UVA Drops Third Consecutive Game in Blowout Loss to UNC (10-29-24)
By: Xavier Jones
Headline Photo Credit: Darrell Owens-LMS Network
On Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA, the Virginia Cavaliers look to get on the right path after consecutive losses in back-to-back weeks against Louisville and Clemson. The North Carolina Tar Heels have also dropped four straight games and are looking to get a W in the win column. Both teams showed a lot of promise earlier in their respective seasons, but lately, Lady Luck hasn’t been on their side. However, the season isn’t over for either team as they look to get a step closer to earning a sixth win to become bowl-eligible at the end of the season.
The Virginia Cavaliers won the coin toss and decided to defer to North Carolina to begin the game. The Tar Heel’s first possession would end in a punt after a 3-and-out. After a decent return on the punt, the Cavaliers were able to move the ball down the field and put points on the board after a 30-yard field goal by Will Bettridge. North Carolina would answer UVA’s scoring drive with a scoring drive of their own. Jacolby Criswell connected with J.J. Jones on a 37-yard touchdown reception to give them a 7-3 lead over UVA. The next offensive possessions for each team resulted in field goals, extending UNC’s lead to 10-6. Before the half, UNC was able to put together two scoring drives to push the lead to 24-6. The two touchdowns came from a 3-yard run from Omarion Hampton and a 31-yard reception from Criswell to Jones for his second TD of the game. The Cavs’ O-Line struggled with the pressure from the Tar Heels defensive line by giving up 6 sacks in the first half.
On the opening possession for the Cavaliers, Colandrea was picked off by Kaimon Rucker to put an end to the drive. UNC would capitalize off of the turnover and turn it into points after an 8-yard TD run by Omarion Hampton to make the score 31-6. The struggles for UVA continued after Colandrea was picked off yet again this time by Jahvaree Ritzie. RItzie was able to return the interception 84 yards for the touchdown making the score 38-6. With the game pretty much over, UVA made a switch at QB and brought in Tony Muskett to finish out the game. Muskett would connect with Wilson for a 68-yard TD reception for the only touchdown for the Cavs. North Carolina would add another field goal to make the score 41-14, and that would be the final score of the game, as well. The woes for UVA’s offensive line continued in the second half with them giving up a total of 10 sacks for the game.
The loss is UVA’s third in a row, and their hopes of making it to a Bowl game hang in the balance. It is no easy task for the Cavs to win two more games to become bowl-eligible with 3 of their 4 remaining games being on the road. UVA will be on their bye next week, and their first game out of the bye week is against Pitt on the road. The Tar Heels’ next game is at Florida State as they look to continue to ride this wave of momentum late into the season to finish out strong.
