ACC Football: UNC 59, Miami 21

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Quarterback Marquise Williams and his defense were the star performers as the 17th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels blew out the Miami Hurricanes 59-21 in front of a crowd of 61,000 at Kenan Stadium on Saturday.

Williams rushed for three touchdowns and passed for one while throwing 11-of-16 for 105 yards, while rushing 12 times for 101 yards to lead the Tar Heels to their ninth consecutive victory on the season.

Along with Williams, tailback Elijah Hood (17 carries, 132 yards) rushed for more than 100 yards and scored his team-leading 12th rushing touchdown of the season in the second quarter.

Linebacker Jeff Schoettmer and cornerbacks Des Lawrence and M.J. Stewart led a smothering Tar Heels defense that contained and minimized the Hurricanes’ ability to get any production offensively until the third quarter.

Schoettmer intercepted a pass in the second quarter, his second interception of the season and fourth of his career, and returned it a career-long 60 yards to set up a Carolina touchdown.

Lawrence and Stewart had two pass breakups apiece, putting them in a tie for the league lead in that category with 12 overall.

Williams scored the Tar Heels’ first touchdown of the game with a 10-yard run in the first quarter.

He later added a 14-yarder in the second quarter.

North Carolina extended its lead to 31-0 with 40 seconds remaining in the opening half, following Ryan Switzer’s 78-yard punt return for a touchdown – his second of the season and seventh of his career.

On the play, Switzer earned sole possession of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) career record for most punt returns for touchdowns (7).

In scoring off the punt return, the first allowed by Miami (6-4, 3-3) since 2011, Switzer pulled one shy of tying the NCAA all-time record of eight held by Wes Welker of Texas Tech (2000-03) and Antonio Perkins of Oklahoma (2001-04).

The Tar Heels carried the 31-point advantage into the third quarter.

During the final 30 minutes of play, Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya (24-43, 1 TD, 1 INT), who finished the game with 326 yards passing, put together two touchdown scoring sequences – one passing and one rushing.

However, it wasn’t enough to overcome the lead that Williams and the Tar Heels surmounted early on.

With the win, North Carolina maintained sole possession of top spot in the Coastal Division standings with a clean 6-0 record, and currently sits at 9-1 overall for the first time since 1997 when it finished the season at 11-1.

Highlights – ACC Digital Network (TheACC.com)