Following each of UNC’s thrilling comebacks against Pitt and Florida State, head coach Larry Fedora gave the same message.

One of these days, the tables would turn and the struggling defense would be forced to bail out the high-powered offense.

That time came on Saturday, when Malik Carney’s strip sack in the final moments capped an impressive defensive effort–and sealed the Tar Heels’ 20-13 road win over No. 16 Miami.

Coming off the worst offensive performance of the Fedora era, the Tar Heels sprinted out to a 17-point halftime lead behind a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Mitch Trubisky and a pair of field goals from Nick Weiler.

 

TJ Logan (left) and Mitch Trubisky (right) carried the UNC rushing attack against Miami, with Elijah Hood struggling in his first game back from a concussion. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

TJ Logan (left) and Mitch Trubisky (right) carried the UNC rushing attack against Miami, with Elijah Hood struggling in his first game back from a concussion. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

UNC became the first team to score on Miami’s much-improved defense in the first quarter all season long, and appeared to have found its groove again. That progress then slowed to a halt after halftime, as the Tar Heels were held scoreless over the final two quarters.

Instead, the game was won by the defense for a change—a group that not only made the game-sealing play, but one that also stopped the Hurricanes on third down 11 times and held them to just 3.9 yards per rushing attempt on 36 tries.

“It looked like, to me, they controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well,” Fedora said of his defense. “I thought they controlled the line of scrimmage the entire game.

“There were only a couple times it looked like we misfit a gap and a guy got through,” he continued. “But very seldom, did they get to the linebacker level.”

As fate would have it, the skies opened up with heavy rain early in the fourth quarter—creating conditions similar to those the Tar Heels played in during their loss to Virginia Tech.

Not long after, Miami tailback Joseph Yearby took a handoff from quarterback Brad Kaaya and scampered 42 yards down the right sideline. UNC was able to force him out of bounds,however, and then make a critical red zone stop.

A 22-yard field goal put the Hurricanes within one score, but Carney’s heroic effort ended their next drive—and with it, their chances of tying the game.

Defensive tackle Jeremiah Clarke scooped the ball off the ground, while tailback Elijah Hood followed up three plays later with a bulldozing 13-yard run on 3rd-and-12 that put the final nail in Miami’s coffin.

“You get Malik Carney who comes in during a two-minute situation—and it’s the first time our defense has been on the field in a two-minute situation—and they had the opportunity to win it, and they do that,” Fedora said.

The coach then smiled a bit. “And that run by Hood there at the end was just unbelievable.”

In a battle between two of the ACC’s top quarterbacks, Trubisky completed 33 of his 46 throws–finishing a yard shy of 300 in addition to the two early scores. He also channeled his inner Marquise Williams by carrying the ball 13 times for 47 yards.

MJ Stewart and the rest of the Tar Heel secondary held Miami to just 221 yards through the air. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

MJ Stewart and the rest of the Tar Heel secondary held Miami to just 221 yards through the air. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

The Tar Heel secondary, meanwhile, played perhaps its best game of the year as it held Kaaya to completions on just 16 of his 31 passes for only 221 yards.

“They hit us on some runs, and we had some negative yardage plays,” Fedora said. “But I thought Mitch had a real good command of where he was taking the ball. He threw the ball really well today and the receivers did a nice job.”

It was the eighth straight road win for UNC, which moves to 5-2 while also moving back into a tie for first atop the ACC Coastal Division following Virginia Tech’s upset loss to Syracuse.

There’s still plenty of work to do, as the Hokies still own the tiebreaker over the Tar Heels.

If the UNC defense continues to build off this effort, though, Fedora and his bunch have a good shot at taking care of their end of the bargain.

“We’ve got all of our goals still sitting in front of us,” Fedora said. “That’s a big thing, to be at this point of the season and to have that. We’ve got another divisional opponent coming up, so that’ll be one we have to get ready for—but I’m proud of where this team is.

“We talked about it before the game,” he added. “They’ve become a team.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will stay on the road next week for a game in Charlottesville against Virginia, which is 2-4 in 2016 after a 45-31 loss to Pitt on Saturday.

Game Notes:

  • A pair of UNC senior wide receivers set career milestones against Miami–as Bug Howard had a career-high 10 catches for 156 yards and Ryan Switzer’s nine receptions moved him past Quinshad Davis as the school’s all-time leader in catches with 206.
  • This is the first time UNC has ever beaten two ranked teams on the road in one season.
  • The Tar Heels’ three ACC wins in 2016 are by a combined 10 points.
  • TJ Logan led UNC in rushing with 84 yards on 15 attempts. Elijah Hood struggled to find space in his first game back from a concussion, and was held to just 31 yards on 13 carries.

 

FINAL STATS