Entering Saturday’s game with Miami, UNC sophomore linebacker Cedric Gray had no interceptions in his collegiate career. When the game ended, he had two, and a highlight to last a lifetime.
Gray picked off a pass from Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke with six seconds left in the game to secure a chaotic 45-42 Carolina victory, their third straight over Miami. Jeremiah Gemmel tipped Van Dyke’s pass, and Gray caught the deflection to set off a frenzied celebration inside Kenan Stadium. The Hurricanes had the ball at the UNC 16-yard line, but remained aggressive instead of playing for a game-tying field goal.
Miami was on the verge of completing a furious comeback before Gray’s interception. They trailed 28-10 in the second quarter, and 45-34 with less than 10 minutes left in the game.
“What a great college football game,” head coach Mack Brown said afterward. “We’re seeing so much parity in college football. It’s like a rollercoaster when you hop on it. You feel like you’re in good shape, then you go back down, and you come back.”
On a day when a strong wind blew through Chapel Hill before kickoff, penalty flags flew in abundance. The Tar Heels and Hurricanes combined to commit 19 penalties for 183 yards during the game, which featured plenty of extracurricular trash talk.
“Our penalties… were tough penalties on defense,” Brown said. “We’ve been on our defense all week about being aggressive. Well, there’s a difference in being aggressive and having lack of discipline.”
Carolina never trailed during the game, but some critical errors let the Hurricanes hang around until their second half surge. A pick-six thrown by Sam Howell served as Miami’s only touchdown until late in the second quarter. When the Hurricanes reached the end zone again, it was on the strength of two pass interference penalties called on cornerback Tony Grimes.
Despite the mistakes, Howell had one of his most explosive all-around games as a Tar Heel. He finished the game with two touchdowns through the air, as well as 17 carries for 98 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. On each, Howell bounced off multiple Hurricane defenders to reach the end zone.
“I just wanted to leave it all out there on the field for my team,” Howell said after the game. “That’s really all it was. I could’ve slid, but I just tried to do everything I can to stay up. They kept trying to hit me high. That’s kind of what they do: they try to make a statement hit, stuff like that. So I just kind of stayed strong, and just kept running through it.”
Howell’s skill in the ground game has impressed his teammates all year long. Said running back Ty Chandler, “I might need to pick up some things from him.”
Howell’s head coach, though, still sees room for improvement. Or rather, more efficient maintenance of his star signal-caller.
“We tell him to slide every time, unless it’s going to be the difference in a first down,” Brown said. “And he just doesn’t like to slide.”
Howell and the Carolina offense quieted down in the second half, scoring just two touchdowns after putting up 31 points through the first 30 minutes. Receiver Josh Downs, who caught 10 passes in the first half, was held to just one catch in the second. After scoring on their first drive of the third quarter, the Tar Heels punted on four of five possessions before the game-ending kneel down.
The dry spell helped Miami to rally, with the Hurricanes scoring 17 points in the third quarter alone, and adding a touchdown with a two-point conversion in the fourth to slice the Carolina lead to three points. It was the closest the game had been since the teams were tied at 7.
After UNC’s second consecutive three-and-out on offense, Miami got the ball with 2:46 on the clock and no timeouts. Van Dyke and running back Jaylan Knighton coolly moved the Hurricanes down the field, with two Van Dyke scrambles and a pass to receiver Charleston Rambo putting the ball inside Carolina’s red zone. That’s when Gray made his move, snatching Gemmel’s deflection out of the air to save the game. After the pass hit Gemmel’s hands, it appeared to bounce off multiple players before finally falling into Gray’s.
“It just happened so fast,” Gray said. “You’re excited, you’re screaming, everybody’s all over you. It’s a great feeling, but I didn’t even really realize what was going on. I was just getting lit with my teammates, you know? Having fun.”
“That thing stayed in the air for about an hour and a half,” Brown said. “They were all fighting for it, and I said, ‘Somebody, somebody just get that ball!'”
The Tar Heels got the ball, and a win they desperately needed. Carolina enters the bye week at 4-3 overall and 3-3 in ACC play, with a huge non-conference road matchup at No. 14 Notre Dame up next on October 30.
As for those who will take a more critical eye to Carolina’s uneven performance? Brown said he couldn’t care less.
“All the ‘coaches’ out there will want to gripe about this, gripe about that,” he said. “I’m really, really happy that we beat Miami.”
Up Next
Carolina travels to South Bend, IN, to take on Notre Dame on October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Game Notes
- Sophomore receiver Josh Downs caught a touchdown pass in his eighth straight game, including last season’s Orange Bowl.
- Sam Howell scored his 99th total touchdown Saturday, tying him with former quarterback Marquise Williams for the UNC all-time record.
- Mack Brown is now 3-0 in his career against Miami. All three wins came against Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz, who was Brown’s defensive coordinator at Texas from 2011-13.
- In addition to Gray’s two interceptions, UNC safety Cam’Ron Kelly also picked off a pass, the second interception of his career.
Featured image via Carolina Athletics
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