NBC29Virginia beats North Carolina 16-3

Virginia beats North Carolina 16-3

The Cavs went on the road Saturday to take on North Carolina in their ACC opener. The start of the 2009 football season has not gone well for Virginia, as the Cavaliers began the year with three straight losses.  Virginia went into the match-up as two touchdown underdogs in Chapel Hill.

Mikell Simpson ran for the game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter while Virginia's defense turned in a dominating performance to beat North Carolina 16-3.

Robert Randolph kicked three field goals for the Cavaliers (1-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who came out of a bye week with a desperately needed win after a terrible start to the season. The Cavs didn't need much offense the way their defense locked down on the Tar Heels' offense, holding North Carolina (3-2, 0-2) to 174 total yards.

Simpson ran for 100 yards while Jameel Sewell threw for just 136, but the Cavaliers avoided momentum-killing turnovers and kept the Tar Heels playing catch-up all day.

T.J. Yates threw for just 135 yards and had an interception that led to Simpson's touchdown with 5:49 left, while the Tar Heels managed just 39 yards rushing.

After the game Coach Al Groh said it's nice to enjoy a win. “Everything that we all do for months and weeks and what not is to experience the, it's still lasting a little bit, but to experience the five or six minutes when a team comes in the locker room and has that sense of satisfaction. That's what it's all about, and we're very pleased for them that they can do that, and they earned every part of it.”

The Cavaliers host Indiana for homecoming next week at 3:30 p.m.

Reported by NBC29 Sports