The No. 17 North Carolina football team (8-3, 7-3 ACC) dominated No. 10 Miami (8-2, 7-2) on the road, 62-26, for the Tar Heels’ first victory against a top-10 opponent since 2004.
What happened?
D’Eriq King’s dual-threat ability led Miami down the field quickly, but a defensive stand from the Tar Heels forced the Hurricanes to kick a 46-yard field goal attempt, which went through the uprights to give Miami a 3-0 lead after the game’s opening drive.
An outside run for a first down from senior running back Michael Carter set up a deep pass from sophomore quarterback Sam Howell to junior wide receiver Dyami Brown, putting the Tar Heels in the red zone. Junior running back Javonte Williams reached the ball across the plane on first-and-goal, and North Carolina took a 7-3 lead.
Williams later punched the ball into the end zone on fourth-and-goal to give the Tar Heels a 14-3 lead, and the junior tied the single-season UNC record with 21 touchdowns on the year.
After redshirt senior linebacker Chazz Surratt stuffed a run to force a turnover on downs, Carter ran the ball 65 yards to the house to give UNC a 21-3 lead with seconds to go before the end of the first quarter.
Once again, Carter evaded tackles from the line of scrimmage until he got past Miami’s secondary, notching a 25-yard rushing touchdown to give the Tar Heels a 31-3 lead with seven minutes to go in the first half.
The Hurricanes managed to find the end zone for the first time soon after, with a short pass from King resulting in a 34-10 deficit for the Hurricanes that they would carry into halftime.
After some more back-and-forth action in the shootout, first-year cornerback Tony Grimes had his first career interception, giving North Carolina possession once again. Carter ran the ball through the middle of the line on the second play of the drive, joining Williams with over 200 yards on the game.
