ATLANTA — North Carolina staged the biggest comeback in the 2010 college football season thus far on Saturday night at the Georgia Dome.
But 20 points was just too much to overcome. UNC, after trailing Louisiana State by 20, fell to the Tigers 30-24 in one of the greatest games in UNC history.
After recovering a fumble by LSU running back Steven Ridley with just more than a minute left, UNC marched down the field. The Tar Heels put together three plays of 16 yards or more to make it to the LSU six-yard-line with six seconds to play.
Yates and tight end Zack Pianalto could not connect on two straight passes and LSU walked away after nearly blowing the lead against a team missing 13 players due to an NCAA investigation.
Yates passed for a career-high 412 yards, thanks in large part to sophomore wide receiver Jheranie Boyd. Boyd had a school-record 221 receiving yards and one touchdown.
UNC suffered a tough second quarter after enjoying a 10-7 lead for a brief period of time. LSU scored 20 unanswered points in less than six minutes in the second quarter, in large part due to UNC’s poor special teams play.
After neither team scored in the third quarter, the Tar Heels scored with 10:32 remaining in the game when Boyd and Yates hooked up for the longest play in UNC history, a 97-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 30-17.
Erik Highsmith caught a 14-yard floater in the back of the endzone to culminate a 12-play, 67-yard drive with 2:32 remaining to bring UNC within a touchdown before being stopped at the six-yard-line.
The No. 18 Tar Heels (0-1) have a bye week next Saturday and will play host to Georgia Tech in the ACC opener on Sept. 18.
