking about was the play in front of me, and that helped just keep my mind on football and we got the play.”
After Nick Weiler gave the Tar Heels the lead with the extra point, the Tar Heels lined up to kick off. A surprise onside kick found the hands of Mack Hollins, who had touchdown catches of 63 and 57 yards in the first half. “We had the look, and we knew we had to make a game-changing play on special teams, so we used that at the time,” Weiler said.
Then, it was the Tar Heels that were able to chew clock, until Williams got down to the Cavalier 21 to set up 4th and 2. Holding was called, but Virginia declined the penalty, knowing Carolina could burn more time with another down. The Tar Heels lined up to go for the conversion before Williams called timeout. Then it was the Tar Heel kicking unit that came out. But, when the Cavaliers broke the huddle, they had 12 men on the field. The resulting five-yard penalty extended the Tar Heel possession and ultimately ended the game.
It was a bizarre ending to an improbable Tar Heel victory. The team that dominated the stat sheet came up one point short on the scoreboard.
Now, the Tar Heels are .500 on the season and look toward a meeting in Coral Gables with the Miami Hurricanes. As unlikely as it may seem, the Coastal Division is still there for the taking. The Tar Heels control their own destiny: keep winning, and they'll be in Charlotte in December.
Saturday's victory in Charlottesville won't go down as the best-played game of the season, but after a four-game losing streak and a last-minute victory over Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels can't afford to be picky. “It's definitely an ugly win,” right guard Landon Turner said, “but an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.” Amen.
Players Mentioned
