UNC Football: Sam Howell as record day in Tar Heels win

UNC Football quarterback Sam Howell had a monster day in the Tar Heels’ win over Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon

Sam Howell is the truth.

There is no other way around it. The kid can flat out sling the football and that was on full display from the start in Saturday’s North Carolina win over Wake Forest in Chapel Hill. Even with the struggles on defense for the Tar Heels, they somehow found a way to win that game after falling into a 21-point hole.

And a big reason was because of Howell.

The quarterback finished the game 32 of 45 for 550 yards, 6 passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown on the day. To make it simple, he was terrific. Even his lone blemish, an interception late in the first half, was a questionable one as the refs ruled it an interception when it should have been awarded a catch to the receiver.

Without Howell, UNC has no chance to win this game even with the defense playing like it did in the fourth quarter. As UNC fell behind by 21, the Tar Heels fought back as Howell led multiple scoring drives including one with just over four minutes left when he rushed for a 20-yard touchdown run to give the Tar heels the lead.

With his big game, Howell also broke some records. He set the UNC record for most passing yards in a single game, beating former quarterback Marquise Williams’ record of 494 as well as program record for most passing touchdowns in a game. In doing so, be became the first player in program history to pass for over 500 yards in a game.

But there’s more. Howell is just the second player in ACC history to throw for six touchdowns in a single game, joining Lamar Jackson but he’s the only player to do it against an ACC opponent:

Howell has been fantastic for the Tar Heels ever since he joined the program as a four-star recruit in the 2019 class. Since last season, he now has 13 games where he’s thrown for 3+ touchdowns in a single game, tying him with Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. That’s some pretty elite company.

Even in a weird year like this year, it’s still nice to see Sam slinging that football.

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