ACC Football – UNC Routs Richmond, 41-6

UNC v Richmond Recap 

UNC QB Gio Lopez threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, freshman Demon Juju June had 148 rushing yards and a touchdown, and North Carolina beat Richmond 41-6 on Saturday for its first home win of the Bill Belichick era at Kenan Stadium. 

Both passing touchdowns went to WR Jordan Shipp who caught four passes for 52 yards.

“We just want to be smart, tough and dependable,” said Lopez, who went 10 of 18 for 119 yards and also threw an interception. “At the end of the day, we just need to execute our plays, run them the best that we can. When we do that, we score.”

Those characteristics could also be used to describe North Carolina’s defense. The Spiders committed three turnovers, including a fumble returned 62 yards for a Makai Gbayor touchdown, and had just 199 total yards. 

Since the 48-14 loss to TCU, the Tar Heels (2-1) have allowed just nine points.

“It’s been an improvement every week,” Belichick said, “but there are still a lot of things that we can do better. We’ve tackled better, which is obviously a big help.”

UNC’s defense controlled the action throughout on Saturday, overwhelming the Richmond offensive line for two early sacks and helping the Tar Heels out-gain the Spiders, 136-12, in the opening 15 minutes. 

The Tar Heels scored on their first four possessions and outgained Richmond 193-58 in the opening half to grab a 20-3 lead.

Hoping to regain momentum, Richmond recovered a surprise onside kick to begin the second half.  UNC scored three consecutive touchdowns to start the second half and had a goal line stand on defense to put the game away.

“When you play a Power 4 school and you turn the ball over, that’s how you get a 41-6 game,” Richmond coach Russ Huesman said. “That’s what happens in these kind of games if you turn it over, if you make those kinds of mistakes.”

In its last two games, the UNC defense has held back-to-back opponents to just three points each while allowing a combined 145 rushing yards on 77 attempts, an average of just 1.9 yards per carry.

The Tar Heels have held two consecutive opponents without a touchdown for the first time since 2012, and Carolina has won 26 consecutive games over FCS opponents since 2000.

Takeways

Richmond: The Spiders didn’t record a first down until early in the second quarter and made too many mistakes to hang with a superior team. 

North Carolina: The Tar Heels authored their most complete performance under Belichick, scoring the first 20 points and never looking back

“These are two good wins back-to-back, but let’s not forget what happens when we kind of let our guard down,” Shipp said. “I feel like it’s good that we had that, that we had it early. You’d rather get the brakes beat off of you early than late in the season.”

Up Next

Richmond: Hosts VMI Sept. 20.

North Carolina: Visits UCF Sept. 20.