North Carolina Upsets No. 13 Virginia Tech 20-17

NFL News - October 30th, 2009 - Written by Scott

The North Carolina Tar Heels quickly put their second half defensive meltdown last Saturday against Florida State behind them and proved why they boast the nations seventh best defense on Thursday night. They held No. 13 Virginia Tech to just 256 yards and went on to upset the Hokies 20-17. The loss for Virginia Tech is their second in a row, following their loss to Georgia Tech 12 days ago. The Hokies just two weeks ago were still in the hunt for the ACC title and possibly a shot at the national title, but now their goals have changed. Hokies running back Ryan Williams fumbled on their 24 yard line with 2:02 left in the game with the score tied at 17. Casey Barth would then hit the game winning field goal as time expired to give the Tar Heels a much needed win.

"As of right now, there probably isn't really anything they can say to lift me up because regardless of what anybody says, personally I feel like I kind of took the game away from us today," Williams said. "It was on the line, it was in my hands and I fumbled."

After a sluggish offensive performance by both teams in the first quarter, North Carolina struck first with 2:44 left to go in the second quarter. Quarterback T.J. Yates found Jheranie Boyd from 13 yards out to give the Tar Heels a 7-0 lead heading into halftime. The Hokies would finally get on the board with 6:44 left to go in the third quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyrod Taylor to even the score at 7. Yates, who finished with 131 yards and 2 touchdowns, would connect on his second touchdown pass of the night to Greg Little from 13 yards out late in the third quarter.

From the beginning of the fourth quarter, it seemed as though the Hokies would finally get things going offensively against the seventh best defense in the country. They would score on their first two drives of the final period on a 36 yard field goal from Matt Waldron and Taylor would add his second touchdown run of the game from 1 yard out to give Virginia Tech their first lead of the game 17-14. The Tar Heels would then begin their comeback.

With 2:52 remaining in the game Barth would connect on his first of two field goals from 19 yards out to tie the game at 17. The Hokies would take over and with 2:02 left to go, North Carolina would force Williams to fumble and give them the ball back at the Hokies' 24 yard line. They ran the clock down and Barth would hit his game winning field goal as time expired to seal the upset win.

For those of you who did some College Football Betting and bet on the Tar Heels congratulations on your win, and for those of you who didn't, be sure to check out our College Football Odds and try your luck betting on the next game.

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