Football Falls To No. 16 Virginia In Overtime, 17-16

Saturday, October 25

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Noon

North Carolina

2-5 , 0-3

#16 Virginia

7-1 , 4-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Virginia

North Carolina

Photo by: NATE SKVORETZ

October 25, 2025 | Football

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By: Justin Wilson

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Football is often called a 'game of inches'. Unfortunately that became a reality for North Carolina Saturday, as the Tar Heels came within a few inches of earning a ranked win against No. 16 Virginia, but the Cavaliers held on for a 17-16 overtime victory at Kenan Stadium.

After a Davion Gause touchdown reception to the trim the Carolina deficit to 17-16, the Tar Heels (2-5, 0-3 ACC) elected to go for the two-point conversion, but the Virginia (7-1, 4-0) defense stopped running back Benjamin Hall just inches shy of the goal line to escape with the one-point win and remain unbeaten in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

"In the end, we just came up a little bit short today," said Tar Heel head coach Bill Belichick. "It was a good effort in a lot of areas, but in the end, just not quite enough."

In a defensive battle with Virginia held to its fewest points of the season, Carolina was a play or two away from snapping its losing streak and giving Belichick his first conference win.

The Tar Heels compiled 353 yards of total offense to 259 for Virginia and held a 32:33 to 24:27 advantage in the time of possession, but two red zone turnovers proved to be the difference in the game. UNC had five trips to the red zone, but only scored points on three, while Virginia was 2-for-2 on its trips to the red zone.

Carolina's defense tallied a season-high six sacks against an offensive unit that had given up just five sacks on the year entering Saturday's matchup. Melkart Abou Jaoude led the defensive effort with a career-high three sacks and four tackles in the contest. Isaiah Johnson recorded his first sack as a Tar Heel, while Tyler Thompson had a sack for the second consecutive game and CJ Mims also tallied a sack.

Linebacker Khmori House led the Tar Heels in tackles with seven and Mikai Gbayor added six.

Offensively, quarterback Gio Lopez threw for a season-high 208 yards on 23-of-36 passing with a touchdown and Hall rushed for 50 yards on 11 attempts. Making his collegiate debut, freshman Madrid Tucker paced the wide receivers with eight catches for 41 yards and Jordan Shipp pitched in with seven catches for 67 yards.

North Carolina will have a short week, as the Tar Heels return to action at Syracuse on Halloween Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN from JMA Wireless Dome.