North Carolina vs. Virginia Postgame Notes
Posted Oct 27, 2024
UNC has had a player rush for at least 100 yards in each of the first eight games this season, the first time that has happened in school history. The 129 matchups against Virginia are the most the Tar Heels have played against any opponent. Omarion Hampton became the 9th Tar Heel to have multiple seasons with at least 1,000 yards rushing.
• Mack Brown is 111-77-1 as head coach of UNC. Brown is 286-153-1 all-time and is the winningest active head coach in the FBS.
• Since Mack Brown returned to take over the UNC program in 2019, Carolina owns a 42-31 overall record. Eighteen of the 31 losses have been by seven points or less with four setbacks coming in overtime.
• UNC is 24-11 when a player rushes for over 100 yards since Brown returned as head coach in 2019.
• North Carolina is 67-58-4 all-time against Virginia. The Tar Heels are 28-27 all-time against the Cavaliers in Charlottesville.
• Mack Brown is 6-10 against Virginia as head coach of the Tar Heels. Brown is 3-3 against Virginia in his second stint as head coach of the Tar Heels.
• UNC held Virginia to 77 yards in the first half, which is the fewest by a Tar Heel opponent in a first half since the Tar Heels held Syracuse to 55 first-half yards in 2023.
• UNC’s 27-point margin of victory is the largest by the Tar Heels against Virginia since defeating the Cavaliers by 31 (45-14) in 2013.
• UNC had its largest margin of victory over an ACC opponent since beating Syracuse by 33 (40-7) last season.
Offense
• Hampton is the first Tar Heel with multiple seasons of at least 1,000 yards rushing since Michael Carter, who did so in 2019 and 2020.
• Hampton had his 16th career game with at least 100 rushing yards, Hampton is one of only six Tar Heels to have 16 or more games with at least 100 rushing yards. The other Tar Heels are Amos Lawrence (25), Kelvin Bryant (19), Don McCauley (17), Ethan Horton (17) and Mike Voight (16).
• Hampton had 100 or more yards for the sixth consecutive game and the seventh time this season. Hampton rushed for at least 100 yards in six straight games last season, Don McCauley is the last Tar Heel to rush for at least 100 yards in more than six games, doing so in eight consecutive games in 1970.
• Hampton’s two rushing touchdowns brought him to 30 for his career. Hampton is one of only six Tar Heels to score 30 or more rushing touchdowns. Leon Johnson had 43, Mike Voight had 42, Marquise Williams had 35, Natrone Means had 34 and Kelvin Bryant had 32. Williams is the most recent Tar Heel to break the 30-touchdown mark, from 2012-15.
• Hampton had multiple rushing touchdowns for the 10th time in his career.
• Jacolby Criswell threw multiple touchdown passes for the third time this season (had two against Duke and three against JMU).
• Criswell’s 293 passing yards are the second-most of his career (had 475 against James Madison this season).
• JJ Jones had a career-high 129 receiving yards. Jones’ previous career high was 17 against Pittsburgh in 2023.
• Jones’ 129 yards are the most by any Tar Heel this season and the most since Tez Walker had 162 against Duke in 2023.
• Jones had multiple touchdown receptions for the first time in his career. Jones has nine career touchdown catches and caught a touchdown pass for the second straight game.
• Jones’ 37-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the second-longest touchdown catch of his career (had a 74-yard touchdown reception against Miami in 2022).
• Jones is the first Tar Heel with multiple touchdown receptions in a game since Walker had two against Campbell in 2023.
• Jones caught his 100th career pass.
Defense
• UNC had ten sacks, which is the most since sacking Wake Forest 10 times in 2000.
• UNC intercepted multiple passes for the first time since grabbing two interceptions against Miami in 2023.
• Jahvaree Ritzie’s interception return for a touchdown is tied for the seventh-longest interception return in UNC history, and is the longest since Kaleb Cost’s 84-yard interception return for a touchdown against James Madison this season.
• Ritzie is the first Tar Heel defensive lineman to score a touchdown since tackle Cam Thomas returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown at Boston College in 2009.
• Ritzie’s pick six was his first career interception and touchdown.
• Ritzie had his sixth sack of the season and his first since recording two against Charlotte. Ritzie leads the Tar Heels in sacks this season.
• Kaimon Rucker passed Malik Carney for eighth all time in tackles for loss at UNC, Rucker has 36 in his career. Carney finished with 33 from 2015-18.
• Rucker had three sacks, bringing him to four sacks on the season in four games. Rucker has 20 career sacks, tying him with William Fuller for seventh on UNC’s all-time sacks list.
• Rucker’s three sacks tie him for the third-most sacks in a game in UNC history. Ritzie had three against Minnesota earlier this season.
• Rucker also recorded the first interception of his career. It was the first interception by a Tar Heel defensive lineman since Nazair Jones had one against Virginia in 2015.
• Rucker had a season-high seven tackles.
• Amare Campbell recorded his fourth sack of the season and fifth career sack. Campbell and Rucker are tied for second in sacks on the team this season.
• Will Hardy recorded a season-high six tackles.
• Beau Atkinson recorded a career-high two sacks and two and one half tackles for loss.
• Alijah Huzzie had his first sack as a Tar Heel and the first sack by a defensive back since Don Chapman had one against Duke in 2023.
• Desmond Evans had his third sack of the season and the seventh of his career, ending a Virginia drive in the closing minutes of the second quarter, setting up Jones’ touchdown catch to close the half.
• Stick Lane had the first sack of his career.
• The Tar Heels recorded six sacks in the first half, the most in a half since the Tar Heels recorded seven and one half sacks in the second half against South Carolina last year.
Special Teams
• Noah Burnette passed Mike Voight for sixth all-time at UNC in points, Burnette has 263 for his career, Voight finished with 254.
• Burnette surpassed Tripp Pignetti for fourth on UNC’s all-time PAT list, Burnette has 122 PATs, Pignetti finished with 117.
Courtesy UNC Athletics Communications
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