Courtesy of GoHeels.com
PITTSBURGH, PA.—Drake Maye threw for a touchdown and ran for two more as 17th-ranked North Carolina beat Pittsburgh, 41-24, in its first road game and first ACC matchup of the season on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. Alijah Huzzie also starred for the Tar Heels, tallying two interceptions and a punt return touchdown.
Maye completed 22 of 30 pass attempts on the night for 296 yards, also enduring five Pitt sacks.
UNC outscored the Panthers, 34-17, in the second and third quarters to seize control of what had been a close game in the early portions of the first half.
Ranked a season-best No. 17 by the Associated Press and coaches this week, Carolina improved to 4-0, 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pitt fell to 1-3, 0-1. The Tar Heels are 4-0 for the first time since 1997, the final season of Mack Brown‘s first stint as their head coach.
The first half was an offensive showcase, with both teams trading scoring drives in the early going. It was 14-14 midway through the second quarter before Huzzie’s punt return for a TD gave UNC its first lead at 21-14. Huzzie’s touchdown was Carolina’s second in under two minutes, turning a 14-7 deficit into a 21-14 lead.
A few minutes later, the righthanded Maye threw a lefthanded scoring pass to Kobe Paysour on a zone read play for a 28-17 UNC advantage that held at the break.
Maye completed 7 of 10 first-half passes for 139 yards and a score in the first half, averaging a tidy 19.9 yards per completion. The teams combined for 25 first-half first downs, including 13 by the Panthers. Pitt ran for 4.0 yards per carry in the first two quarters, dominating time of possession, 20:27 to 9:33.
The Tar Heels took the second-half kickoff and scored another touchdown to go ahead, 35-17, two-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter. Maye’s 52-yard completion to J.J. Jones took Carolina from its own 28-yard line to the Pitt 25. Six plays later, UNC led, 35-17.
Both defenses settled down after halftime, including posting a scoreless fourth quarter by both teams.
How It Happened
First Half
• Pitt took the opening kickoff and mounted a 13-play, 78-yard drive in 7:59 to take a 7-0 lead. Ten of the first 13 Panther offensive plays were runs, totaling 62 yards.
• The Tar Heels responded quickly with a TD drive to tie the score at 7-7 with 3:38 left in the opening quarter. Maye completed 3 of 5 passes for 44 yards and ran for nine more yards on the drive. Omarion Hampton scored on a three-yard run to cap the drive.
• The Panthers continued their success running the ball on the subsequent possession, marching 74 yards in seven plays for another TD to make it 14-7. Pitt ran for 96 yards on 13 carries (7.4 yards per rush) on the ground in the first quarter.
• Carolina struck back on its next drive, highlighted by a big trick play. Maye ended up with the ball after a reverse flea-flicker, then completed a 40-yard pass to John Copenhaver inside the Pitt 10-yard line. A few plays later, Maye scored on fourth down from the one, sprinting to his left into the end zone to tie things at 14-14 with 9:09 left in the first half.
• Huzzie’s punt return TD a minute-and-a-half later gave Carolina a 21-14 lead, then the Panthers replied with a field goal that made it 21-17.
• Maye’s lefty TD pass to Paysour gave UNC a 28-17 lead, and Pitt missed a field goal as the half ended.
Second Half
• Carolina took the second-half kickoff and marched right down the field for Maye’s second rushing score of the night, taking a 35-17 lead.
• A 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Pitt’s Kenny Johnson at the 8:32 mark of the third quarter kept the Panthers in the game in a lower-scoring second half.
Inside the Box Score
• Carolina has won seven consecutive road wins (6-0 on the road last season), the nation’s second-longest active streak behind defending national champion Georgia.
• Huzzie recorded two interceptions and a punt return TD for UNC.
• Carolina leads the all-time series with Pitt, 12-5, and beat the Panthers by a 42-24 score last year in Chapel Hill.
• Carolina has won the last nine times it scored 30 or more points, including all four games this season.
• Carolina improved to 54-22 as a ranked team in 15 seasons under head coach Mack Brown.
• UNC has scored on the opening drive in 12 of Maye’s 18 career starts, including a touchdown versus Pitt.
• Maye has thrown for at least 200 yards in all 18 starts of his career and has tossed multiple TD passes in 14 of those starts.
• Pitt QB Phil Jurkovec completed 11 of 15 passes in the first half for 109 yards, while Rodney Hammond Jr. ran for 61 yards and a score on 12 carries (5.1 yards per carry) in the opening two quarters for the Panthers.
Up Next
Carolina has a bye next weekend and will return to action at home on Saturday October 7 versus Syracuse. The meeting with the Orange will be the first of three consecutive Tar Heel home games, including an October 14 date with Miami and an October 21 matchup with Virginia.
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