North Carolina defeated ECU 42-17 Saturday afternoon.
After entering halftime tied at 14 – thanks to a second quarter pick-six by safety Da’Norris Searcy – the Tar Heels handled their business in the second half. Though quarterback T.J. Yates struggled at times to get into a rhythm with his receivers, running back Johnny White picked up the slack, rushing for over 100 yards in the second half alone to get things rolling. Then Shaun Draughn did the rest.
Both running backs rushed for over 100 yards, the first time UNC’s done that since 2004.
UNC’s defense struggled early against the Pirates’ spread offense, but after a 10-yard T.J. Yates strike to Dwight Jones put UNC up 21-17, the Tar Heels settled down and made more stops. The defense held ECU to three second-half points.
White limped off the field in the third quarter with a “tweaked ankle,” and in his stead, UNC turned to veteran rusher Shaun Draughn. Both Draughn and White carried the ball well in the second-half, and that relieved Yates from some of the pressure of moving the chains.
Yates finished the game 18-26 for 181 yards and two touchdowns, with a good number of those completions going to tight end Zack Pianalto. Pianalto caught seven passes for 97 yards. UNC’s dual rushing threat carried the ball well. But White and Draughn were the game’s big story. White finished with 140 yards and Draughn carried it for 137 yards and three touchdowns.
With the win, UNC moves to 2-2 on the season heading into next week’s matchup against Clemson.
