North Carolina Postgame Notes vs. Maryland, Nov. 3, 2007
November 3, 2007 | Football
Nov. 3, 2007
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• Carolina's 16-13 win Saturday was its first over Maryland since a 13-10 victory in 2000 at Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels had dropped five of their last six meetings with the Terrapins entering today.
• UNC's victory was its third of the season, matching its win total of 2006. After a 1-4 start, the Tar Heels are 2-2 over the last four games with conference victories over Miami and Maryland over this stretch.
• Saturday's 16-13 UNC victory marked the fourth home game (in five chances) decided by six points or less this year. The Tar Heels have had six of their nine games this season decided by less than a touchdown.
• With eight receptions for 88 yards Saturday, sophomore wide receiver Hakeem Nicks moved into third place on the Tar Heels' single-season reception list with 56 catches on the year. The Charlotte product has eight or more catches in four of the last five games. Nicks also caught his fourth touchdown of the season and the eighth of his career in the third quarter.
• Nicks has at least one catch in 10 straight contests and has caught a ball in 19 of his 21 career games. He has at least five catches in eight of the last 10 games dating to the 2006 season finale. Nicks is the only Tar Heel with a catch in all nine games this season.
• Freshman QB T.J. Yates threw his 12th touchdown pass (30 yards to Nicks) and is now just five TD passes behind Darian Durant for the Carolina freshman record. Yates was 16 for 26 for 149 yards to extend his school rookie records to 164 completions and 2,056 yards. He became just the seventh freshman in ACC history to pass for over 2,000 yards in a season and is currently now fifth in league history among rookies with his 2,056 passing yards.
• Senior kicker Connor Barth connected on three first half field goals (23, 45, 45 yards) and now has made 48 in his career to rank only four behind Josh McGee (52 from 1996-99) for the school record. Barth is 13 for 14 this season and has made 24 of his last 25 field goal attempts.
• With 10 points Saturday, Barth now has 241 career points to move past Charlie Justice and into fourth place on the Tar Heels' career scoring list.
• Redshirt freshman tailback Johnny White eclipsed his career high in rushing yards with 92 yards on the day and 67 yards in the first quarter. His previous best was 60 yards earlier this season against Virginia.
• Junior Brandon Tate continued his assault on the ACC's career kickoff return yardage record with 65 yards Saturday. He needs just 125 yards to pass Carolina's Eric Blount, who holds the mark with 2,313 yards. Tate now has 2,189 kickoff return yards over the last three years.
• Junior safety Trimane Goddard picked off his second pass of the season and first since the opening win over James Madison late in the first half to set up Connor Barth's third field goal. Carolina's ninth pick of the season marked Goddard's fifth career interception.
• Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Aleric Mullins, who made his second career start Saturday, recorded his first collegiate sack when he stopped Maryland QB Chris Turner for a one-yard loss in the first quarter.
• The Tar Heel defense opened strong and held Maryland to just three yards on nine plays in the first quarter. Carolina outgained the Terrapins, 99-3, and held an 11:02 to 3:58 edge in time of possession in the opening period. UNC limited Maryland to 302 yards, just missing out on holding its fourth opponent in the last five to under 300 yards. The Terps only managed 93 yards on the ground.
