ACC Football: UNC 48, Illinois 14

Chris Baird, Triangle Sports Network

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina Tar Heels cruised to a 48-14 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini in front of a crowd of 41,000 at Kenan Stadium on Saturday.

It was a decisive win for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) over the Big Ten (B1G) in this ‘Power 5’ matchup.

Tar Heels quarterback Marquise Williams finished the game completing 17-of-24 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing 105 yards on nine carries to power the North Carolina offense.

Running back Elijah Wood advanced the ball 129 yards on 16 rushes and finished with a touchdown.

The combination of Williams and Wood surpassing the 100-yard rushing mark was just the third time in 21 seasons that UNC has done so, with the previous coming against William and Mary in 2004, and against East Carolina in 2010.

Ryan Switzer (3 catches, 50 yards), Quinshad Davis (5 catches, 56 yards), and Austin Proehl (4 catches, 39 yards) all recorded touchdown receptions, while Switzer added another on special teams.

UNC (2-1) established a 13-0 lead in the first quarter as place kicker Nick Weiler put two balls through the uprights from 48 and 32 yards respectively, putting him at a 4-for-4 on the season, including converting his longest attempt of the season.

In between boots, Romar Morris scored his first touchdown of the season.

The UNC defense held Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt to 6-of-11 in the opening quarter – producing four pass break ups and one interception in secondary.

Carolina’s defense shut out Illinois (2-0) in the first and third quarters, marking the fifth and sixth time this season it held a team scoreless for an entire quarter of play.

The Tar Heels produced only four shutout quarters in all of 2014.

The Illini eventually made a huge gain as Josh Ferguson (22 rushes, 133 yards) ran the ball 52 yards to the Tar Heels’ 13-yard line with just over 10 minutes remaining in the opening half.

Much-improved defensive play by the Tar Heels still couldn’t deny Illinois from cutting the lead down to 13-7 as Ferguson scored from one-yard out with 9:52 to play.

A 41-yard rush by Williams eventually set up the Tar Heels’ next score as the UNC quarterback found Davis from nine yards out to extend the lead back up to 13 points.

North Carolina carried its 20-7 advantage into the halftime break.

The second half was all Tar Heels as Switzer, Proehl, and Hood did all the damage offensively through the final 30 minutes of play.

Switzer, the shifty punt returner, took it to the house from 85 yards and finalized the scoring for North Carolina, as the Tar Heels led 48-7 with 7:29 to play.

Illinois’ 14 points were the fewest allowed by Carolina against an FBS opponent since a 45-14 win over Virginia in 2013, while the Tar Heels’ 34-point margin of victory was their largest against a ‘Power 5’ conference opponent since a 44-10 win, which also came against the Cavaliers, in 2010.

Highlights: ACC Digital Network – TheACC.com