Tar Heels stun No. 14 Hokies 20-17 with late rally

BLACKSBURG -- All Ryan Williams could do was sit and watch. One agonizing play at a time, the seconds ticking off the clock, North Carolina moved closer and closer to winning last night's game at Lane Stadium. Williams, Virginia Tech's star redshirt freshman tailback, just sat on the bench, his head in his hands.

Teammates walked over and patted him on the back, trying to encourage him. But Williams didn't move. Every few plays, he looked up, saw Carolina moving, the clock ticking. Then he stared at the ground again, trying to digest the low point of what was, until this moment, a charmed season.

His fumble with 2:02 left had given the Tar Heels the ball at the Hokies' 24-yard line. They ran six plays, then Casey Barth kicked a 21-yard field goal as the clock hit zeroes, giving Carolina a 20-17 victory that further damaged the Hokies' chances of winning the ACC Coastal Division and playing for their third consecutive conference championship.

No. 14 Tech (3-2 ACC, 5-3) still needs Georgia Tech (5-1 ACC) to lose one of its two remaining league games. But now, that would tie the Hokies for the Coastal lead, rather than giving it to them outright.

When Barth's field goal tumbled through the uprights and the fans began filing out, Williams remained on the bench, head bowed. Darren Evans, whose season-ending knee injury made Williams the Hokies' top back, leaned over and appeared to whisper into Williams' ear. Kenny Lewis Jr., another injured tailback, draped a towel over Williams' head. Team chaplain Johnny Shelton sat down next to Williams and put his arm around his shoulders.

Williams eventually got up, walked to the locker room and sat behind a microphone in the media room, his usual toothy grin replaced by half-closed eyes, as though he just woke up from a terrible dream. Despite everyone telling him otherwise, he couldn't stop blaming himself.

"As of right now, there probably isn't really anything you can do to lift me up," he said. "Because regardless of what of anybody says, personally, I feel like I kind of took the game away from us today."

Though Williams' fumble led to the game-winning field goal, it alone didn't lose the Hokies the game. Tech's offense cracked Carolina's 40 five times in the first half and came away scoreless. The defense allowed two touchdown drives of 84 yards, a field goal drive of 78 and a 44-yard run on the touchdown drive that gave Carolina a 14-7 lead. This against a team that entered last night ranked 114th nationally in yards per game.

"You go through that game, and all of us did something that wasn't right," coach Frank Beamer said.

The most glaring miscue belonged to Williams, who established himself as one of the nation's best backs in the first seven games, during which he ran for 834 yards, 10 touchdowns and never lost a fumble on his 140 carries -- a memorable start to a career that still holds great promise.

His 163rd carry, though, was one he won't soon forget. The game was tied at 17, after Barth's 19-yard field goal with 2:52 left, when the Hokies lined up for third down and 6 at their 28. Williams ran right, hit a hole and gained 2 yards. But he never saw defensive tackle Tydreke Powell hit him from behind. The ball squirted free. Free safety Deunta Williams fell on it at the 24.

Williams' recollections of the play are foggy. "From what I can remember, I got hit," he said. "I'm not sure if he hit the ball. I tried to spin off it and the ball came out."

He will get plenty of tomorrows to put between himself and the play, more carries and games ahead for him and his team, chances to prove their resiliency and find a purpose in this season, which continues next Thursday at East Carolina. "After today, there's no reason to really dwell on it," Williams said. "I can't take it back. Next Thursday, I'll be the same old guy out there on the field, ready to play."

He and his teammates believe they can still play motivated, though their national-championship aspirations are gone and their conference-title hopes dwindling. "I think the motivation is come out here so we don't feel like this again," said linebacker Cody Grimm.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Williams said.

Contact Darryl Slater at (804) 649-6026 or dslater@timesdispatch.com.