RALEIGH — The No. 11 North Carolina football team came into Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday afternoon looking to become the state champions. It came in looking to prove to N.C. State it was a different team than the one that fell to the Wolfpack 35-7 in Kenan Stadium in 2014.
And after rolling to a 35-7 lead before the second quarter even started, the Tar Heels realized both of those goals with a 45-34 victory, beating each ACC team in North Carolina in one season for the first time since 2004.
Redshirt senior linebacker Jeff Schoettmer mentioned how that score was a nice metaphor that explained just what UNC (11-1, 8-0 ACC) was trying to prove to the Wolfpack (7-5, 3-5 ACC).
“They were talking some crap to us before the game,” Shoettmer said. “And we wanted to come out and make a statement that we’re not the same team we were last year. They kept saying that in the media all week, ‘This is the same team they were last year.’
“We wanted to show them, and prove to them that we weren’t, and that this is our state.”
The Tar Heels finished with 374 rushing yards (9.1 yards per rush) on the day, with Elijah Hood totaling 220 yards with two touchdowns and T.J. Logan racking up 100 yards with a pair of touchdowns as well.
Both running backs averaged over 10 yards per carry — 10.5 and 16.7, respectively — while Marquise Williams added 58 yards on 10 carries as well.
While there were moments when UNC seemed to be keeping N.C. State in the game — thanks to turnovers and stalled offensive drives — the Tar Heels essentially put this one out of reach in the first quarter thanks mostly to the dynamic ground game.
