Bryce Perkins accounted for all five of the Cavaliers’ touchdowns and recorded a school-record 490 yards of total offense as Virginia defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels in a 38-31 shootout Saturday night.
For three quarters, both offenses scored at will. Perkins threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, including a 65-yard run on the second play of the second half. UNC freshman quarterback Sam Howell threw for four touchdowns, including three to Dyami Brown, who torched the Cavalier defense for 202 yards by himself.
UNC held a 17-10 lead late in the first half, but UVA marched down the field in a 2-minute drill drive that ended with a Perkins’ touchdown pass to Hasise DuBois, which began a stretch of four consecutive Cavalier drives than ended with touchdowns. Despite not having a receiving touchdown himself, Terrell Jana was Perkins’ favorite target, amassing 13 receptions for 146 yards.
In the fourth quarter, the defenses showed up. Trailing by seven with five minutes left in the game, UNC made a trip to the red zone, but the Virginia defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs, as Howell’s fourth-down pass to Beau Corrales in the end zone fell incomplete . The Tar Heels had one more chance to tie things up in the waning seconds of the game, but the Virginia defense held one more time to seal the victory.
With the win, Virginia is bowl-eligible for the third consecutive season and is back in the driver’s seat in the ACC Coastal Division, as they return to Charlottesville for three consecutive home games to end the season, beginning with Georgia Tech next Saturday.
Article by Matt Newton
Produced by Robb Dehney, Amelia Delphos, and Matt Newton
Footage courtesy of the ACC Network
