Defense Shines as North Carolina Upends No. 14 Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Casey Barth
kicked a 21-yard field goal on the final play and North Carolina
stopped No. 14 Virginia Tech all night in a 20-17 victory on Thursday
night.

The Tar Heels (5-4, 1-3 Atlantic
Coast Conference) got their first conference win after forcing a fumble
by Ryan Williams at his own 24 with 2:02 left and turning it into the
winning drive.

The Hokies (5-3, 3-2), who until
losing to No. 11 Georgia Tech 12 days ago were in the national
championship picture, lost their second straight.

Virginia Tech lost for the first time in six meetings with North Carolina since joining the ACC in 2004.

The Tar Heels held Virginia Tech to
just 95 rushing yards and rendered Williams, the nation’s No. 7 runner
with an average of 119 yards, ineffective for most of the game.

Tydreke Powell caused Williams to
fumble for just the second time this season and Deunta Williams
recovered, setting the Tar Heels up at the Hokies 24. After six carries
by Ryan Houston got it to the 4, Barth’s second field goal finished off
the big upset.

T.J. Yates, who was knocked out of
the Tar Heels’ 20-17 loss to the Hokies last season, finished 18-for-28
for just 131 yards, but made all the big throws his team needed.

He hit Jheranie Boyd from 13 yards in
the first half for the game’s first points, and Greg Little from 15
yards as the Tar Heels answered immediately after the Hokies tied it.

Yates did make one big mistake,
throwing a dump pass that Rashad Carmichael intercepted at the North
Carolina 11, setting up the second of Tyrod Taylor‘s two touchdown
runs. That gave the Hokies a 17-14 lead with 11:51 left, but Yates
engineered a 16-play, 78-yard drive to a tying field goal and then the
defense, fittingly, made a big play to get the win.

The Hokies finished with just 256 yards and 11 first downs.

They finally came to life with their
first possession of the third quarter, and a huge play by Taylor early
in the drive saved it. Facing a third-and-17 from his 11, Taylor dodged
pressure and rifled a 22-yard pass to Dyrell Roberts for the first
down.

Taylor followed with passes of 16
yards to Danny Coale and 15 to Xavier Boyce, Williams ran for 22 to the
Tar Heels’ 14 and Virginia Tech needed seven plays to punch it in.

Taylor did that on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to tie it at 7.

The Hokies’ other scoring drives covered 35 yards to a field goal and 5 yards to a TD.

The Tar Heels had done virtually
nothing on offense until midway through the second quarter. On a drive
that covered 84 yards in 13 plays, Yates hit Greg Little for 17 yards,
Little ran for 23 around the right side to the Hokies 16 on a
third-and-3 and Yates hit Jheranie Boyd for 13 yards in the right
corner to make it 7-0 just 2:44 before halftime.

Williams went around the right side
for 25 yards on the first play, and Taylor hit Jarrett Boykin for 20
yards on the second, but Tar Heels cornerback Charles Brown stripped
the ball from him and Kendric Burney recovered for North Carolina at
its own 27-yard line.

The Hokies also drove to the Tar
Heels 38, 34, 37 and 35, 40 and got nothing. They finished the half
with just 108 yards on 29 plays and Taylor was sacked three times.