Tar Heels force five turnovers in 44-10 shellacking, ending Charlottesville losing streak

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — When Virginia running back Keith Payne broke through the North Carolina secondary in the third quarter of UNC’s 44-10 victory on Saturday, it didn’t look like anyone would catch him.

Tar Heel safety Da’Norris Searcy was high-tailing it straight for Payne, and while it may have taken onlookers a second glance to see how much ground Searcy was making up, Payne saw it clearly.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound ball carrier was watching the giant video screen while he ran, and when Searcy was about to catch up and tomahawk-chop the ball out of his grasp, he switched hands.

“As I was chasing him, I said, ‘You keep running with the ball like that, I’m gonna just knock it out,’” Searcy said. “And I guess he looked up and seen me and he switched at the last minute. I was mad, but I still had to make the tackle.”

Searcy brought the lumbering power-back down at the two-yard line. Two plays later, Searcy intercepted a pass to seal the deal.

Searcy’s red zone steal was one of many for the Tar Heels (4-2, 2-1 ACC). The Cavalier offense made six red zone appearances in the game but scored on just two. There were two major differences between UNC and Virginia (2-4, 0-3) in Saturday’s game, and red zone efficiency was one of them.

UNC’s red zone defense is tied for fourth nationally, allowing 13 scores on 21 drives. And the Tar Heels have done it all without now-dismissed defensive linemen Marvin Austin and Robert Quinn.

The other was turnovers, with UNC forcing five interceptions and coughing up just one turnover.

“That was the issue all week: get the ball back as many times to the offense,” UNC linebacker Kevin Reddick said. “The ball is the issue. That’s our little theme, and we just kept stressing it all week.”

Of course, to have a wide turnover difference implies the offense also took care of the ball. UNC’s lone turnover was a Shaun Draughn fumble.

Quarterback T.J. Yates had another big game and continued his machine-like efficiency. He threw for 325 yards, had a 77.7 completion percentage, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Yates has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation with 11 touchdowns and just one interception. He’s also ranked 25th in the nation in passing efficiency.

But Yates owes about 61 percent of those yards to wide receiver Dwight Jones, who started the game with an 81-yard touchdown catch.

“It’s a simple five-yard under route and he takes it 80 yards,” Yates said. “He did an amazing job just breaking tackles, you know, being physical. …That was a great way to start the game, and then he kept it up, making some good plays.”

Jones finished the game with two touchdowns on seven catches, more than double any other UNC receiver, and 198 yards, nearly tripling his total yards and touchdown numbers for the 2010 season.

If there was a tune playing inside the helmet of Jones, it would have been, “I’m Dwight Jones, don’t act like you don’t know the name.” It’s safe to say they do in Charlottesville.

It was a big win for the Tar Heels in a sort of bizarre fashion, and yet it seems appropriate that the Tar Heels ended a 14-game losing streak at Charlottesville considering how strange of a season it’s been for the North Carolina football program.

“All that stuff doesn’t really matter,” UNC coach Butch Davis said. “But it does from the standpoint that when the game is over with to put into perspective.

“There’s a lot of people that put on that blue helmet and put on that blue jersey that have come up here and got their heart broken. And a lot of people are happy tonight.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.