Alright, so, cliché time here. Virginia, not the best team in the country today, but they were the best team in the stadium.
At least on the scoreboard.
By one more point.
I have to admit, all of my years covering UVA Football, many more being a Virginia fan, I’ve never felt that a win for one of our teams was a loss more than I did today, with that 17-16 OT win for the ‘Hoos over a bad UNC team that is, admittedly, getting better.
But is still bad.
I just took a peek at the ESPN win probability thing, and I’m astounded that the win probability for Virginia wasn’t in the area of 0 to 5 percent all afternoon.
ICYMI
Gio Lopez set his single-game season high for passing yards with 173 yards in the first half.
Carolina outgained Virginia 246-126 in the first half, but it was 10-10 because UNC wideout Kobe Paysour fumbled at the UVA 1 in the first quarter trying to stretch the ball to the pylon for a TD, lost control of the ball, and because it then hit the pylon and went out of bounds, was a touchback.
UVA returned the favor in the third quarter, getting to the Carolina 1, and then, instead of using its go-to play at the 1 – direct snap to J’Mari Taylor – Des Kitchings dialed up two passes; Chandler Morris overshot a stumbling Sage Ennis on third down, then threw a ground ball to an open Taylor in the flat on fourth down.
The Virginia D, again, as we saw last week, won this one with an immovable object second half – holding the Tar Heels to 82 yards.
Problem was, Morris, sacked six times – for context: the UNC defense had a total of eight sacks in six games coming into the game – was hearing and feeling footsteps all afternoon.
His final counting stats look, you know, OK – 20-of-35, 200 yards – but he was overshooting and undershooting and throwing behind open receivers all day.
And then, in a flash, he made the play of the day: in the OT, facing a third-and-7 at the UNC 10, not wanting to have to settle for a field-goal try, Morris changed the play at the line, to a QB keeper, and willed his way to the line to gain, dropping his injured left shoulder into the Carolina defenders to gain the last several inches.
Two plays later, Taylor took the direct snap on second-and-goal at the 1 into the end zone for the TD.
Carolina scored on its possession in the OT, and of course Bill Belichick decided to go for the two and the win.
I don’t know why more coaches don’t do this when they score a TD on the second possession of a first OT and have the option.
The new OT rules have it that teams have to go for twos beginning with the second OT.
If you have to do that anyway, you know, might as well …
So, Belichick went for two.
Wes Durham, who I like – always been nice to me – but he’s a UNC homer, made it out on the ACC Network broadcast that the Carolina ball-carrier, Benjamin Hall, was mere inches away on the try.
In reality, Hall’s knee was down close to the 2 with the ball at the 1, which replay confirmed.
Even so.
Belichick and his outcoached Tony Elliott and his. UNC took away Kitchings’ favorite plays – defending crossing routes on third-and-shorts and third-and-mediums with zone coverage, disguising coverages to confuse Morris and his O line, seducing Kitchings into trying to beat single coverage on the edges, and living to tell the tale because UVA’s wideouts couldn’t come down with the 50/50 balls.
A 7-1 record has never felt so hollow.
The double-OT win over Florida State a month ago was still the rollicking ‘Hoos who were averaging 539.6 yards per game.
Over the last three – yes, still all wins – the O is averaging 265.7 yards per game.
It took two defensive TDs to eek out the 30-27 OT win at Louisville.
Last week, it was a safety in the final three minutes to edge Washington State.
Today, it was Mitchell Melton with pressure, Emmanuel Karnley with the initial hit, and Ja’Son Prevard the insurance.
Don’t know about you, but I feel like I aged 10 years between noon and 4 p.m. today.
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Chris Graham
