CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Over its last four games now, Virginia has
gone into overtime three times and ended another with what was essentially a walk-off
safety.
The bottom line: These are definitely the Cardiac Cavaliers, and they keep finding
improbable ways to pull out victories in crunch time.
On Saturday in Kenan Stadium they found yet another way to win. Defensive backs
Emmanuel Karnley and Ja’Son Prevard combined to stop North Carolina running back
Benjamin Hall inches short of the goal line on a potentially game-winning two-point
conversion attempt in overtime as the 16th-ranked Cavaliers held on for a 17-16 win in
“the South’s Oldest Rivalry.”
It was the third time in their last four outings that UVA (7-1, 4-0 ACC) have ventured into
overtime, and the Cavs have won all three. Only eight other teams have won three OT
games in one season since overtime was instituted in 1996. Texas Tech in 2022 was the
last to accomplish the extra-time triple.
“Like I told the guys, we’ve been here before,” UVA coach Tony Elliott as his
Cavalier reeled off their sixth straight win, their longest winning streak since 2007, as he
evened his record against UNC (2-5, 0-3) to 2-2. “Unfortunately, this is what we do. We
take it all the way down to the end.”
He added, “The guys just had confidence that we’re gonna play however long it takes,
and that’s one of the bedrocks of our program – we play 60 minutes or however long it
takes to find a way to win the game.”
The Cavaliers set to work in overtime by driving for a touchdown, with tailback J’Mari
Taylor doing the honors on a direct snap from a yard out and Will Bettridge adding what
would become the game-winning PAT kick.
That score was in direct contrast to a squandered opportunity in the third quarter, when
the Cavaliers had first-and-goal from the 9-yard line. Chandler Morris gained 8 yards to
the 1 on a quarterback draw, but Chandler overthrew tight end Sage Ennis on third
down and underthrew Taylor on fourth down.
In overtime, Elliott didn’t mess around. He went with his power game.
“If it’s working … let’s not go away from it,” he said. “Let’s not give the other team too
much credit and talk ourselves out of something that can help us.”
The Tar Heels answered the overtime touchdown with one of their own as quarterback
Gio Lopez connected with running back Davion Gause on a swing pass to the left flat
for a 9-yard TD play.
But UNC coach Bill Belichick opted to go for the knockout.
Lopez, a left-handed passer, rolled to his right against the grain and found Hall in the
right flat. But Karnley wasn’t fooled by the misdirection.
“The running back actually delayed at first,” Karnley said, “and then the quarterback
started scrolling. Once I had seen them and the ball leave his hand, I just triggered and
knew that I had to go down on the ball to win the game.”
Hall caught the ball at the 9 and turned toward the right pylon, but Karnley met him at
the 3 and sent him airborne along the sideline. Prevard finished him off inches before
the goal line.
“He finds a way, don’t he?” Elliott said of Prevard, who also leads the Cavaliers with
three interceptions. “He’s around the ball and becoming one of the top playmakers for
us.”
Elliott said if it had been his decision, he would have kicked the PAT and headed to a
second overtime.
“But, man, he’s won a lot of football games,” Elliott said in reference to Belichick, who
has those six Super Bowl trophies on his resume. “And, I mean, he’s one of the best in
the business for a reason, and so obviously he felt good about the call.”
The goal-line stand in overtime wasn’t the only defensive highlight for the Cavaliers.
They came up with three turnovers in the red zone on a day when the Tar Heels
outgained them 353-259 in total offense.
On UNC’s second possession of the day, the Heels drove 74 yards to within inches of
the UVA goal line, only to fumble it away. With a first down at the UVA 13, wide receiver
Kobe Paysour caught a pass from Lopez and tried to stretch for the left pylon. But he
lost control of the ball on the tackle by Cory Costner before crossing the goal line, and it
rolled out of the side of the end zone for a touchback, giving UVA the ball at its own 20.
It was the second game in a row that a UNC wide receiver lost a fumble at the goal line.
Nathan Leacock’s turnover on what could have been a go-ahead touchdown came with
less than four minutes to play in UNC’s 21-18 loss at California last week.
Mitchell Melton got the second turnover late in the third quarter when the Tar Heels had
driven to the UVA 16. He deflected a pass and then made the interception after it
bounced off the intended receiver, wideout Shanard Clower, at the 5-yard line.
Melton plays the “bandit” defensive end position, a hybrid role where he’s often a pass
rusher. On this play, he dropped into coverage along the sideline.
“I came into college as a linebacker,” the Ohio State grad transfer said, “so I kind of
have that still, linebacker traits and skills carrying over, especially at the defensive line.
“And Coach Rud has a great scheme,” he said of defensive coordinator John Rudzinski.
“He likes to make us versatile, me and Rick (Daniel Rickert), especially at that bandit
position.”
The third takeaway came in the waning seconds of regulation. A facemask penalty had
set up UNC at its 49 with 22 seconds, and Lopez went deep down the left sideline for
Madrid Tucker, who caught a game-high eight passes.
But Karnley and Antonio Clary had double coverage on him. Karnley broke up the pass,
and Clary, the seventh-year safety, caught the deflection, allowing Morris to end
regulation with a kneel-down.
Before the overtime session, all of the scoring came in the first half. Bettridge and UNC
kicker Rece Verhoff matched early 34-yard field goals, and the quarterbacks traded
second-quarter touchdowns.
Morris, who was 20-of-35 passing for 200 yards with one interception, found Trell Harris
for a 30-yard TD pass, capping a 60-yard drive with 6:36 left in the half. Harris broke a
tackle at the UNC 12 and scored his team-leading fourth TD of the season.
Lopez, 23-of-36 for 208 and two picks, brought the Tar Heels even on the ensuing drive.
He completed 5-of-6 passes on the75-yard march, and after finding Paysour for 26
yards, Lopez sneaked in from the 1 for the TD.
For most of the second half, the defenses held sway.
UVA had allowed only five sacks all season, but UNC dropped Morris six times on the
afternoon – three of them by redshirt junior defensive end Melkart Abou-Jaoude, a
transfer from Delaware.
The Cavaliers kept the Tar Heels at bay with the two second-half interceptions.
“It’s as game of inches, and we’ve got to get our rhythm back,” Elliott said. “We’ve had
to kind of plug and play with some guys. Continuity is a big thing. So we got Brady
(Wilson, the center) back, but then we lose (slot receiver Cam) Ross, and then X
(running back Xavier Brown) is now out.”
He added, “But, you know, I’m not panicking, right? Because we’re finding ways to win.
So, at the end of the day, we’re finding ways to win. And I know that the group that got
off to the fast start is the same group that’s in that locker room.”