The North Carolina football team (3-4, 2-2 ACC) went on the road and fell to division rival Virginia Tech on Saturday, 43-41, after six overtime periods. It was the first six-overtime game in the history of the ACC.
What happened?
The Tar Heels jumped out to an early 10-0 start, benefitting from a 47-yard touchdown throw to Dazz Newsome, then a Hokie fumble to set UNC up in enemy territory. The turnover led to a field goal from kicker Noah Ruggles, giving North Carolina a 10-0 less than five minutes into the game.
The Hokies answered at the end of the first quarter with a deep ball of their own, cutting the lead to three with a 55-yard touchdown throw.
An eventful second quarter saw Newsome grab his second touchdown of the day, this time for 10 yards, before VT cashed in on back-to-back touchdown drives before the break. A 2-yard rushing score, then an 11-yard passing touchdown gave the Hokies a 21-17 halftime lead.
The third quarter was scoreless outside of a Sam Howell pass to Rontavius "Toe" Groves for six, giving the Tar Heels a 24-21 lead early in the period. Then, with 9:29 in the fourth, a 23-yard field goal knotted the game up at 24 apiece.
The teams traded punts to set up Howell and the Tar Heel offense at their own 20-yard line with just over six minutes remaining. It didn't take long for UNC to find the end zone, as a flea flicker sucked in the VT defense and left sophomore receiver Antoine Green all alone for a 68-yard touchdown with 5:11 left.
But VT quarterback Quincy Patterson promptly tied it back up at the 4:31 mark with a 53-yard rushing score up the middle. A scoreless end to regulation set up overtime in Blacksburg.
UNC and VT matched each other point for point for five overtimes – at the start of the fifth, the teams began trading 2-point conversion attempts, a new rule in college football this season. Both failed to convert in 5OT; UNC also came up short in the sixth overtime before the Hokies punched it in from three yards out, ending a four-hour ordeal and sending the Tar Heels home with a loss.
