Earlier in the week, UNC junior wide receiver Mack Hollins rode his bike around campus yelling, “History week!” to all that passed by–in an effort to get fans to come out to Kenan Stadium and watch the Tar Heel football team attempt to make history against Miami.
On Saturday afternoon, history was indeed made–as UNC stomped the Hurricanes 59-21 for its school record ninth win in a row. It was also the seventh win at home this year for the Tar Heels, which matches the record set by the 1980 team, the last group from Chapel Hill to win a league title.
Now, at 9-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play, the Tar Heels are in complete control of the ACC Coastal Division. To clinch it and reach the ACC Championship Game, they’ll need only one more win, or a loss from Pittsburgh.
Dajaun Drennon and the UNC defense held strong against the Miami starters, shutting them out in the first half. (UNC Athletics)
The loss drops Miami to 6-4 in all games, and 3-3 within the ACC.
“We talked all week, this was history week,” UNC head coach Larry Fedora said after the game. “They had an opportunity to make some history today, and be one of only two teams in 125 years to win seven games on that field.
“It was special, and there was a tremendous burden of responsibility to make sure that happened,” he added.
After trading the ball back-and-forth without scoring on the game’s first four drives, the Tar Heels broke through on their third opportunity when senior quarterback Marquise Williams’ scored on a 10-yard touchdown run near the end of the first quarter.
From there, the floodgates were opened–as the Tar Heels continually capitalized on Miami mistakes, including three turnovers and a handful of untimely penalties.
In his final home game, Williams put together a solid two-way performance–completing 11-of-16 throws for 105 yards, while running for another 101. All-in-all the playmaker accounted for four touchdowns in the game, one through the air to tight end Brandon Fritts, and the other three all on the ground.
“This is an incredible place that I’ll never forget” the quarterback said when he reflected on his time in Chapel Hill afterwards. “It’s emotional for me, and bittersweet at the same time. This place made me who I am.
“I came in as a young child that didn’t know anything, and I’ve matured a lot,” he continued. “I’ve grown and I’ve met a lot of great people–and they’ve changed me. This is the best place ever, man.”
On the drive following Williams’ initial score, sophomore tailback Elijah Hood broke through from the goal line for his 12th touchdown of the year. Just a couple minutes later, UNC fell on a botched snap deep in Miami territory to set up a 25-yard Nick Weiler field goal–a kick that put the home team ahead 17-0.
Hood finished the game with 132 yards on 17 carries, including his one-yard touchdown run.
“We don’t take a backseat to no one,” Hood said. “We don’t fear anybody. We know we can make plays, we’re gonna do what we’re gonna do and you’re gonna have to stop us. I think we can play with anybody, for sure.”
After driving the ball close to the red zone following the three-point try, Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya threw a back-breaking interception to senior linebacker Jeff Schoettmer–who ran it all the way down to the opposing 14-yard line.
Williams ran the ball in for a score on the very next play.
Not wanting to be forgotten, junior Tar Heel receiver Ryan Switzer returned a punt 78 yards to the end zone with under a minute left before the break–giving UNC a commanding 31-0 lead.
This came despite the fact that UNC had just 189 total yards of offense in the first half, or three more than Miami had.
In the second half, the Tar Heels came out looking for the jugular–scoring touchdowns on their first four drives after coming out of the locker room.
Miami didn’t score its first points–a 9 yard passing touchdown from Kaaya to Lawrence Cager–until it was already trailing 45-0.
Kaaya finished the game with 326 yards on 24-of-43 passing, as the Tar Heels completely shut down the Hurricanes’ rushing attack–holding them to just 99 yards on 32 attempts.
The tradition all season long for UNC has been to have the backups play the fourth quarter to completion after the starters manhandle the opposition for the first three.
Fedora addresses his team after the game. (UNC Athletics)
That was again the case in this game.
In the fourth quarter with the lead way out of reach, Miami added a pair of touchdowns–on a pair of one-yard touchdown runs–but that would be it for the visitors with the once proud football tradition.
Tar Heel backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky led a scoring drive of his own, capped off by a three-yard touchdown run from reserve tailback Charles Brunson. But with the game so far gone, the sophomore helped run out the last five minutes of the clock on the team’s final possession.
As the time reached triple zeroes, the UNC players cheered as they ran onto the field to congratulate their opponents–knowing they had just done something nearly unprecedented in their school’s long history.
“This team’s playing as a team,” Fedora said. “Everybody’s there to pick each other up, [saying] ‘I got your back.’ They’re doing the things that a team does.”
The coach paused for a second before adding, “This is a damn good football team.”
Up Next:
Only two games remain on UNC’s regular season schedule. Next week the team will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in what will be the final home game for the Hokies’ legendary head coach, Frank Beamer.
Game Notes:
- UNC’s nine wins are the program’s most since 1997, Mack Brown’s final season as head coach.
- Saturday marked the second straight week UNC scored at least 30 points in the first half.
- Including last week’s 66 point outburst against Duke, the Tar Heels have scored 125 points in their past two games–the most in consecutive games in school history.
- Kicker Nick Weiler has made 16 of his 18 field goal attempts for UNC this year. As a team, the Tar Heels had six all of last year.
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