John Phillips, who had a pivotal 19-yard catch in overtime, hopes the win and Virginia’s resurgence will silence the critics that longed for coach Al Groh’s departure after a 31-3 loss at Duke.

For weeks now, the Cavaliers have been struggling to find their identity as a football team, and after Saturday night’s dramatic, 16-13 upset over No. 18 North Carolina, Al Groh said his team had discovered it.

In an improbable — and almost unbelievable — fashion, UVa surged past the 18th-ranked Tar Heels, 16-13, in overtime on a crisp evening in front of 52,342 fans.

We have all become addicted to watching Cedric Peerman’s bone-jarring runs. Fans, coaches, media — we all expect excitement every time Virginia’s No. 37 touches the ball.

North Carolina may have its best chance in recent history to snap that long-standing slide. The Tar Heels (5-1, 1-1 ACC) enter the game ranked No. 18 and as a 4-point favorite.

Eugene Monroe is more comfortable fighting off a fierce pass rush than he is in fielding questions from a bunch of media types looking for a good story.

At one point during Saturday’s victory over East Carolina, Rich Bedesem, Jon Copper and Steve Greer stood on grassy field at Scott Stadium within a few yards of each other.

In each of North Carolina’s victories this season, the Tar Heels won a critical category needed to be successful in college football.

In some magical way, Virginia quarterback Marc Verica has blocked out a forgettable experience at Duke.

The players on the East Carolina field goal block team weren’t the only ones completely fooled by Virginia’s game-clinching fake midway through the fourth quarter.

Cedric Peerman put together a monster outing for the Cavaliers with 173 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries, good for an average of 10.8 yards per handoff. But it was the two long touchdown runs of 60 and 79 yards that will add several mentions of Peerman’s name in Virginia’s media guide next season.

Down 6-0 late in the first quarter, things could have snowballed on Virginia’s football team Saturday.

What will Virginia do for an encore? That will be discovered today at noon inside Scott Stadium against East Carolina (3-2, 1-1 Conference USA), a program attempting to find its own identity.

Last week was one of the bittersweet experiences of Marc Verica’s young life.

Virginia coach Al Groh is not ready to thrust Marc Verica’s name into the race for the Heisman Trophy.