The No. 14 UNC football team (5-0, 2-0 ACC) dominated Syracuse (4-2, 0-2 ACC), 40-7, Saturday afternoon in its ACC home opener.
Sophomore quarterback Drake Maye ended the afternoon with 442 passing yards and 55 rushing yards in a dominant showing. Junior wide receiver Nate McCollum was the top receiver, recording 135 yards, while sophomore running back Omarion Hampton recorded the most rushing yards with 78. On the defensive end, senior linebacker Cedric Gray led the Tar Heels, with eight tackles and one sack.
The Tar Heels came out of the gate strong, with Maye immediately targeting McCollum for a seven-yard completion on the first play of the game. UNC then alternated between passing and running the ball for the remainder of the 14-play drive, which saw Maye target McCollum three times, and hand off the ball to Hampton on four occasions.
Ultimately, North Carolina was unable to fully capitalize at the first and goal line, and brought out junior place-kicker Noah Burnette, who made a 29-yard field goal to give UNC an early 3-0 lead.
In the ensuing drive, Syracuse’s offense was shut down early by strong pressure from the UNC defensive unit. Quarterback Garrett Shrader opened with two consecutive passes before keeping the ball for back-to-back rushing attempts. Shrader, who has the most rushing touchdowns of any active FBS quarterback, was unable to gain any forward momentum, however, resulting in a turnover.
“Talking to (assistant head coach for defense Gene Chizik) before the game — he was talking to us and he was saying, ‘We can’t come back in here after the game and say we didn't stop (Shrader),’" said Gray. "We knew we had to stop him. So I’m glad that we went out there, executed, and were able to contain him.”
From there, the North Carolina offense gained steam, scoring three touchdowns in a row for an 24-0 lead. Its second drive saw the first reception of junior wide receiver Devontez ‘Tez’ Walker as a Tar Heel. Walker entered the game in the eighth minute, his first time playing this season after being ruled eligible by the NCAA on Thursday.
The drive almost ended on a punt from Kiernan at the UNC 39-yard line, but the ball was batted out of the air by defensive lineman Denis Jaquez Jr., and immediately recovered by Kiernan, who rushed for 17-yards and a first down to keep possession with the Tar Heels.
Maye was then able to move the ball down the field to score the first touchdown of the game, with just over one minute remaining in the first quarter. The UNC defense was once again able to shut down the Orange, forcing a fourth down in just one minute and 33 seconds to regain possession for the start of the second quarter. North Carolina continued its offensive momentum, getting the ball down the field in nine plays, capped off by a 23-yard touchdown reception from McCollum.
