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FOOTBALL

North Carolina Continues Their Road Trip As They Visit Virginia

After going on the road and playing at Syracuse and losing in double overtime North Carolina will continue their road trip when they visit Virginia on Saturday.

North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 1-5 while they’re 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and last in the Coastal Division while Virginia comes into the game with a record of 5-2 while they’re 3-1 in the conference. “according to http://www.espn.com/college-football/standings/_/group/1

As for North Carolina’s previous game, As stated above they lost to Syracuse in double overtime.

Tommy DeVito, in relief of a struggling Eric Dungey, hit tight end Ravian Pierce on a 4-yard scoring play in the second overtime and Syracuse defeated North Carolina 40-37 on Saturday. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

DeVito, who entered the game in the fourth quarter, sent it to overtime with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Nykeim Johnson with 1:39 to go. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

Syracuse (5-2, 2-2 ACC) appeared to be on its way to a third straight loss until DeVito's heroics. North Carolina (1-5, 1-3) rallied from a 20-7 deficit to take a 27-20 lead with 10 minutes to go but dropped its third straight game. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

DeVito, a redshirt freshman, was 11-of-19 passing for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Dungey was 17-of-33 for 225 yards but struggled to find a rhythm. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

Nathan Elliott was 34-of-52 for 321 yards and two touchdowns for North Carolina.”according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

Dazz Newsome caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Elliott and scored on a 75-yard punt return to rally North Carolina in the see-saw contest.”according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

North Carolina trailed 20-7 less than a minute into the third quarter after the Orange scored on a three-play, 54-second drive capped by Dungey's 16-yard run up the middle. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

Antonio Williams raced around left end for a 12-yard score, then Newsome took Sterling Hofrichter's punt 75 yards down the right sideline for another score and a 21-20 lead. Field goals of 34 and 25 yards by Freeman Jones extended North Carolina's margin to 27-20 until DeVito hit Johnson. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

Jamal Custis had seven receptions and one touchdown, in the first overtime, and Sean Riley also had seven catches. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

THE TAKEAWAY
North Carolina:
A heavy underdog, the Tar Heels gave Syracuse a run for its money only to suffer a heart-breaking loss. With another road game coming up, the Tar Heels are headed for a long second half of the season. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

Syracuse: Quite simply, this game saved the Orange's season. A loss to the Tar Heels would have put bowl hopes in jeopardy. And, the Orange might have seen a changing of the guard at quarterback. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/20/football-tar-heels-at-syracuse.aspx

As for Virginia’s previous game, Unlike North Carolina who lost on the road their previous game Virginia won the road as they defeated Duke in Durham.

Bryce Perkins rushed for two scores and threw for another as visiting Virginia defeated Duke 28-14 Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Perkins scored the game’s first two touchdowns on the ground and his 16-yard pass to Evan Butts helped seal the victory as the Cavaliers improved to 5-2 and 3-1 in the ACC. The Blue Devils fell to 5-2 and 1-2. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The Blue Devils trailed 14-0 at the break, but were right back in it on the first drive of the third quarter when Daniel Jones hit Chris Taylor on a slant, and the senior cruised 46 yards untouched for the touchdown. It was the first score of the season for Taylor and his third career receiving touchdown. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Taylor finished with a career-high 97 yards on six catches, while Jones was 22-of-40 passing for 240 yards and a touchdown and two interceptions. Jones was Duke’s leading rusher with 15 carries for 64 yards. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Brian Delany booted a pair of third-quarter field goals to allow the Cavaliers to keep the Blue Devils at arm’s reach, but Duke used some trickery to pull within six early in the fourth. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Trailing 20-7 at the third-quarter break, the Blue Devils forced a punt and Jones did the heavy lifting on the ensuing drive to put Duke on the fringe of the red zone. Jones then handed off on an apparent end-around to T.J. Rahming, who tossed a 22-yard pass to Davis Koppenhaver to make it 20-14 with 10:46 remaining. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The senior QB was 4-for-5 on the scoring drive for 29 yards and also ran for eight yards. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The teams then traded punts before Virginia sealed its fourth straight win in the series with Butts’ touchdown catch. The Cavaliers capitalized on good field position following a 29-yard punt return from Tavares Kelly, and three plays later it was 28-14 with 3:58 to play. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Kelly racked up 72 yards on a pair of punt returns. Olamide Zaccheaus had 10 catches for 66 yards to lead Virginia, while Perkins was 20-of-32 passing for 189 yards. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211776769&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Kick-off is set for 12:20pm from Scott Stadium. The game will be televised on Raycom Sports. “according to https://goheels.com/schedule.aspx?path=football