UNC Football: Players of the Game versus Minnesota

The UNC Football program has announced its Players of the Game from its 31-13 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Which players made vital impacts?

The UNC football program saw new stars shine in Kenan Stadium on Saturday afternoon when the Tar Heels beat Minnesota 31-13.

On Monday, the North Carolina coaching staff announced who those stars were who stepped up and had a significant impact for the Tar Heels that helped them come out victorious and move to 3-0 heading into conference play.

On the offensive side of the ball, it is no surprise to see Nate McCollum win the Player of the Game Award. Sometimes, we see players awarded the Player of the Game that may have impacted the game but did not appear in the box score. That wasn’t the case for McCollum, who had a monster day in his first complete game in Carolina Blue.

The Georgia Tech transfer had 15 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown on Saturday and was clearly Drake Maye’s favorite target. His 15 catches were one shy of the single-game school record.

McCollum only saw nine snaps against Appalachian State in week two after not playing in week one against South Carolina due to an injury. However, despite that, his performance Saturday has him tied for most receptions on the season for the Tar Heels and just six yards from being the team’s leading receiver.

The UNC football offense needed a big boost in the passing game, and McCollum provided it.

Power Echols was the star on the defensive side of the ball for the Tar Heels. He had nine total tackles, including seven solos and a key interception when Minnesota was driving inside the red zone on the Gophers opening drive of the game. Echols now leads the team in solo tackles with 18 in the early season and has an interception to go along with a forced fumble. The UNC football defense held Minnesota to just 13 points, one of its best showings under Gene Chizik in the last two seasons.

On special teams, the Tar Heels punted just three times, and one of those was a “pooch punt” from quarterback Drake Maye (36 yards and inside the 20, by the way).

North Carolina gave co-players of the game this week for special teams, Noah Burnette and redshirt freshman Liam Boyd.

Burnette stepped in for the injured Ryan Coe. Burnette contributed to seven of North Carolina’s 31 total points, converting all four of his extra point attempts and connecting on a 42-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter to put the Tar Heels up 24-13.

Boyd was the kickoff specialist against the Gophers and had six total kickoffs, four going for touchbacks and averaging 64.8 yards on his kicks.

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