CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Rivalry games are often fiercely contested affairs that aren’t decided until the fourth quarter. Nothing of that sort unfolded Saturday afternoon before 44,550 at Scott Stadium.
The 129th football game between ACC foes Virginia and North Carolina was a blowout. The Tar Heels led 24-6 at halftime and cruised to a 41-14 victory. UNC recorded 10 sacks, came up with two takeaways, and held Virginia to 288 yards, much of which came with the outcome settled in the fourth quarter.
The loss was the third straight for the Cavaliers, who fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in ACC play. UNC, which came in allowing an average of 30.4 points per game, improved to 4-4, 1-3.
“First of all, I owe an apology to the administration, to the players in the locker room, the staff,” UVA head coach Tony Elliott said. “I did not do a good job of having them prepared to play. So what you saw out there today, that’s on me. And I’ve got two weeks to really figure it out, to have us ready to play our best football down the stretch.”
Virginia entered Saturday’s game looking to build some momentum for a brutal closing stretch. Of the five teams left on UVA’s regular-season schedule, UNC appeared to be the most vulnerable, but the Heels dominated offensively and defensively on a picturesque fall afternoon.
The mood in the home locker room afterward was somber.
“Naturally guys are down in a situation like this,” Virginia tight end Tyler Neville said, “but we know what we’re capable of. We know our potential. So guys are down and it’s one of those deals where you’re down for a day and then you flush it. Harping on this loss, however bad it was, isn’t going to help us in two weeks.”
Elliott’s postgame message to his team? “We’ve got to take ownership of it,” he said. “At the end of the day, there’s nowhere to hide. It’s a life lesson, too. So whatever you’re running from in life, eventually it’s going to track you down, and you’re not going to be able to hide. And today, we missed an opportunity to grow and develop as a program, so we can’t hide from it. We’ve got to own it.”
The Wahoos learned Friday afternoon that starting center Brian Stevens would miss the game because of an illness. Already out was starting right guard Ty Furnish. In the revamped offensive line, Noah Josey moved from left guard to center, Charlie Patterson played extensively at left guard, and Ugonna Nnanna took Furnish’s spot…