North Carolina Moves Up In AP, Coaches' Polls

North Carolina moved up some in the national rankings following its 31-28 victory at Virginia on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA.

UNC is now No 15 in the AP Top 25 and No. 14 in the Coaches' Top 25.

The Tar Heels trailed 21-17 midway through the third quarter, but took the lead on a Josh Downs touchdown reception, and never trailed again.

Downs caught 15 passes for 166 yards, that score, and 10 first downs. Plus, quarterback Drake Maye completed 26 of 37 pass attempts for 293 yards, two scores, and no interceptions, and he ran the ball 16 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.

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Carolina wasn’t always sharp, allowing one of the least productive offenses in FBS to net season highs versus Power 5 teams in points, yards, and first downs. But UNC still found ways to make enough plays to get the victory.

“Really proud of these guys,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said following the win at UVA. “It's hard to win on the road. And they're 5-0 for the first time on the road, five consecutive wins, first time since 1997. Nobody on that team was alive the last time we won five consecutive games on the road. I'm so proud.

“We played really well at times today, we didn't play well at times today. And the guys overcame it. They kept their head up, they kept their good body language, they kept their confidence and they just kept playing.”

UNC won its fifth consecutive game while improving to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the ACC. The Tar Heels, who are also 5-0 on the road, are one win away from clinching the Coastal Division.

North Carolina visits Wake Forest next week. The Demon Deacons lost Saturday at NC State, and fell out of the national rankings as a result.