UNC Football makes a STATEMENT against Syracuse

The UNC football program left little doubt as they put together a statement win against Syracuse on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill. 

Mack Brown and the UNC football program returned from its “bye week” the way they hoped they would.

North Carolina scored on 8 of its 9 possessions en route to a dominant victory over Syracuse on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill.

After kicking a field goal on their opening drive, the Tar Heels were forced to punt on its next offensive trip. Ben Kiernan’s punt was blocked, but he was able to not only recover the ball but scramble for a 17-yard game in the process.

Kiernan took a huge hit on the play as he approached the yard to gain and was ruled to have earned a first down. Syracuse challenged, and rightly so, due to some video evidence indicating that Kiernan was likely short of the marker, but the call stood, as it served as a huge turning point in this game.

The Tar Heels went on to score on that drive and kept adding on, making it impossible for the Orange to keep up. By the late part of the fourth quarter, Brown was able to get his starters out of the game, as they accomplished the task at hand with time to spare.

Drake Maye was simply outstanding. He threw for 442 yards and three touchdowns, as he now is tied for the most 400-yard passing games in UNC football program history. Overall, the Tar Heels signal-caller ended the day with 497 all-purpose yards and four scores.

Maye had tons of help as he connected with 11, yes, 11, different receivers. Nate McCollum had a 135-yard performance, while Kobe Paysour, who had a SportsCenter Top 10 play that resulted in a 77-yard score, ended the contest with exactly 100 receiving yards.

In his UNC football debut, Tez Walker recorded six catches for 43 yards. His presence was definitely noticeable, as his ability to stretch the field opened up other opportunities for other receivers. He made some nice catches, including a leaping grab near the sideline that appeared to be well out of reach.

Defensively, North Carolina did a tremendous job of keeping Garrett Shrader contained. The dual-threat quarterback couldn’t find much room to work with, as he was limited to just 152 total yards.

The Tar Heels simply controlled every aspect of this game. From the time of possession to the turnover battle, there wasn’t an area where the Orange got the better of their opponent. For the second straight week, Syracuse seemed to prove that their early season success was a testament to a weaker schedule of opponents.

Without a doubt, this was the UNC football program’s most complete game of the season.

For North Carolina, this marks the first 5-0 start since 1997. Now, the UNC football program will prepare to host Miami in another crucial ACC contest, a game that has the makings of being the most important game at Kenan Stadium in quite some time.

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