North Carolina Tops Pitt, 26-19
The North Carolina Tar Heels scored on each of its first 4 possessions en route to a 26-19 win vs Pitt at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
It didn’t take long for the Tar Heels to go to work but once they did, Pitt couldn’t stop them.
After the teams traded early field goals and Pitt punted on its second possession, North Carolina sophomore tailback Elijah Hood started the Tar Heels second drive with a 4 yard gain.
UNC Senior QB Marquise Williams looked poised and confident all night starting with a short run of 3 yards. He then found fellow senior WR Quinshad Davis for a 6 yard pass and then handed it back to Hood for 3 more yards.
That set up the first big play of the night. Williams eluded a very ineffective Pitt pass rush and threw a 71 yard TD strike to a wide-open junior WR Ryan Switzer. UNC led Pitt 10-3.
After the Panthers missed a field goal on its next series, Pitt QB Nate Peterman connected with sophomore tailback Chris James on a short 5 yard pass. Peterman then threw an 8 yard strike to junior WR Dontez Ford, who was subsequently stripped of the ball by Tar Heels redshirt sophomore safety Donnie Miles. The fumble was eventually recovered by UNC Defensive End Junior Gnonkond at the Pitt 38 yard line.
Williams went back onto the field and ran 6 yards to the Pitt 32. He then tossed an easy pitch and TD catch by UNC junior WR Mack Hollins who then waltzed into the end zone untouched. Just like that, North Carolina led Pitt 20-3.
After the teams traded field goals, Pitt tried to make it interesting in the 2nd quarter.
After a Peterman incompletion, James got things going with a 4 yard run. Peterman would add an 8 yard run of his own before connecting with senior Pitt Tight End JP Holtz on a 16 yard pass.
Pitt superstar junior WR Tyler Boyd then went into the wildcat and ran it 6 yards. James would tack on two more runs of 1 and 2 yards flanked by 10 yard run by Panther redshirt freshman Qadree Ollison.
Peterman then found Pitt redshirt freshman fullback George Ashton for 9 yards along the sideline. After missing James on a pass, Peterman decided to return to his main target Boyd with pretty plays of 12 and 13 yards.
This set up Ollison who punched it home from the 4 yard line. North Carolina still led Pitt though 23-13 in the 3rd quarter.
The teams then traded punts before UNC added another Nick Weiler field goal, this time from 32 yards out. Weiler finished the day a perfect 4 for 4 on field goal attempts. UNC led 26-13
Pitt tried to make the game respectable with a final 9 play 75 yard drive.
First, though, Peterman was sacked by Tar Heels senior Defensive End Jessie Rogers for a loss of 5 yards. But then he threw a perfect 33 yard pass to Ford to the North Carolina 47 yard line.
Peterman then threw a short 2 yard pass to James which was followed by a Panther illegal formation penalty and another incomplete pass on a Tar Heel pass interference play.
That set up Peterman’s QB keeper on the automatic first down right up the middle for 28 yards. He would then miss on his next 3 passes before North Carolina was called again on pass interference.
Peterman finally found redshirt sophomore WR Zach Challingsworth on a 6 yard pass and capped the drive off with another 6 yard TD pass to Pitt junior TE Scott Orndoff. Pitt pulled within 7 after junior placekicker Chris Blewitt missed the extra point.
Peterman would finish the night with 262 yards on 27 for 42 passing and 1 TD.
The Panthers attempted one last gasp on the ensuing kickoff but the on-sides kick was recovered by North Carolina to salt the victory 26-19 over Pitt.
The victory improved North Carolina’s record to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC while Pitt dropped to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the ACC.
The Tar Heels also improved to 7-3 all-time over Pitt.
Next up: Pitt vs Notre Dame, 12pm EST Noon – Sat 11/7 on ABC TV
