It’s safe to say nobody saw this one coming.

In a game expected by many to be an easy blowout, the UNC football team was forced to turn to its backup quarterback in order to pull out a 41-14 victory against the Delaware Blue Hens on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.

The win brings the Tar Heels to 3-1 for the first time since 2011, while the Blue Hens drop to 1-3 so far in 2015.

Senior quarterback Marquise Williams struggled in the first half. He went 6-of-12 passing for 65 yards, ran for 31 yards and a touchdown, and then was benched after the Tar Heels’ third offensive drive–likely due to the offense’s failure on back-to-back drives to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns.

Mitch Trubisky, Williams’s sophomore backup, made his case for the starting job once he was handed the reins. He was excellent all game long, finishing 17-of-20 for 312 yards and four touchdowns–including two deep scores to junior receiver Mack Hollins. He also showed off his wheels, picking up 39 yards on the ground.

Tar Heel defenders made passing difficult for Delaware throughout the game. Photo via Smith Cameron Photography.

Tar Heel defenders made passing difficult for Delaware throughout the game. Photo via Smith Cameron Photography.

“I wasn’t happy with the way were executing [early in the game],” Fedora said. “And so we put Mitch in, and Mitch ran the offense well and did a nice job. So I decided to leave him in.”

The Blue Hens made UNC work for everything though, as their running game continually frustrated the Tar Heel defense–milking game clock in the process. Running backs Thomas Jefferson and Kareem Williams combined for 258 yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries, which was necessary because quarterback Joe Walker completed just 4-of-10 passes for 24 yards on the day.

In fact, Delaware didn’t even complete its first pass of the game until a 6-yard screen from Walker to Jamie Jarmon early in the third quarter.

The Tar Heels held a slim 13-7 lead at halftime, as the defense struggled against Delaware’s ground attack and the offense had problems converting opportunities in the red zone. Not until Trubisky entered the game did UNC’s offense show the explosiveness that fans have come to expect under head coach Larry Fedora.

On just the second play of the afternoon, Delaware tailback Thomas Jefferson broke free for a 72-yard touchdown burst–shocking the Tar Heel faithful.

Including that run, Delaware picked up 158 total yards in the first two quarters–every single one of them on the ground.

“A lot of the [rushing] yards came from just kinda sneaky, someone hits him and then he falls forward for another two or three yards here or there,” said senior linebacker Shakeel Rashad, who led UNC with 10 tackles in the game. “So I think we just gotta find a way to keep driving our feet, get more hats to the ball, and drive it backwards.”

It only took the home team five plays–and just over a minute–to respond with its own explosive touchdown drive, however. Williams found receiver Bug Howard for a 29-yard gain, before scrambling to the end zone for an 18-yard score on the very next play–making the game 7-7 after just over two minutes of game time.

After that, the pace of the game slowed considerably.

Four times in the first half UNC drove down within the Blue Hens’ 20-yard-line, but Williams’s scoring run was the only time the team capped things off with a touchdown. It was also the only time Williams looked sharp, as he just couldn’t seem to get it going in this one.

Junior kicker Nick Weiler missed his first field goal of the game, a 34-yarder on the Tar Heels’ second drive. It was the first time Weiler failed to convert this season. He redeemed himself by making attempts from 46 yards and 26 yards on UNC’s final two drives of the half.

Starting the third quarter with the ball, Trubisky led UNC to its second touchdown of the afternoon when he found Hollins all alone behind the coverage for a 33-yard bomb to the right corner of the end zone.

UNC takes the field. Via Smith Cameron Photography

UNC takes the field. Via Smith Cameron Photography

But the Blue Hens came back with a 13-play scoring drive of their own–continuing to pound the ball down the Tar Heels’ throats. Facing a 4th-and-goal from the UNC 1-yard-line, Jefferson forced his way across the plane to bring his team back within single digits.

Then Trubisky and Hollins kept their connection going, as the sophomore quarterback found Hollins on another deep touchdown throw–this one for 64 yards–that came less than two minutes after the Blue Hens’ scoring drive.

“[Trubisky] can step up when Quise is down and make plays, which is always awesome,” Hollins said after the game. “I’ve had deep balls from Quise last year, so I know he can throw it too. They can both throw it, it’s just the opportunity happened to be in Mitch’s hands.”

From there, the points just kept adding up, as Trubisky played just about as well as he ever has. He added touchdown passes to Howard and Ryan Switzer put the sophomore above the 300-yard mark, and effectively buried the Blue Hens upset chances.

“Coach and the rest of the guys were joking [afterwards], it might have been the haircut,” Trubisky said. “I got a haircut on Friday, so I don’t know. It was fun to come out here and play with the guys. Everyone else played really hard, so it made my job easy.”

Up Next:

Next week brings the start of ACC play, as the Tar Heels travel to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and their run-heavy triple option offense. Not only will it be important to shore up that area defensively, but now the team faces what may be an actual quarterback controversy.

Game Notes:

  • It was the first game since the season opener against Clemson in 1996 where the Tar Heels did not punt.
  • UNC sophomore running back Elijah Hood finished with 14 carries for 63 yards on the day.
  • The win marked the 18th time in Larry Fedora’s four seasons and the third time in 2015 the Tar Heels scored 40 or more points.
  • Defensively, UNC has now held each of its first four opponents to 17 points or fewer. This after not holding a single opponent below 20 in 2014.
  • Attendance for the game was announced as 39,000.

 

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