Well if you wanted a game that had a little of everything from the UNC standpoint, this was it. Carolina hit the scoring superfecta, finding the end zone via rush, pass, kick return, and defensive touchdown. The Tar Heels broke the 200-yard rushing mark as a team for the first time in ages and both a receiver and a running back completed passes. UNC played light out on defense as well, notching two interceptions (including the one returned by Dominique Green for a touchdown) and limited Virginia to just over 300 yards in total offense.
Marquise Williams, who wore jersey number 2 in honor of injured teammate Bryn Renner, had his own scoring trifecta on the day. He threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 46 more and another score. Williams also was on the receiving end of some trickeration when Quinshad Davis took a reverse and launched a pass to a wide open Williams for a touchdown, giving him four scores for the afternoon. Balance was also the word of the day as UNC's 16 pass completions were spread out among 12 receivers, and seven Heels had at least 25 yards rushing.
One of the few drawbacks on Saturday was a season-high in both penalties and penalty yardage for UNC, and that's saying a lot. The Tar Heels drew 13 flags for 102 yards, including an interminable number of procedure penalties for not having enough men on the line of scrimmage.
Still, Carolina has now strung together three straight league wins and done so in convincing fashion. Granted those three wins have come against teams with a combined 9-16 record going into Saturday but the Heels have pounded those opponents, particularly at home, outscoring them 106-40. To become bowl eligible, UNC has to go 2-1 against its remaining three foes - at Pitt and home versus Old Dominion and Duke. Given the level at which Carolina has played the last three weeks, the notion of playing in December - and possibly even finishing the regular season at 7-5 after a 1-5 start - is not so preposterous anymore.
