It went from a movie we’ve seen before to a record-breaking hit.
The Tar Heels shook off what has become a traditional slow start at Pitt and turned their best three quarters of football this season into Carolina’s first 4-0 record since Mack Brown was 46 in his 10th at UNC and its first win in the Steel City since 2017 when Drake Maye was in the ninth grade.
The satisfying 41-24 victory in the first true road game and ACC opener wasn’t pretty, but it sure had its moments. And if you want to call Maye’s game a Heisman Trophy performance, you have to include his two short-but-crafty touchdown runs and his lefthanded-scoring pass.
The matinee idol, playing on a rainy night in Pittsburgh, was sensational in more subtle ways that will further grow his and the Carolina brand. And then a defense that allowed the Panthers to twice lead early held them scoreless from scrimmage in the second half while the offense played ball control and punted three times (one blocked) to run out the clock as once-mighty Pitt fell to 1-3 and 0-1 in the ACC.
Maye had 296 yards passing, 289 with his golden right arm, the 18th straight 200-plus game of his college career. The fling-meister hit 7 of 10 in the first half, averaging just under 20 yards per throw.
His savvy and athletic ability made a play that will roll on the Sports Center highlights all week especially since it was carried live on the ESPN ACC Network. He turned a sure sack into his only TD pass by going southpaw and flipping the wobbly ball to a wide-open Kobe Paysour in the end zone.
“Just out there making plays,” Maye said matter-of-factly afterward. He also ran for 30 yards that included one touchdown sprint to the end zone on fourth down to forge a 14-14 tie and sneaking across the goal line for another to open the second half that gave his team an insurmountable 35-17 lead.
The other noteworthy performances on offense came from junior J.J Jones, who had 6 catches for career-high 117 yards, including a post pattern for 52 yards, the longest passing play of the game, and sophomore Omarion Hampton who came in as the second-leading rusher in the ACC with 67 yards and had Carolina’s first touchdown to tie the score in an opening quarter dominated by the home team.
That’s the part of the movie we’ve seen before. A good part that we remember was back-up kicker Noah Burnette booting field goals of 43 and 48 yards and going 5-for-5 on PATs to stay perfect for a season he began on the reserve squad before replacing the injured Ryan Coe.
And those looking for a new star on the horizon have to love junior transfer Alijah Huzzie from East Tennessee (first school in the Tez Walker odyssey) who intercepted two passes from different Pitt QBs and had UNC’s first punt return to the house since Dazz Newsome’s 75-yarder at Syracuse in 2018, a truly terrible 2-9 season the year before Brown 2.0 began.
But also credit the improving defense that slammed the door on Pitt’s fast start and had another sterling game among the linebacking trio that embodies the unit’s nickname Rude Boyz. Power Echols, Kaimon Rucker and Ced Gray combined for 21 tackles and 4 and a half sacks that threw the Panthers for 43 yards in losses.
The start resembled Carolina’s last two trips to the stadium once named for a ketchup. Pitt took the opening kickoff and drove 78 yards in 13 plays, running eight minutes off the clock that kept the defense on the field and Maye waiting patiently on the sideline.
It might have been an early disaster when Maye was clobbered on his first snap while trying to pass. Originally ruled a fumble the Panthers recovered near the Tar Heels’ red zone, a video replay reversed the call to an incomplete pass. On third and long, Maye missed his third straight attempt before pass interference allowed Carolina to keep the ball and for its QB1 to get hot.
Daring Drake ran for a first down and then completed consecutive first-down passes to John Copenhaver, Jones and Kamari Morales to the Pitt 2 from where Hampton bulled in for the tying touchdown, the 12th time Carolina has scored with its opening possession in Maye’s 18 starts.
Beleaguered sixth-year quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who entered with a 47 percent passing stat, had the last three of six straight completions as Pitt went back on top 14-7 on another sustained drive. But the worm turned quickly with two touchdowns in 106 seconds that put Carolina in control.
Maye’s fourth-down touchdown run followed Copenhaver’s 40-yard catch off a double reverse pass from Maye, who was roughed on the play for 15 more yards to the Pitt 5, where the woozy No. 10 missed his only snap of the season before returning for his first TD that tied the score.
After a three-and-out for the defense forced a punt, Huzzie’s 52-yard broken-field gem gave UNC a 21-14 lead it never lost. The spectacular stretch for the Heels continued into the last minute of the first half.
After a Panthers field goal, Maye drove the offense 84 yards and was chased out of the pocket to the left sideline, where he switched the ball to his left hand with two defenders all over him and shot-putted it end over end to Paysour for a 28-17 halftime lead. It was remindful of Doug Flutie/Johnny Manzel antics from yesteryear.
image via UNC Athletic Communications/Heath Kleindienst
The Tar Heels completed their latest example of “Belichick Ball” by driving the second-half kickoff 75 yards to Maye’s QB sneak and a 38-17 lead. Much of the blue and gold among the 48,544 fans headed for the riverfront bars. Those who fled missed Kenny Johnson’s 100-yard kickoff return right past Brown on the sideline, but Burnette’s two field goals were enough to seal the victory for 4-0.
This is new terrain for Carolina, which has a week off to get healthy and ready for three straight home games against Syracuse, Miami and Virginia that can keep a season on track for something special over the last five weeks. The Orange and Hurricanes are also now 4-0 while the Cavaliers are 0-4.
Good to great is still alive and well, come what Maye.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini
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I stated early last season that Maye is the best college QB in history.
I was correct.