It was a near-perfect Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill.
The morning rain cleared out, allowing Carolina blue skies to emerge by noon with temperatures that barely reached 70 degrees and the representative Orange-clad crowd from Syracuse to gawk at a pristine campus in October.
The 3:30 p.m. kickoff gave early arrivers plenty of time for lunch or a tailgate and still be in line before the gates to Kenan Stadium opened at 2. And by halftime, a 27-0 lead over a 4-1 opponent gave happy fans a chance to leave early and not get stuck in the asphyxiating parking decks or inevitable snarl of a close game.
On Sustainability Day at UNC, the Tar Heels sustained near-brilliant play for almost 60 minutes before Mack Brown ordered his coordinators to empty the bench and not get anyone hurt in a 3-point fourth quarter of a game that was long ago over.
Even Sam Howell had played on Thursday Night NFL Football that permitted him to be recognized on the field and receive the 2022-23 Patterson Medal early as the university’s best student-athlete ahead of the official ceremony he cannot attend on October 20.
Despite the interminable TV timeouts interrupted by a football game, the Tar Heels overcame some early mistakes to extend their best start in 26 years to 5-0. With Miami — which fumbled away a home loss to UNC’s October 28 foe Georgia Tech — and Virginia notching its first win over mighty William & Mary, Carolina has a chance to start the way Brown 1.0 began his last season of 1997 at 8-0.
You may remember how that streak ended. Third-ranked Florida State whipped No. 5 UNC, 20-3, on a Kenan night to remember – until the kick-off. Forgive me for peeking ahead, but should all that happen, Carolina’s ninth opponent is Campbell: a veritable practice game ahead of Duke, Clemson and N.C. State to end the regular season.
Since Thursday, and the NCAA reversal, all eyes were waiting for No. 9 Tez Walker to catch his first ball as a Tar Heel. That didn’t happen until Walker came in on the second possession, but by that time Drake Maye was recapturing the hearts and minds of Tar Heel fans on his way to the best game of his sophomore season.
After hitting Tez with a short pass for his fourth straight completion to open the game, Maye overthrew a wide-open Walker who had crossed the field and was unguarded on the left side. “Terrible pass!” Maye said to Brown after he eventually sneaked it over for the first of four touchdowns he would create. Brown reminded Maye it was his first incompletion of the game. Afterward, Brown said, “I’ve never seen Drake better.”
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass against Syracuse during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Punter Ben Kiernan had rectified a far-bigger blunder earlier in the drive when his blocked punt bounced right back to him. The fifth-year grad student took off like the former Irish rugger and was blasted out of bounds in front of the UNC bench… but not before he turned a fourth down into a first down.
It was Kiernan’s only punt attempt and part of another special, special teams day. Noah Burnette continued his storybook return from forgotten placekicker by making all four of his mid-range field goals and four PATs. And while cornerback Alijah Huzzie made three tackles and a late interception, his coolest move was faking a fair catch punt in his own red zone and letting the ball bounce over his head into the end zone. That’s savvy.
An improving defense had its best game, holding a Syracuse team that came in with the third-best offense in the ACC to 70 yards and four first downs in the first half. The Orange had the ball for just more than 9 of the first 30 minutes. D-coordinator Gene Chizik — who has taken so much heat over the first season and a half of his own second stint at UNC — has recruited and coached well enough that he’s allowed to get into his depth chart and keep the starters fresher. Eighteen players, led by linebacker Cedrick Gray’s eight, recorded tackles.
Maye’s three touchdown passes (now eight on the season) went from a 23-yard dime he dropped over the shoulder of Bryson Nesbitt, to a 1-yard shovel pass to fellow tight end John Copenhaver after a 48-yard set-up to Nate McCollum, and Kobe Paysour’s spectacular one-handed grab that turned into a 76-yarder, the longest scoring pass of the season. Maye hit 11 different receivers for his 33 completions for 442 yards, the second best of his career.
No longer the vortex of a more balanced offense, Maye is still the reason Carolina’s running game has come alive behind Omarion Hampton’s 78 yards and 56 from British Brooks, Caleb Hood and Elijah Green. Before Maye came out of the 40-7 win, the Syracuse players were showing their respect by helping him up after another of his scramble runs that netted 55 yards.
While the tougher part of the schedule remains with at least three ranked opponents ahead, this is beginning to look like the end of Brown’s first tenure where the tough, head-hunting defense was the heart and soul of the team.
North Carolina defensive lineman Travis Shaw (4) celebrates after a play during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Syracuse, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
“We’re grading each game like we lost,” Brown said, which will be hard after what he called “the most dominant first half since we’ve been here.”
“They had 70 yards and we had over 400,” the head coach continued. “And that’s probably the best defense we’ve played since we’ve been back. I like this team. They’re older, more experienced and they’re coaching themselves.”
These 14th-ranked Tar Heels coming in will likely be closer to the top 10 after No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Notre Dame lost. No. 17 Miami will also drop in the polls after an unexplainable defeat to Georgia Tech when the Hurricanes could have taken a knee in the last 40 seconds and for which their coach Mario Cristobal has already absorbed enormous criticism.
This will be one of those “hump” games that has plagued Brown’s program, and the long-range weather forecast is for 60 percent chance of rain. Hopefully, all that will change for the better.
Featured photo via AP Photo/Chris Seward.
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