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CHAPEL HILL — T.J. Yates heard the boos. They started late in an awful first quarter, and returned sporadically until most of the Kenan Stadium crowd headed for the exits with 5:49 left in the game.

That's when Virginia tailback Mikell Simpson scored on an 8-yard run — the only touchdown of an offensively challenged game — for the final points of the Cavaliers' 16-3 victory over North Carolina on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

It was the second consecutive loss for the Tar Heels (3-2, 0-2 ACC), and the second consecutive bad day for the Carolina offense. And this time, they heard boos.

"Yep, I could hear them," Yates said. Then the quarterback paused, pursed his lips and spoke quietly. "We deserved to get booed."

The pass rush of Virginia's 3-4 defense made life miserable for Yates. Playing behind a young and inexperienced offensive line, Yates was sacked twice and intercepted twice. He finished 20-for-36 for 174 passing yards.

And those were Carolina's good offensive stats.

The Tar Heels ran 23 times for 39 yards. Tailback Shaun Draughn — who two weeks ago ranked third in the ACC in rushing yards — had 14 carries for 25 yards.

"It's hard to lose, man," Draughn said. "It definitely wasn't a reflection of how we practiced this week. Everybody was all-in. ... We had something to prove, and to lose, man, it just hurts."

Virginia (1-3, 1-0) came in winless and ranked last in the league in rushing offense, scoring offense and total offense. Yet the Cavaliers left Chapel Hill with their fourth win in a row against Carolina, and their 10th in the last 12 games of a rivalry that started in 1892.

Simpson — who had just 13 carries for 64 yards in the Cavs' first three games — finished with 20 carries for 100 yards and a TD. He also caught four passes for 45 yards. Those numbers accounted for nearly 60 percent of Virginia's offense.

"The defense did a great job," Yates said, "but we've got to hold up our end of the bargain. We've got to put some points on the board. They can't shut everybody out."

Carolina got shut out in the first half, trailing 6-0 on Robert Randolph's 36- and 38-yard field goals. Outside of those kicks, there was little generated by either offense.

How bad was it? Twelve plays into the game the teams had combined for — get this — minus-1 yard of total offense. The rowdiest moment for the home crowd in the first quarter: booing the play call on a first-and-20 off-tackle run with 3:24 left.

"The defense played well enough to give us a chance to win the game," Carolina coach Butch Davis said. "But it's a team game. You can't just win one phase of the game.

"We've got to find a way to play better on offense. We've got to find a running game. And we've got to be able to block people at the point of attack. We can't have as much penetration at the point of attack and not allow the (running) back to at least get started at the intended hole."

The Tar Heels crossed midfield three times in 13 possessions and never reached the red zone. Their best drive of the game — 16 plays covering 58 yards — stalled at the Virginia 22, and Casey Barth's 39-yard field goal cut the lead to 6-3.

Randolph answered with a 43-yard field goal 5 minutes later, and Virginia sealed the victory in the fourth quarter when nose tackle Nate Collins hit Yates just as the quarterback was throwing a pass. The ball went straight up into the air, and fluttered down into the hands of Cavs cornerback Chase Minnifield at the 42.

Simpson carried the ball four times on the ensuing seven-play drive, the last time into the end zone.

It was the only real blemish against Carolina's defense.

"It's a team game," said defensive end Robert Quinn, who finished with seven tackles and three sacks, "and I'm not trying to play the blame game, but the offense has got to help us out."

Until that happens, the Heels can expect to hear more boos.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

Virginia 0 6 3 7 — 16
North Carolina 0 0 3 0 — 3

UVa—FG Randolph 36
UVa—FG Randolph 38.
UNC—FG Barth 39
UVa—FG Randolph 43
UVa—Simpson 8 run (Jarrett kick)
A—57,500.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs — UVa 16, UNC 9
Rushes-yards — UVa 43-106, UNC 23-39
Passing — UVa 148, UNC 135
Comp-Att-Int — UVa 16-27-0, UNC 20-36-2
Return Yards — UVa 19, UNC 38
Punts-Avg. — UVa 9-40.8, UNC 8-42.9
Fumbles-Lost — UVa 1-0, UNC 1-1
Penalties-Yards — UVa 7-54, UNC 4-55
Time of Possession — UVa 33:32, UNC 26:28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
Virginia — Simpson 20-100, Jackson 4-19, Mack 2-3, Verica 1-0, Team 2-(minus 2), Hall 1-(minus 4), Sewell 13-(minus 10).
North Carolina — Draughn 14-25, Houston 3-16, Boyd 2-7, Blue 2-1, Yates 2-(minus 10).

PASSING
Virginia — Sewell 13-24-0-136, Verica 3-3-0-12.
North Carolina — Yates 20-36-2-135.

RECEIVING
Virginia — Simpson 4-45, Jackson 4-30, Burd 2-30, Green 2-13, Brown 1-18, Hall 1-6, Torchia 1-4, Mack 1-2.
North Carolina — Little 8-63, Draughn 4-21, C.Wilson 3-28, Boyd 2-12, Highsmith 2-11, Ramsay 1-0.