How Josh Downs' career day lifted UNC football past Virginia — more takeaways from Tar Heels win

North Carolina moved a step closer to the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division title on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Literally.

A 31-28 victory against Virginia at Scott Stadium leaves the No. 15 Tar Heels (8-1, 5-0) needing just one more win in their final three regular-season games to clinch the Coastal and a berth in the ACC championship game for just the second time in program history.

UNC overcame a lackluster first half in the 127th meeting with the Cavaliers (3-6, 1-5) to notch its fifth straight win and fifth victory on the road this season. The last time the Heels had five road wins was 1997.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye again played a pivotal role for the Tar Heels, amassing 363 yards of total offense and accounting for three touchdowns. Maye tossed three touchdown passes in the game to give him 31 for the season. He becomes only the third quarterback in UNC history, along with Sam Howell (2019 and 2020) and Mitch Trubisky (2016), to have 30 or more touchdown throws in a season.

Nationally ranked Wake Forest (next Saturday in Winston-Salem) and N.C. State (Friday after Thanksgiving), and Georgia Tech (Nov. 19) stand in the way of UNC and the Coastal crown. The Tar Heels have the Wolfpack at Yellow Jackets (3-6) at home.

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Here are observations and takeaways from UNC's victory against Virginia:

MISSING IN ACTION

Just before kickoff, Virginia announced its top three receivers would not play against North Carolina.

Junior Lavel Davis, junior Dontayvion Wicks and fifth-year senior Keytaon Thompson were all on the sideline wearing sweats due to injuries, according to Virginia officials. The trio has accounted for 99 receptions for 1,380 yards and four touchdowns this season.

The 6-foot-5, 216-pound Thompson leads the Cavaliers and ranks fifth in the ACC with 53 catches for 579 yards.

FIRST-HALF FRUSTRATION

For a third straight game, UNC trailed at halftime, this time by a 14-10 score. Virginia seized momentum from the outset by scoring on the first offensive possession of the game. A nine-play, 65-yard drive culminated with a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brennan Armstrong.

The Cavaliers were especially effective running the ball, racking up 140 rushing yards in the opening half. Meanwhile, North Carolina's high-scoring offense failed to score in the first quarter for the first time this season and managed only 195 total yards in the first half.

But the tide began to turn for UNC in the third quarter when the Tar Heel defense held Virginia to 73 total yards and just 20 on the ground.

DOWNS DELIVERS

Junior receiver Josh Downs delivered a career-best performance against Virginia to key UNC's offense.

Downs set a career single-game best with 15 catches, totaling 166 yards and a touchdown. His 19-yard catch for a TD with 4:13 left in the third quarter put the Tar Heels ahead to stay. It was Downs' fourth 100-yard receiving effort in the last five games and his 15 catches was one shy of the program's single-game record, last set by Ryan Switzer in 2016 against Pitt.

Despite missing two games due to injury, Downs has 63 catches for 693 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

GRAY AND GREEN BIG FOR BLUE

With starter Caleb Hood gone for the season with an injury, UNC turned to sophomore Elijah Green at running back against the Cavaliers. Green wound up making an important contribution in the Tar Heels' win.

The 6-foot, 205-pounder from Roswell, Ga., led North Carolina's rushing attack with 22 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. Green contributed the first touchdown reception of his career, turning a swing pass from Maye into a 22-yard score with 13:19 to play that extended his team's lead to 31-21.

Despite UNC's defensive failures at times Saturday, junior linebacker Cedric Gray continued to perform like an All-ACC candidate. Gray racked up 16 total tackles against the Cavaliers, including 10 solo, had a sack, two tackles for loss and broke up two passes.

TURNING POINT

North Carolina held a precarious 24-21 lead in the third quarter when its defense came up with the first of two consecutive series in which it forced Virginia to punt. The Tar Heels promptly drove to the Cavalier 47-yard line where they faced a third-down-and-5 play.

Maye flicked a quick pass left to junior running back D.J. Jones, who has played sparingly in recent weeks due to injury. But Jones caught the pass and used a block by receiver Josh Downs to produce a 14-yard gain for the first down.The play kept alive a drive that would eventually result in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Maye to Elijah Green that gave UNC a 10-point advantage.

UP NEXT

The Tar Heels head to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest. The two teams combined for 113 points and 1,161 yards of total offense before UNC pulled out a 58-55 victory that dealt the Demon Deacons their first loss of the season.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How Josh Downs' career day lifted UNC football past Virginia