The North Carolina Tar Heels fell victim to a colossal beatdown on Saturday at Keenan Stadium, as the school suffered a 35-7 rout courtesy of the NC State football team.
Brissett showed off his legs in State’s opening drive, as the West Palm Beach, Florida native rushed for 45 yards in just three attempts, which included a 17-yard touchdown scurry to take the early 7-0 lead over the Heels.
The remainder of the first quarter was controlled by both defenses, as each drive came up short due to efforts made by both defensive lines. Quarterback Marquise Williams attacked the Wolfpack secondary by completing a 24-yard back-shoulder throw to sophomore wide receiver Bug Howard on the first play of the second quarter.
The Tar Heels, however, failed to capitalize on their first red zone opportunity after shooting wide right on a 35-yard field goal attempt.
NC State took advantage of Carolina’s costly mistake by organizing a seven play, 80-yard touchdown drive, which was marked by a 58-yard dash down the sideline by junior running back Shadrach Thornton, and capped off by a two-yard bullet to wide open sophomore tight end David Grinnage for the touchdown.
Midway through the second quarter, Brissett recognized a wide gap at the line of scrimmage and ran the ball up the gut and past the Tar Heel secondary for a 44-yard gain. Thornton followed with a five-yard push into the end zone to give the Pack an unanswered 21-point advantage.
Carolina seemed to gain some momentum on the ensuing drive as costly penalties and spotty defense up front allowed the Heels to advance to the red zone. Red shirt junior cornerback Juston Burris glued himself to his man, as Williams’ pass towards the end zone was picked off at the five to seal the shutout half.
Brissett led the team in rushing with 120 yards at the halfway mark, which was paired with Thornton’s 107.
In UNC’s first drive of the third quarter, Marquise Williams left the game after enduring a rock solid hit by senior defensive tackle T.Y McGill in an 11-yard loss. Carolina’s struggles lingered following their quarterback’s injury.
The ensuing Wolfpack drive was all Jacoby, who once again showed off his pairing of speed and aggressiveness, rushing 44 yards on two keepers. Brissett capped off the drive with another short, wide open throw, hitting grad student fullback Tyler Purvis.
The onslaught continued to the end of the third quarter as a 20-yard laser to freshman wideout Bo Hines and a 17-yard rush by sophomore running back Matt Dayes put the Pack back into the red zone. After a rare stop made by the Tar Heels defense, a roughing the kicker penalty proved costly, as the Pack scored yet again off another short pass to Purvis, boosting their lead to 35-0.
Carolina avoided the shutout in the final minutes of the game after freshman quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw a short pass to junior wide receiver Quinshad Davis, who ran in for the score.
Brissett was 9 for 11, passing for 66 yards and rushing for 172 in 14 carries. Thornton rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries. The Wolfpack offense accrued 388 total rushing yards.
NC State looks to receive a bowl game bid after the team’s dominating win, ending their regular season with a 7-5 record (3-5 ACC).
