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North Carolina recovered from a near-fatal mistake last night, fighting back and upsetting Virginia Tech 20-17 at Lane Stadium for its first ACC victory of the season.

Kicker Casey Barth delivered the win by hitting a 21-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. North Carolina trailed 17-14 with 11:51 left, but quarterback T.J. Yates led two scoring drives, the first for a tying field goal, and the defense forced a game-deciding turnover with 2:02 left.

"This feels so good," Yates said. "I've never felt this before. It just sends chills down your whole spine when your team's rushing out on the field after a big win. This is a hard place to play in. And there were big stakes."

Barth's game winner came almost five years to the day after his older brother, Connor,...