Fresh off a bye week following its first victory since last October, it will be quite a challenge for Virginia to start a winning streak this Saturday night. The 1-5 Cavaliers head down Tobacco Road to face undefeated, nationally ranked North Carolina, and it will require an all-around, monumental effort to pull off the upset.
The 10th-ranked Tar Heels (6-0, 3-0) have been on a roll behind Heisman Trophy contender Drake Maye. Carolina only got better with the long-awaited addition of star wideout Devontez “Tez” Walker, who found the end zone three times in just his second game last week against 25th-ranked Miami.
Trailing 17-14 at halftime, the Heels scored 27 unanswered points — including a pair of Walker touchdown grabs out of the break — and are now one of only 11 unbeaten FBS teams remaining (one of just eight among the Power Five teams).
“That was a heavyweight fight,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said after his team controlled the second half. “That was a fight from start to finish. Proud of our coaches adjusting at halftime — we came out and moved the ball in the third quarter and we stopped [the Hurricanes] in the third quarter — that’s what good staffs do.
“A lot of times it’s hard to win a game when you’re behind at halftime. A lot of people can’t overcome the adversity and come back and win.”
Maye is a big reason why the Heels are still unbeaten, and why they hung up over 500 yards of total offense against Miami, what Brown called “one of the better defenses in the country.” The 6-foot-4, 230-pound sophomore from Huntersville, N.C., has thrown for 1,902 yards and 12 touchdowns (4 interceptions), while tacking on 184 yards and 4 scores with his legs.
Walker, who began his career at North Carolina Central before transferring to Kent State, finally won his months-long battle with the NCAA, which had previously refused to grant him a waiver allowing him to officially join the Heels’ roster.
“As well as he played, really, really proud of him,” Brown said. “We were 4-0 without him, obviously we have a chance to be much better with him, and now that people have seen him, it’s going to change the way people play defense against us. His presence is a game-changer.”
Walker is certainly not the only weapon to get the ball to, as junior receiver Nate McCollum leads the Heels with 374 yards on 31 catches. J.J. Jones (20 grabs for 372 yards) has been a steady target as well, while sophomore Kobe Paysour (22 receptions for 282 yards) has been ruled out for several weeks, if not the remainder of the season, with a broken toe.
Carolina also boasts three tight ends that have gone for over 100 yards on the season — Bryson Nesbit (180), John Copenhaver (141) and Kamari Morales (139).
Meanwhile, Omarion Hampton, who Brown referred to as “really a special player,” is a beast in the Carolina backfield, as evidenced by his 197-yard performance against the U’s top-rated rush defense on Saturday — and that wasn’t even his season high.
The 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore put up 234 yards and 3 touchdowns against Appalachian State on Sept. 9, and has accounted for 658 yards and 8 scores (along with 98 yards and another TD through the air) this season, with an average of 5.9 yards per carry.
Hampton hasn’t been lights-out every week, however, as he was limited to 37 yards on 16 carries in the opener against South Carolina, and then gained just 46 yards on 13 attempts two weeks later against Minnesota.
If UVA has any intentions of making it a game in Chapel Hill on Saturday (6:30 p.m., The CW) — the Tar Heels are currently 23.5-point favorites — Tony Elliott’s defense must match that type of performance and do its best to contain Hampton.
“Man, he’s a big guy…,” Elliott said of Hampton’s size. “Just looking at the stats from last week and just his stats over the season, he doesn’t have many negative yards. So even if it’s not blocked great, he’s going to get positive yards.”
On the other side of the ball, this is not your older brother’s UNC defense, and it’s spearheaded by Cedric Gray, the team’s leading tackler with 52 (28 solo). Gray has registered 2.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, an interception, a forced fumble and a pair of recoveries in 2023.
“His story has helped this team,” Brown said. “For him to have come back when he could’ve gone to the NFL is so unusual in modern day. For him to come back because, ‘I want to win a championship and not be selfish, but be a team guy,’ is something that each of our guys look up to.”
Another senior linebacker, Kaimon Rucker, has racked up 29 stops (18 solo), including a team-leading 6.5 sacks for a total of 75 yards. As a unit, Carolina has put together 16 sacks, 25 passes defended, 9 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries (plus-7 turnover ratio) halfway through the season.
With all of that combined success on both sides of the pigskin, it’s easy to see why the Heels are on a collision course with the conference’s other undefeated squad, No. 4 Florida State.
“We’re running the ball one week and we’re throwing it the next week,” explained the coach, “and there’s something that we can do each week to help us. Defensively, we’re forcing turnovers. We’re protecting the ball on offense… these guys are finding a way to win.”
UNC is a perfect 4-0 at Kenan Stadium this season, with home wins over Appalachian State, Minnesota, Syracuse and the Hurricanes. The house will be rocking once again come Saturday, on what could end up being a long night for Virginia, especially if the Hoos get behind early.
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