UNC Football Moments After – UNC vs. Minnesota 31-13 Win 

UNC Tar Heels Football Team Cruise to Its Third Victory Putting Away Minnesota

By Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The North Carolina football team faced off against Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. UNC couldn’t have asked for a better start than the first drives on offense and defense. Carolina opened the game with a scoring drive and the defense followed it up with an interception in the red zone. After being subpar in the passing game in the first two weeks of the season, the Heels came out early and got it going with their passing attack.

Minnesota made sure the Tar Heels didn’t beat them with their run game so UNC’s offense had to adjust. Drake Maye threw for 287 yards in the first half alone, which is more yards than he threw for in the first two games of the season. Maye also had 10 completions of 12 or more yards. 

After barely playing in the first two games due to injury, UNC wide receiver Nate Mccollum was featured heavily in UNC’s offense today. Nate McCollum had 11 catches for 130 yards in the first half and was a major boost for the North Carolina offense that wasn’t explosive enough in the passing game in the first two games.

Defensively, the Tar Heels stepped up in a major way early in the game. In the second quarter, Drake Maye threw two uncharacteristic interceptions, which gave Minnesota short fields. The defense stepped up and held them to just three points on those two possessions. The North Carolina offense found tremendous success throwing down the field and was able to put together two touchdown drives, which would lead to their 21-10 lead at halftime.  

In the second half, Minnesota was held to just three points. The UNC defense did a great job defending the pass holding the Gophers to just 133 yards in the air. The Heel’s defense also did an outstanding job of getting off the field on third down as Minnesota was just 3 of 12 on third downs.

On offense, the Tar Heels continued to get Nate McCollum involved and he finished the game with 15 catches for 165 yards and one touchdown. Drake Maye threw for the second-most yards of his career with 414 in this game and led the Tar Heels to their most success in the air this season. North Carolina was unstoppable in passing the ball down the field and the Heels’ defense completely shut down the Gophers’ offense in the second half, which led to a 31-13 win over Minnesota. 

UNC Game Stats 

UNC Total Offense- 519 yards 

Rushing 105 Passing 414 

UNC Passing: Drake Maye 29-40-414 yards 2TDs 2 Ints 

UNC Rushing: Omarion Hampton 13-46 yards 1TD, British Brooks 11-25 yards 1TD 

UNC Receiving: Nate McCollum 15-165 yards 1TD, Kamari Morales 2-64 yards, JJ Jones 3-64 yards, Bryson Nesbit 4-46 yards 1TD 

Minnesota Total Offense-  303 yards

Minnesota Passing: Athan Kaliakmanis 11-29-133 yards 1INT 

Minnesota Rushing: Darius Taylor 22-138 yards 1TD 

Minnesota Receiving: Corey Crooms Jr. 4-46 yards 

UNC Bright Spots 

Drake Maye threw for 414 yards and two touchdowns. 

Nate McCollum had 15 catches for 165 yards and 1TD. 

Kamari Morales had 2 catches for 64 yards 

JJ Jones had 3 catches for 64 yards 

Bryson Nesbit had 4 catches for 46 yards and one touchdown. 

Omarion Hampton had 13 carries for 46 yards and one touchdown. 

Power Echols led the team in tackles with 9 and had one interception. 

Armani Chatman had one interception 

Needs Work 

Drake Maye needs to take what the defense gives him and not try to do too much because it leads to turnovers and bad mistakes, which can be costly for the team. 

The UNC defensive line must be better. After the South Carolina game where the defense had 9 sacks and 16 tackles for loss, the defense has struggled to get pressure on the quarterback resulting in sacks and not enough plays being made in the backfield. The interior defensive linemen are having the most issues and are getting dominated at the line of scrimmage, which is totally unacceptable. 

Final Observations 

For the second straight season, the Tar Heels start the football season 3-0. Each game the Heels have found different ways to win, which should bode well for them for the remainder of the season. For the first time this season, Drake Maye and the offense were explosive in the passing game.

Nate McCollum was a huge addition to the offense and had an outstanding game with 15 catches for 165 yards. The tight ends still need to be used more in short-down situations in the passing game because it will take pressure off Drake Maye and give him easier completions.

The defense has stepped up this season so far and has been much better overall as they have made up for some of the mistakes the offense has made this year. This is something that could not have been said in previous seasons, which is a great thing for this team. The UNC defense still has some issues with being consistent in putting pressure on the quarterback and making plays in the backfield from game to game but have made major improvements as a unit this season compared to last season. Next up is Pittsburgh next Saturday, September 23 at 8:00 P.M. on ACC Network.