CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – A year ago, the last place North Carolina wanted to play a football game was on the road, as the Tar Heels simply couldn’t get a win away from Kenan Stadium.
The won six times, all at home, and lost seven, all somewhere else. Six were true road losses, and one of the points of emphasis UNC Coach Mack Brown placed on his team heading into this season was the importance of getting some wins outside of Chapel Hill.
So, with Carolina’s 31-28 win at Virginia on Saturday at Scott Stadium, its record in opponents’ stadiums improved to 5-0. That’s five wins in as many tries, a complete reversal from last fall.
"I am really pleased with all the things we struggled with in our first three years, winning close games, and more so winning close games on the road, that this team is doing,” Brown said after No. 17 UNC’s win over the Cavaliers. “That is what's fun.”
While Carolina (8-1, 5-0 ACC) is unscathed away from home, it hasn’t been without tussles. In fact, none of the victories have been by more than seven points, and combined, the five wins have come by a total of 18 points.
“That’s been the story all year on the road; squeaking out a way to win,” UNC quarterback Drake Maye said.
UNC trailed in the second half on the road in the second half three times and was tied with Appalachian State in the fourth quarter. But the Tar Heels have found ways to make enough plays to escape with wins.
And for their efforts, they are the first UNC team to win five true road games in the same season since the 1997 Tar Heels, a team that finished 11-1 and ranked No. 6 in the nation.
“Nobody on that team was alive the last time we won five consecutive games on the road,” Brown said. “I'm so proud.”
Since the Tar Heels went 4-0 as the true visitor in 2015, they have been just 16-21 on opponents’ fields, including this season. They averaged scoring 30 points while giving up 29 in those games, too. In the 16 wins, the offense averaged 36 points per game while allowing 22. On the flip side, in the it has been reversed: UNC 22.9, opponents 38.7.
But this year, scoring numbers and stat lines don’t tell the whole story. What won’t be found in a box score is an intangible the Tar Heels have adopted this season, and seeing that they are perfect in other houses, this has become one of their weapons.
“Finishing the game is something we talk about every day,” junior cornerback Storm Duck said. “In the fourth quarter, just come out competing and getting off the field. At the end of the day, just getting the win”
Carolina has one road game left, and that’s next weekend at nationally ranked Wake Forest. The mission is to always go 1-0 each week, but if the Heels achieve that in Winston-Salem, they will also close the campaign a perfect 6-0 on the road.
