First quarter rut plagues Tar Heels

Prior to North Carolina’s game against Miami, the Tar Heels had never been down in the first quarter this season. But after just six minutes of play on Saturday, UNC already trailed the Hurricanes 14-0.

The deficit cast the Tar Heels in a pit they spent the entire game trying to claw out of.

Miami marched down the field on a 71-yard drive to start the game, and on the ensuing kickoff, T.J. Thorpe fumbled. Miami recovered and scored a touchdown 11 seconds later, and UNC was left staring at an uphill battle.

“We didn’t get off to a good start and that set the mood for the rest of the game,” safety Matt Merletti said. “It just took the wind out of our whole team.”

Kicker Jake Wieclaw also hit a 41-yard field goal later in the first quarter, and Miami went into intermission with a 17-0 lead.

Both teams scored in the second quarter, and UNC entered halftime trailing by 17 — the biggest halftime deficit since its 2010 season-opener.

Before Saturday’s game, UNC outscored opponents 42-3 in the opening quarter. It hadn’t allowed a touchdown in more than 95 minutes of first-quarter action.

But that all changed against the Hurricanes.

Miami made big plays early to seize control of the game. Jacory Harris found Travis Benjamin twice for 34 yards in two of the first three plays of the game. Tommy Streeter also had two catches for 52 yards in the first frame.

“The big plays and the turnovers were the difference in the game,” interim head coach Everett Withers said. “You can’t give up the big passes in the game, and then turn the ball over on special teams.”

UNC’s early troubles were exacerbated by an inability to get off the field on defense. In the first quarter, Miami was 3-5 on third down conversions, and the Hurricanes didn’t punt until the second half.

Miami’s domination in time of possession limited UNC to 12 first-quarter plays and when the Tar Heels did have the ball, they felt pressure to keep up.

“We were trying to play catch up,” tailback Giovani Bernard said. “As a player, you’re down by that much and it’s time to get something going because they have momentum. And momentum is such a hard thing to stop.”

Despite a ferocious comeback, it wasn’t enough to get UNC out of the pit in which it started the game.

“Coach Withers said you got to start fast and finish strong,” Charles Brown said. “That’s the only way to win football games. We tried to turn it on at the end, but there wasn’t enough time. Obviously we didn’t do that, and that cost us the game.”

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