UNC vs. Virginia - Player of the Game: Dyami Brown

There was really only one choice for UNC’s player of the game against Virginia.

Dyami Brown was the star of the Tar Heels’ offense on Saturday, finishing with six catches for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Those 202 yards accounted for 37% of Carolina’s offense in the seven-point loss.

The first of his three touchdowns came with UNC down 10-3 in the second quarter. After catching a pass from Sam Howell, he managed to get loose from a defender and win a sprint to the endzone, making an impressive effort to get across the line after he was nearly caught.

Just a couple minutes later, his second came when Howell found him for a 34-yard touchdown, seemingly giving the Tar Heels the lead at the half. As we all know, that’s not what happened as UVA drove down the field to send the game to halftime tied, before they came out and scored two-straight touchdowns to start the second half.

After the teams traded touchdowns, Brown was again the recipient of a Howell touchdown pass. Late in the third quarter, he caught a 42-yarder, to get the Tar Heels back within one score. However, that touchdown would not only be UNC’s last, but it would be the game’s last.

Brown’s effort got him pretty far up in a couple records.

His 202 yards is good for seventh all-time in a single game in Tar Heel history. It’s the most since Ryan Switzer went for 208 in a game in 2016. You know the one.

Meanwhile, the three touchdowns in a game is just one short of the UNC record of four set by Chesley Borders in a 2002 game.

Other contenders for player of the game include the man who found Brown for all six of those catches. Sam Howell threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns. He did all of that on 15-29 attempts. Whenever he found someone, it seemed to go for a large chunk of yards.

Running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter both had solid games going for 98 and 87 yards respectively, with each averaging over six yards per carry. UNC’s main struggles in the game came on the defensive side of the ball, but if you had to highlight anyone from that side, there was Chazz Surratt, who recorded a game high 15 tackles.

It’s just a shame that the effort from Brown and the offense as a whole went to waste.