UNC wins at Carter-Finley for first time since 2005

RALEIGH — Bend, not break.

It’s the motto of the North Carolina football team’s defense, and for four quarters in the 27-19 win against N.C. State (3-5, 0-5 ACC ), the squad showed its resiliency, forcing the Wolfpack to settle for four field goals, scoring two in three trips to the red zone.

“Just bowing up,” said senior defensive end Kareem Martin of the defense’s strategy. “Getting down in the red zone and just having that mentality that just because they’re in the red zone, they’re not getting in the end zone. They’re going to have to kick field goals or turn the ball over.”

But the Tar Heels (3-5, 2-3 ACC ) didn’t look quite as sharp out of the gate. An interception thrown by quarterback Bryn Renner put the Tar Heel defense on the field after two plays. Four plays later, N.C. State quarterback Brandon Mitchell was in the end zone.

Mitchell’s six-yard touchdown run was the first and the last time the Wolfpack crossed the goal line.

UNC’s second offensive series didn’t improve much from its first and once again, the defense found itself back on the field before it could catch its breath.

But instead of going in a 14-point hole early, the Tar Heels stopped N.C. State in the red zone, forcing the Wolfpack to settle for a field goal.

“I thought our defense did an outstanding job making them kick field goals throughout the day and kept us in this game all the way through,” said coach Larry Fedora.

The oft-disparaged defense, responsible for giving up big plays in UNC’s early season game — including an 83-yard Logan Thomas pass against Virginia Tech and a 48-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against East Carolina — held its ground Saturday.

N.C. State’s Shadrach Thornton broke out for a 24-yard run, and Mitchell’s longest pass was for 33 yards, a far cry from giving up 80-yard gains less than a month ago. The Tar Heels allowed 388 yards but only gave up 19 points.

And it wasn’t just the defense that turned in big plays. Though UNC’s special teams wasn’t responsible for a game-winning punt return, the squad thwarted a first-quarter N.C. State fake punt.

“(UNC) gave us the look that we saw on film earlier in the week, and so I thought we had a chance there,” said N.C. State coach Dave Doeren about the fake punt. “They did a good job defensively to stop us.”

The Tar Heels capitalized on the blunder and took the lead with a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

The game seesawed through the remaining three quarters until T.J. Logan’s first career touchdown gave Tar Heels an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

When the Wolfpack scrambled to right the ship, taking over at the 25-yard line after UNC’s final touchdown, freshman defensive back Brian Walker quieted Carter-Finley with an interception, Mitchell’s second of the day.

N.C. State looked to its bench to find an answer for UNC’s stalwart defense and inserted a new quarterback, Pete Thomas, in its penultimate drive of the game.

But the Tar Heels smothered any signs of new life, forcing the Wolfpack to give the ball back on downs with less than three minutes left in the game.

After giving up 16 points in the first half, the Tar Heels held the Wolfpack to three points in the second half — just three points on N.C. State’s final 11 possessions.

“This is great,” Martin said. “To be able to hold a team to so many field goals when they had good field position at times, bending and not breaking.”

sports@dailytarheel.com