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The Daily Tar Heel

Tar Heels trounce Wolfpack, 45-34, for 11th consecutive win

RALEIGH — The No. 11 North Carolina football team came into Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday afternoon looking to become the state champions. It came in looking to prove to N.C. State it was a different team than the one that fell to the Wolfpack 35-7 in Kenan Stadium in 2014.

And after rolling to a 35-7 lead before the second quarter even started, the Tar Heels realized both of those goals with a 45-34 victory, beating each ACC team in North Carolina in one season for the first time since 2004.

Redshirt senior linebacker Jeff Schoettmer mentioned how that score was a nice metaphor that explained just what UNC (11-1, 8-0 ACC) was trying to prove to the Wolfpack (7-5, 3-5 ACC).

“They were talking some crap to us before the game,” Shoettmer said. “And we wanted to come out and make a statement that we’re not the same team we were last year. They kept saying that in the media all week, ‘This is the same team they were last year.’

“We wanted to show them, and prove to them that we weren’t, and that this is our state.”

The Tar Heels finished with 374 rushing yards (9.1 yards per rush) on the day, with Elijah Hood totaling 220 yards with two touchdowns and T.J. Logan racking up 100 yards with a pair of touchdowns as well.

Both running backs averaged over 10 yards per carry — 10.5 and 16.7, respectively — while Marquise Williams added 58 yards on 10 carries as well.

While there were moments when UNC seemed to be keeping N.C. State in the game — thanks to turnovers and stalled offensive drives — the Tar Heels essentially put this one out of reach in the first quarter thanks mostly to the dynamic ground game.

Quotable

“Hell of a game. (I’m) proud of our football team. They’ve done something that’s never been done (at the) University of North Carolina — win 11 straight. The seniors are leaving a tremendous legacy.” — Coach Larry Fedora on the win.

Notable

After breaking numerous records throughout the season, Williams broke another Saturday in Raleigh on UNC’s second drive of the game. Williams finished the game with 227 total yards of offense, which brings his career total to 9,794. That mark eclipses Darian Durant’s 9,630 total offensive yards for the most in school history. Williams has the most rushing yards in school history (2,296) and the fourth-most passing yards (7,498).

Three numbers that matter

308: The number of total yards of offense North Carolina had in its 35-point first quarter. The Tar Heels had five drives in the first quarter and scored touchdowns on all five.

4: The number of North Carolina football teams that have won 11 games in a season. The 2015 Tar Heels have now joined an exclusive club in school history and have a chance to become the first 12-game winning team in UNC history next Saturday against Clemson in the ACC Championship.

112: The number of points place-kicker Nick Weiler has this season after hitting one-of-two field goal attempts and six extra points. His 112 points is the third-most by any player in North Carolina single-season history, which speaks to the difference in this year’s kicking game and that of 2014, as well as this year’s explosive offense. Only Don McCauley (1970, 126 points) and Giovani Bernard (2012, 114 points) have more.

What's next?

The Tar Heels play Clemson in the ACC Championship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The game will be nationally televised by ABC.

@CarlosACollazo

sports@dailytarheel.com

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