Drake Maye leads Tar Heels past Panthers with three touchdowns
by Bo Marchionte
Published September 24, 2023, 12:45 AM
Pittsburgh, PA – The effects of Tropical Storm Ophelia brought moderate rain on the field at Acrisure Stadium Saturday night. Ponchos and rain gear were the proper attire as No. 17 North Carolina remained undefeated with the 41-24 win over Pitt.
“Really proud of our guys for coming to Pittsburgh and winning,” Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown said after 278th win. “I have tremendous respect for Pat Narduzzi, and he is one of the best defensive coaches in the business. His teams play hard.”
The loss placed Pitt at 1-3 and 0-1 in conference play. The last time the Panthers started out was 2017 when the team finished 5-7 in conjunction with Pat Narduzzi’s only losing season in his nine-year tenure as head coach of the Panthers.
The ACC has six schools standing at 4-0 and three teams standing at 2-0 in the conference. Meanwhile, North Carolina remains unbeaten and wins their first ACC game of the season in convincing fashion. The Tar Heels matched five other ACC schools (Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, and Syracuse) with four wins and zero losses.
The hype surrounding the game was the presence of Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye. Considered one of the top prospects available in next year’s NFL Draft, brought plenty of awareness to everyone in the stadium.
The Panthers came out of the gate red hot. Scoring on their first two possessions. They took the opening drive 13 plays for 78 yards to paydirt as running back Rodney Hammond Jr. scampered in from seven yards out to put Pitt ahead early 7-0. North Carolina duplicated Pitt’s offense driving 75 yards on 10 plays and tied the game on Omarion Hampton’s three-yard touchdown run.
With zero punts in the first quarter, Panthers quarterback Phil Jurkovec hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew for 30 yards that ended on the goal line and ended the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter the lights at Acrisure Stadium flickered in celebration as the Panthers put another touchdown on the scoreboard. Senior Daniel Carter scored the sixth rushing touchdown of his career with a one-yard touchdown.
Leading 14-7, the Panthers forced the first punt of the game on North Carolina’s second drive after it resulted in a three and out. North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye was sacked leaving the Tar Heels with negative four yards on the drive.
However, North Caroline would strike on their next drive. Maye would deliver a forty yard pass off a flea flicker play by the Tar Heels. The play also brought a yellow flag on Pitt’s Dayon Hayes for roughing the passer penalty. Half the distance to the goal line put North Carolina at the Pittsburgh five-yard line. Four plays later, Maye would rush off the left side of the ball for the score on fourth and one.
North Caroline put another touchdown on the board with Maye on the bench after junior defensive back Alijah Huzzie returned a Panthers punt 52-yards for the score. It marked the Tar Heels first lead of the game 21-14 midway through the second quarter.
Maye began to warm up as the Panthers began to get worn down. North Carolina started connecting on punches which Pitt couldn’t counter back. Before half-time Maye rolled to his left and threw a seven-yard touchdown pass with his left arm. Maye baited the defender as close to him as possible before releasing the Patrick Mahomes-ish pass play. By the way Maye throws right.
“It was unbelievable,” Mack Brown said of Maye’s left-handed touchdown pass. “It may be the best play I’ve ever seen in college football. I looked up at the jumbotron. I told him to win the game and it will be No. 1 on Sports Center.”
The play calling that led to his eventual injury was bizarre. The last sequence of plays for Pittsburgh before the half, sent different signals on what they were trying to accomplish. The drive started with one minute left in the second quarter. The first Jurkovec pass went for six yards, but Pitt didn’t rush to get back to the line of scrimmage.
The second play was an incomplete pass, making it second down and four. Jurkovec rushed left on the next play and was knocked out of the game. Back-up Christian Veilleux would replace Jurkovec and have little success moving the football. Going 7-for-18 along with two interceptions for 85-yards left the Panthers with little chance of crawling their way back into the game.
On the first play of the third quarter, Maye would open it up with a 52-yard pass putting the ball on the Pitt 20-yard line. Another rushing touchdown by Maye and the Tar Heels were in control 35-17. Pitt would be hampered by their starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec who was ruled out with an undisclosed injury.
“When you go back and study football,” Mack Brown said. “We talk about the middle ten. It’s important to lead at half-time and probably a no brainer. The scoring before and when you get the ball like we did to start the third quarter. You can get a ten or 14-point swing. I think we got a 17-point swing. That just changes the whole game.”
Tar Heels kicker Noah Burnette added a couple field goals in the second half as North Carolina built a 41-24 lead. Pittsburgh’s talented true freshman Kenny Johnson kept the Panthers in the game with a 100-yard kickoff return. It would be Pitts final score of the evening as North Carolina would focus on controlling the clock.
Maye would finish the game going 22-for-30 passing for 296 yards and one touchdown (left-handed). He added 30-yards rushing on the ground on ten carries with two touchdowns. The 4-0 start for North Carolina hasn’t happened since 1997.
“I think Coach Brown is preaching that heading into the bye week,” Maye said post-game about remaining unbeaten. “We’re 4-0 and got some big ACC games coming up and we got a chance to do them at home. It’s a big deal protecting our house and looking forward to it.”
Meanwhile, the Panthers will look to regroup and refocus in a dismal start to the season.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
