ACC Football: UNC 45, N.C. State 34

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

RALEIGH, N.C. – The 11th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels posted their school-record 11th straight win of the season, a 45-34 decision over in-state rival the N.C. State Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday

The Tar Heels (11-1, 8-0) added to their all-time record (66-33-6) against the Wolfpack (7-5, 3-5) in the teams’ 105th meeting against one another led by two touchdowns each on 100+ yards rushing from tailbacks Elijah Hood (21 carries, 220 yards) and T.J. Logan (6 carries, 100 yards).

Quarterback Marquise Williams finished the game throwing 19-of-30 for 174 yards and rushing 10 times for another 53 yards, while throwing a touchdown pass to Mack Hollins (3 catches, 65 yards).

UNC backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw the other touchdown score, his only pass attempt of the game, a five-yard loft to Quinshad Davis (4 catches, 33 yards).

Placekick Nick Weiler did the rest for the Tar Heels, taking care of six PAT’s and kicking one-of-two field goal attempts through the uprights.

Under center for the Wolfpack, Jacoby Brissett ran for over 100 yards for the second straight year against the Tar Heels – a team-best 128 yards on 20 carries that included a pair of four-yard touchdown scores.

In the air, Brissett (17-37, 206 yards, 1 INT) connected on two touchdown passes to tight end David Grinnage (2 catches, 36 yards).

In addition to Brissett and Grinnage, Kyle Bambard posted the other six points for the Wolfpack with 25 and 34-yard field goals in the third and fourth quarters.

The Wolfpack, winners of six of the last eight between the two schools, including last year’s 35-7 win at Chapel Hill, quickly found out that this year’s Tar Heels squad has a special quality.

It only took UNC one quarter to even the score from last year, tying a school record in posting 35 points, and leading the Wolfpack 35-7 at the end of the opening 15 minutes of play.

“I’ve been saying it all year that this team has a lot of grit,” Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora said.

“That started with right after the first game (against South Carolina), and has only gotten bigger every game. This is a special group – there are 72 guys on this team that are really tight and do things for each other. They do things for each other and for something greater than themselves, and that’s what makes it so special.”

The eventual 45 points scored were the second-most any UNC team had scored against N.C. State, with 52 points against the Wolfpack in 1996 topping the list.

The Tar Heels nearly doubled the Wolfpack’s season-to-date mark for rushing defense (123 yards) as the Tar Heels carried the ball 214 yards and scored three of five touchdowns off the rush.

“First quarter, I take ownership for,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said.

“We weren’t ready for whatever reason, but our players kept fighting. They (UNC) played really well. The first quarter put us in a difficult position to come back and win. I’m disappointed for our seniors, but we have one more game to play as we get to prepare for a bowl game.”

Williams got North Carolina started quickly, scoring on the game’s opening drive.

It took eight plays and 73 yards to quickly silence the mostly red-clad crowd of 57,600.

Following a 39-yard rush to the N.C. State seven-yard line by Hood, Trubisky completed the drive with the touchdown pass to Davis and the Tar Heels led 7-0.

The Wolfpack didn’t fare as well on their first possession – going three-and-out before hemming the Tar Heels inside their 10-yard line with the ensuing punt.

That didn’t bother Williams as he moved the chains forward.

North Carolina repeated on its second possession, what it did on its first, and scored another touchdown.

This time it was a rushing conversion as Logan’s 42-yard unopposed run into the end zone extended the Tar Heels’ lead to 14-0 with 9:06 remaining in the opening quarter.

N.C. State then put together its first big passing play of the game when Brissett connected with Jaylen Samuels (9 catches, 97 yards) for a 64-yard reception that ended at the UNC 11-yard line.

Brissett scored on the four-yard keeper play and pulled the Wolfpack within seven following Bambard’s PAT.

Hollins then pushed the North Carolina lead back up to 14 points when he hauled in a 54-yard pass from Williams.

The play came immediately following a 15-yard personal foul penalty against N.C. State linebacker Riley Nicholson’s late hit on Williams at the UNC 32-yard line.

After Williams stepped out of bounds following third-down, the Wolfpack linebacker made contact with the quarterback and the resulting penalty gave UNC optimal field position to set up its third touchdown of the quarter.

The Tar Heels scored again with Logan running for his second score, a 40-yard rush that extended the lead to 28-7 with 1:48 to go.

The North Carolina defense made its first big play of the game when linebacker Andre Smith intercepted Brissett for a 28-yard interception and return.

Smith, who finished with nine tackles supported a team-leading defensive effort from Shakeel Rashad, who led the Tar Heels with a game-high 13 tackles and a sack and tackle-for-loss.

Hood then scored his first touchdown of the game, running the ball in from one yard out.

The Tar Heels’ relentless offensive assault on the Wolfpack stood at 35-7, the advantage they carried into the next quarter.

Facing a relentless rushing defense that allowed only 43 yards during the opening quarter, Brissett led the Wolfpack down the field with more passing on the Wolfpack’s first possession in the second quarter.

However, the Tar Heels eventually got the ball back.

The scoring run looked like it would continue as a combination of rushes preceded another penalty that put North Carolina in position to score.

However, just as it looked as though Williams would throw another touchdown pass, N.C. State’s Jerod Fernandez (4 tackles) intercepted the ball and advanced it 12 yards to the Wolfpack 21-yard line.

Brissett took advantage of the opportunity as he put together a 14-play, 79-yard effort that N.C. State managed to finish it off with a touchdown.

The Wolfpack QB lofted a pass into the left side of the end zone where Grinnage snagged it in mid-air and cut the North Carolina lead to 35-14 with 49 seconds remaining in the half.

Williams tried to gain the touchdown back with an attempted 50-yard pass to Switzer, but the play was broken up by Josh Jones (7 tackles), N.C. State’s second-leading defender on the day.

While UNC carried the 21-point advantage into the halftime break, its scoring drain began as Weiler missed a 49-yard field goal attempt with seconds remaining in the half.

The Wolfpack would outscore the Tar Heels 20-10 during the final two quarters, but couldn’t get any closer as UNC posted points when it needed to and minimized any momentum N.C. State tried to build on for the final 30 minutes.

As the result of a Hood fumble caused by N.C. State’s Juston Burris, the Wolfpack got the ball at the North Carolina 12-yard line early in the third quarter.

From there, N.C. State got on the board first as Bombard booted his first field goal and cut the Tar Heels lead to 35-17 at the 9:59 mark.

Both teams traded possessions for much of the remainder of the third with the occasional large gain.

Points scored were limited to the Wolfpack offense.

A personal foul on UNC defensive tackle Tyler Powell eventually became a costly one.

The Wolfpack made its way down the field from the 50-yard line, and Brissett ran in his second four-yard score of the game.

Following a missed two-point conversion, N.C. State had still cut its deficit further, trailing 35-23 with 3:46 to play in the quarter.

After getting shut out throughout the third, UNC worked to add back to its lead during the final 15 minutes.

They did so with the possession they carried over from the previous period.

Hood scored his second touchdown of the game, another one-yard rush that pushed North Carolina’s lead up to 42-23 just 31 seconds in.

A fumble by Williams off a scramble past the line of scrimmage in the UNC half of the field was recovered by N.C. State’s Airius Moore, and gave the Wolfpack faithful hope that their team would capitalize on it.

The linebacker’s pick-up put the Wolfpack in position to start a scoring drive from the Tar Heels’ 25-yard line.

With N.C. State on the three-yard line, UNC put together an impressive defensive stand that slowed the Wolfpack’s drive across the goal line.

Facing fourth down with two yards to go, N.C. State took a timeout before deciding to go for it.

The Tar Heels then took a timeout to determine how they would adjust and line up on the play.

As Brissett faked the pitch and crossed the goal line, a flag was thrown for an illegal block in the back.

N.C. State had to settle for a field goal as Bombard successfully completed the five-play, eight-yard drive.

UNC led 42-26 with 9:35 to play.

Weiler’s 38-yard field goal added to the Tar Heels lead four minutes later, but time was running out on N.C. State.

Regardless, the Wolfpack wasn’t finished.

Brissett found Grinnage again, this time from 20 yards out, and following a successful two-point conversion, UNC’s lead was cut to 45-34 with 1:50 to play.

However, N.C. State’s surge came as too little and too late.

With the final possession of the game, Williams and the Tar Heels used the clock to their favor, and took a knee on each snap to end it.

The clock counted down and North Carolina put the final touch on its 11th straight win of the season.

‘It was a heck of a game,” Fedora said.

“I’m proud of our football team – they’ve done something that’s never been done in winning 11 straight games and the seniors are leaving a tremendous legacy. The phrase of “I’ve got your back,” was repeated throughout the entire game. It didn’t matter what happened in the game today but everyone was very positive and that’s the epitome of who this team is.”