Postgame Notes - North Carolina Game

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Oct. 22, 2016

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No. 22 North Carolina 35, Virginia 14
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016
Scott Stadium

Virginia Game Notes

Team Notes

• UVA is 54-63-4 all-time against North Carolina.
• UVA is 24-25 all-time against UNC in Charlottesville.
• UVA and UNC met for the 121st time. A series that is tied for No. 2 all-time in FBS history for most games.
• First time starters on offense: David Eldridge (WR).
• UVA’s 253 total yards are a season low.
• Players wore pink gloves in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Player Notes

• With seven catches, TB Taquan Mizzell extended his active reception streak to 40 games. He entered the game tied for fourth longest active streak in the nation.
• With 106 rushing yards, Mizzell moves to No. 26 all-time in career rushing at UVA with, 1,596 yards. He passed David Sloan (1,567), Jeff Anderson (1,508) and Kevin Morgan (1,504).
• Mizzell reached the 100-yard rushing plateau in a game for only the second time in his career and the first time since the 2015 game at North Carolina when he rushed for 117 yards.
• FS Quin Blanding led UVA with 13 tackles, giving the junior his 16th career double-digit tackle game in 31 career games.
• Blanding’s 13 tackles moves the junior to No. 13 all-time at UVA with 313 career tackles. He passed Phil Thomas (306), Ray Savage (302) and Jon Copper (301).
• True freshman Landan Word recorded his first career sack in the second quarter. It was the first game of Word’s career he played defense. Previously, Word had only played on special teams. He finished with four tackles.
• WR Ryan Santoro had a career-high two catches.
• QB Matt Johns threw the 29th touchdown of his career in the second quarter on a fourth down pass when he found Evan Butts for an 11-yard pass. UVA went out to attempt a 29-yard field goal and then spread out in formation with only Sam Hayward the PK behind center. The long snapper on the play, Butts, snapped the ball over to Johns on the far left sideline to start the play.
• With 10 tackles, ILB Micah Kiser passed the 200-career tackle plateau. He now has 209 career tackles.
• CB Bryce Hall had a career-high nine tackles, eight of which were solo stops.
• P Nicholas Conte set a career high with four punts of 50 yards or more. His previous best was three against UCLA and Notre Dame last year.
• Joe Reed had a career-long 50-yard kick return in the second quarter.
• RT Eric Smith started his 40th straight game for the Cavaliers.

North Carolina Notes

• North Carolina improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the ACC with a 35-14 win at Coastal Division rival Virginia. It is the Tar Heels’ seventh consecutive win over Virginia and the fourth straight win in Charlottesville.

• The seven-game win streak is UNC’s longest against the Cavaliers since winning nine in a row from 1974-82.

• With six overall wins, Carolina is now bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season and eighth time in the last nine years.

• Carolina won its ninth straight true road game, which ties Iowa for the third-longest active streak in the country. Only Ohio State (20) and Alabama (10) have a longer active streak.

• The win was Carolina’s 700th all-time victory. The Tar Heels’ all-time record is 700-521-54.

• Carolina head coach Larry Fedora improved to 7-0 all-time vs. Virginia. Fedora has won all five games against the Cavaliers as UNC’s head coach, plus two wins when he was at Southern Miss. Fedora is now tied for fifth in career wins at UNC (38) with Chuck Collins (1926-33) and Ray Wolf (1936-41).

• North Carolina has scored 30 or more points in 41 of Fedora’s 60 games at UNC.

• Carolina has won 17 of its last 21 games, including 12 of 13 ACC regular season games.

• North Carolina allowed a season-low 253 total yards of offense, limiting the Cavaliers to just 3.0 yards per play. The Tar Heels held Virginia to just 93 total yards of offense in the second half. It was the second straight game Carolina had held an opponent to less than 20 points.

• Carolina held Virginia to just three of 19 on third down and had seven tackles for loss, including three sacks, and recorded five pass breakups.

• The Tar Heels held Virginia to just 3.2 yards per pass attempt (143 yards on 45 attempts).

• Today’s game featured 17 total punts, including 10 by Virginia and seven for the Tar Heels. The last time a Carolina opponent punted 10 times was Old Dominion in 2013.

• Bug Howard, who wore No. 13 today in honor of injured teammate Mack Hollins, had a 40-yard touchdown reception from Mitch Trubisky in the second quarter. It was Howard’s fourth touchdown of the season and 14th of his career. Howard finished with seven catches for 109 yards. It is his second consecutive game and third of his career with more than 100 yards receiving. Last week, he posted a career-high 156 receiving yards in a win over Miami.

• Wide receiver Jordan Cunningham picked up a key first down on 3rd-and-22 with a 22-yard catch in the first quarter. Carolina scored on the next play to take a 7-0 lead. Cunningham’s only other catch this season was a 20-yarder vs. James Madison.

• Nick Weiler made all five extra points and moved into seventh place at UNC in career points with 233.

• Elijah Hood scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter. It was his first rushing touchdown since the James Madison game in week three. He now has 26 career rushing touchdowns, which ranks ninth all-time at UNC.

• Hood finished with 107 yards on 16 carries. It is the second consecutive year Hood has rushed for 100 yards against the Cavaliers. He had 101 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s win in Chapel Hill. Hood now has 10 career 100-yard rushing games.

• Switzer had eight catches for 72 yards against Virginia and has 66 receptions for 678 yards this season. His previous season high was 61 catches as a sophomore in 2014. He has made 55 or more receptions in three consecutive seasons.

• Switzer is Carolina’s career record holder and ranks ninth in ACC history with 214 receptions.

• Trubisky completed 24 of 31 pass attempts for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Trubisky now has 18 touchdowns this season and 29 in his career, which ranks eighth in school history. Today he moved past Ronald Curry who had 28 TD passes from 1998-2001.
• Trubisky completed 11 consecutive pass attempts in the second half. His only incompletion was late in the game on third down from the UNC 5-yard line. He completed 11 of 12 second-half pass attempts for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

• Wide receiver Thomas Jackson hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky in the third quarter. Jackson, a former walk-on, now has two touchdowns on the season.

• Tailback T.J. Logan scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was his team-high sixth rushing touchdown of the season. A senior from Greensboro, N.C., Logan has 24 career touchdowns – 18 rushing, three receiving and three via kickoff return.