UNC-NC State Postgame Notes

November 18, 2006 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Nov. 18, 2006

NORTH CAROLINA POSTGAME NOTES
NORTH CAROLINA VS. NC STATE

• Carolina's win Saturday was its third straight over NC State and its 11th in the last 14 meetings. John Bunting is 4-2 in six years against the Wolfpack. The nine points were the fewest scored by NC State against Carolina since a 17-9 UNC win in 2001.

• The Tar Heels are now 34-16-2 at home and 26-15-1 at Kenan Stadium against NC State.

• The Tar Heels snapped a seven-game losing streak Saturday and avoided its first eight-game skid since losing 10 straight in 1989.

• Carolina held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time since a 7-5 win over Virginia in 2005. The Tar Heels have allowed 16 points in their last two games.

• Carolina was 6 for 13 on third down conversions and limited NC State's offense to just two conversions in 12 third down opportunities.

• Carolina's defense had a season-high four sacks for 31 yards, including one by Melik Brown on the 4th-and-7 play in the final quarter that caused a fumble at the NC State 2-yard line. Defensive end Brian Rackley picked up the fumble and returned it two yards for a touchdown.

• The fumble return for a score was the first TD by a Tar Heel defensive lineman since Julius Peppers returned an interception 27 yards at Duke in 2000.

• Junior place-kicker Connor Barth connected on a season-best three field goals, including a career-long 54-yard make in the third quarter to improve to 9-for-9 on field goal attempts this season. Barth's three-field goal effort was the fifth of his career and first since an overtime loss to Maryland in 2005.

• Barth's 54-yarder matched the second-longest kick in school history, as Kenny Miller also made a 54-yard kick against Florida State in 1985. Dan Orner holds the school record with a 55-yard kick at Syracuse in 2002. Two of Barth's three makes of 50-yards or more have come against NC State.

• Joe Dailey completed just eight passes, but he threw for 137 yards, an average of 17.1 yards per completion. Five different receivers had at least one catch for 19 yards or longer.

• Carolina dominated the first quarter, out-gaining NC State 147-8 and picking up 11 first downs to none for the Wolfpack. The Tar Heels' defense posted three consecutive scoreless quarters (the third and fourth against Georgia Tech and the first against NC State).

• Over the last three quarters of today's game, NC State had 21 first downs and the Tar Heels had just six. Carolina did not have a first down nor did it attempt a pass and had just two yards of offense in the fourth quarter, but won the quarter, 7-3.

• Carolina led 10-6 at halftime. It was UNC's first lead at the half since the Furman game in week three and the first in an ACC game all year.

• Senior running back Ronnie McGill rushed for 101 yards for his third 100-yard effort of the season and the seventh of his career. McGill, who opened the game with 85 yards and a touchdown on 13 first-quarter carries, now has 758 yards this season and 2,361 for his UNC career to rank 10th all-time. McGill's first-quarter TD was his seventh rushing score of the season and the 24th of his career.

• Senior wideout Jesse Holley caught a pass for the 29th consecutive game, matching Clemson's Chansi Stuckey for the longest active streak in the ACC. Stuckey and the Tigers were off Saturday.

• Carolina intercepted three passes in today's win. The Tar Heels came into the game with just two interceptions in their first 10 games. This marked the first time UNC intercepted three passes in a game since the win over Duke in 2005. Kareen Taylor and Quinton Person had the picks Saturday to double UNC's total on the season.

• Kareen Taylor picked off two passes today, giving him three for the season and six in his career. It was the first multi-interception game by a Tar Heel since Trimane Goddard had two at Miami in 2005. Person now has two career interceptions.

• Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Tate made two catches for 38 yards in the first quarter for a career high in receiving yards on just two grabs. His first catch, a 26-yarder, was a career-long reception. Tate entered the game with just three catches on the season and none since the Oct. 7 loss at Miami.

• Junior tailback Barrington Edwards caught three passes for a career-best 36 receiving yards, including a season-best 19-yard catch.

• Carolina was out-gained in total offense by NC State, 341 to 260. That's the second time this year the Tar Heels have won a game in which they were out-gained by the opponents (Furman 521 to 446).