Source: Ryan M. Kelly / Getty
Michael Carter and Javonte Williams combined for 543 yards and five touchdowns to help push No. 17 North Carolina past No 10 Miami 62-26 on Saturday night, ended the ACC regular season for both teams.
A stunned crowd of 12,092 at Hard Rock Stadium watched the Hurricanes surrender a school record 778 yards of total offense to the Tar Heels, mostly on the ground with a 10.1 yards per carry average. Neither team came into the game competing for an ACC championship, but a possible Orange Bowl berth was very much alive for the winner.
Miami took a 3-0 lead on their first possession and held it for the first 7:06 of the game. From that point on, it was all North Carolina with a scoring assault of 34 unanswered points in the first half. The Canes stopped the bleeding with a 2-yard touchdown pass from D’Eriq King to Mike Harley, to trail 34-10 at halftime.
UNC added a touchdown trifecta from quarterback Sam Howell in the second half. The one-time Heisman hopeful etched his name in the ACC record book as one of the only quarterbacks to pass for a touchdown, run for one, and be on the receiving end of another in a game. Howell went 14-of-19 for 223 yards along with the three scores. A majority of those yards came from Dyami Brown, who had four catches for 167 yards (41.8 Avg.) without a touchdown grab.
Williams set UNC’s single-season record for rushing TD’s with 22, surpassing Don McCauley’s mark of 21 set in 1970. The Wallace, N.C. junior also surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. He added 236 yards against Miami’s defense that allowed opponents an average of 145.2 rushing yards per game coming into Saturday. Williams ends the regular season with 1,140 rushing yards (5th, FBS).
A big day for Carter as well who finished with a career-high 308 yards and two touchdowns. The other half of the Tar Heel rushing tandem slightly outdid Williams with 1,245 yards (3rd, FBS), but had half the amount of touchdowns with a total of eleven this season.
UP NEXT
As things currently stand, North Carolina (8-3) waits to accept a bowl bid which will likely be in the New Year’s Six Orange Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021. Miami (8-2) will also wait for a bowl yet to be determined.
