On a day where the North Carolina offense could hardly be stopped, running back Elijah Hood amassed only 69 yards on 17 carries.
His 4.1 yards per carry marked his second-lowest mark of the season. But despite having limited success on the ground, the sophomore still imposed his will against Duke on Saturday.
Hood rushed for a career-high three touchdowns against the Blue Devils, and helped the Tar Heels score at least three more touchdowns through his indirect contributions in a 66-31 victory over Duke.
On UNC’s first offensive play of the game, Hood received the handoff and took two hard steps downfield. Duke’s defense collapsed in an attempt to stop the run before he pitched the ball back to quarterback Marquise Williams, who threw an 89-yard touchdown to Ryan Switzer on the flea-flicker.
“He’s a hard-running running back, and you’re going to try to get so many hats down just to tackle him because one guy isn’t going to bring him down. …” Williams said. “With him running the ball the way he is, you have to fit the box.”
On the Tar Heels’ next possession, the offense quickly marched to the Duke 4-yard line, where Williams faked the handoff to Hood before rushing into the end zone for a touchdown.
The Blue Devils’ defense — which entered the game as the No. 9 unit in the country — once again heavily committed to stopping Hood, opening the running lane for Williams.
“Whenever I can grab the defense’s attention away from (Williams) and he’s going the other way, that’s bad news for those guys. …” Hood said. “I love being that diversion. I love guys thinking they’re going to get me and I have the ball, and it turns out I don’t and the play is going completely the other way. I love that. It means I’m doing my job, and I love doing my job.”
The tailback finally scored his first touchdown on UNC’s next drive, handing the team a 21-3 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run of his own.
