CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Virginia coach George Welsh didn't pick his placekicker until the eve of the season opener. He made the right decision.

Todd Braverman made a 50-yard field goal with 27.4 seconds left to give the Cavaliers (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today, No. 23 AP) a 20-17 victory over North Carolina on Saturday.

	Virginia's Antwan Harris, right, pulls down UNC's Rufus Brown behind the line of scrimmage.

To decide between Braverman and David Green for the placekicking job, Welsh sent them both out Monday in practice to attempt three long field goals. Each kicker made all three attempts, but Welsh went with his gut feeling and experience against the Tar Heels despite Braverman finishing last season 3-for-10 on field goals.

"I wouldn't have sent him out there if I didn't think he had a chance," Welsh said of Braverman's career-best kick. "I guess we were due for one. How many last year did he go for and not get it? I am happy for him. Boy, he hung in there."

Thomas Jones, who rushed for 180 yards last season against the Tar Heels, gained 149 this time on 35 carries to help overcome three interceptions by rookie quarterback Dan Ellis.

The score was tied 17-17 when Virginia got the ball back at its 42 with 3:29 left. Rain began pelting the field as Hurricane Dennis began moving inland, but the Cavaliers had the wind at their backs.

Jones gained 21 yards on four carries to help set up Braverman, whose game-winning kick made it over the crossbar by about a yard. His previous best was 47 yards against the Tar Heels last year.

"I knew it was straight enough and fortunately there was a nice wind behind me," said Braverman. "I didn't want to try to kick it too hard because that's what I did in the Peach Bowl and I hooked it a little bit.

"That's what I worked on in the offseason, to get my legs strong enough so that I could handle the stress kick -- 49- or 50-yard field goals. It worked out good today."

North Carolina coach Carl Torbush wasn't so sure the kick would even make it.

"When the ball was kicked I thought it was 5 or 10 yards short," said Torbush. "I felt like we would get the ball at the 35 and get two first downs and get to kick one of our own."

It didn't work out that way as the Cavaliers broke an eight-year home-team winning streak in the fifth-longest series in college football. The victory by Virginia was only its third in Kenan Stadium in the last three decades.

After going 21-3 over a two-year period, the Tar Heels started 0-3 last season -- losing two on the final play. Torbush joked that he needs a rabbit's foot for luck.

"There is a fine line between Ws and Ls," Torbush said. "That's the kind of game you need to win if you're going to have a great, great season, and if you are going to have a good season you need to win your share of those games."

Jones scored a 1-yard TD with 33 seconds left in the third quarter to give Virginia a 10-9 lead. Two plays after a Virginia interception of Ronald Curry's pass, Ellis found Kevin Coffey on a 32-yard scoring pass as the Cavaliers seemed to take control with a 17-9 cushion.

Ellis' third interception of the day set up the Tar Heels at the Virginia 30, and less than 2½ minutes later, the scrambling Curry found Anthony Saunders wide open for an 18-yard score. Curry's 2-point conversion pass tied the score with 7:44 left.

The teams traded field goals on their opening drives before both offenses bogged down.

Ellis, who threw only six passes last season as Aaron Brooks' backup, completed his first three before misfiring on eight of his final 11 of the half, including two major mistakes that cost the Cavaliers the halftime lead.

The first happened one play after no penalty was called on an apparent interference in the end zone against North Carolina's Anthony Anderson that would have given Virginia the ball at the Tar Heels' 1.

On the next play, Ellis broke out of the pocket but his pass attempt for Jones was high and behind the running back. Antwon Black stepped in, picked it off and raced 89 yards untouched down the right sideline for a momentum-shifting score 12 seconds before halftime.

Black's was the third-longest interception return for a score in school history. It was the fourth straight game the Tar Heels have returned an interception for the TD against Virginia.

Earlier in the second quarter, Ellis' pass was intercepted at the North Carolina goal line by Errol Hood. That came one play after Chris Williams returned an interception off 27 yards to set up the Cavaliers.

"This was not Virginia football today," Welsh said. "We usually lose when we play like that."