What first half? On Saturday, the Virginia Cavaliers (6-2, 4-1 ACC) proved again that the first 30 minutes each Saturday are meaningless. North Carolina (2-5, 0-3 ACC) scored three unanswered first half touchdowns and simultaneously kept Virginia off the scoreboard. But then the Cavaliers came to life, scoring 37 consecutive points to win for the fifth time this season when trailing or tied at halftime. Virginia has now outscored its opponents by a 177-76 margin in second halves this season.
In the process of defeating the Tar Heels 37-27, Virginia recorded the school's second all-time largest comeback victory, only outdone by a 1998 win over Virginia Tech in which they trailed 29-7.
Down 21-0 at halftime on Saturday, Virginia was down but not out. The players knew they needed to execute better, but they had been in this position before. They might have entered the locker room at halftime in a downward spiral, but the opening kickoff of the third quarter changed all that.
Sophomore Marquis Weeks received the kick at his own goal line and stumbled early in the return, but then regained his balance to burst through a hole in the oncoming rush. Tar Heel kicker Topher Roberts was the last man to beat, and Weeks' nifty cutback left the kicker behind en route to the end zone.
With his 100-yard touchdown return, he tied a team record and energized the crowd. He also gave his teammates the confidence to turn the game around.
"If Weeks didn't have that kickoff return, I don't think we'd be sitting here ecstatic right now," sophomore running back Alvin Pearman said after the game.
Weeks' contributions did not, however, begin and end with that touchdown. His special teams coverage and persistent work ethic also boosted team spirits.
Weeks "was a demon on coverage," Groh said. "He runs 100 yards for a touchdown, comes over, gets a drink of water, and then runs right back down the field and makes a tackle."
The next monumental play in the game occurred at the tail end of North Carolina's next drive. Down at the Virginia 13, Tar Heel quarterback Darian Durant completed a pass in the flat to wide receiver Sam Aiken, who headed down the sideline, smelling a touchdown.
Virginia cornerback Almondo Curry came over to make the play and, in attempting to tackle Aiken, managed to poke the ball loose and then fall on it at the Cavalier 2-yard line, shifting the momentum even further.
Curry is "so sneaky," Pearman said. "He does that all the time in practice. He has the best sense for the ball on the team."
Virginia then mounted a 12-play, 98-yard drive ending with junior quarterback Matt Schaub scrambling to his left and throwing high to leaping senior wide receiver Billy McMullen for an 8-yard touchdown pass.
The Cavaliers were only beginning the onslaught. Schaub improved on his first-half passing total of 40 yards and ended with 194 and two touchdowns.
More importantly, the running game rediscovered its legs thanks to a bevy of counters and draws Virginia threw at Carolina. The Cavaliers ran for 228 yards, including freshman Wali Lundy's second 100-yard game of the season and 80 yards from Pearman -- as well as a touchdown from each.
Schaub got into the act as well, scrambling for 35 yards on one second-quarter play and showing his grit by throwing a stiff arm downfield instead of weakly going out of bounds.
Freshman linebacker Darryl Blackstock added two more sacks to his rapidly growing total. By reaching eight, he tied the ACC freshman sack mark held by former Virginia standout Sean Scott and former Duke star Chris Combs.
As badly as the Tar Heels were dominated in the second half, they impressed in the first half. Durant completed 14-of-18 passes in the game, including 10 in a row, and three touchdowns. He was forced to leave the game in third quarter because of an injured thumb on his throwing hand.
North Carolina looked to blow the game open after Durant found Aiken on a slant that broke into a 77-yard score. Poor tackling by the defensive backfield on that play and throughout the first half plagued Virginia. The Tar Heels also successfully faked a field goal when holder John Lafferty took the snap and completed a 24-yard pass to tight end Bobby Blizzard to set up a touchdown.
Virginia has now won six in a row and travels to Atlanta on Saturday for a nationally televised affair with Georgia Tech. The comeback kids have shown a remarkable resilience thus far.
"I've never been associated with a team that has been more remarkable than this one," Groh said.
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