By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — On a night when Carolina struggled to find a rhythm on offense, sophomore running back Omarion Hampton gave Appalachian State a run for its money. Repeatedly.

In the finest rushing game since Michael Carter and Javonte Williams departed for the NFL, Hampton ran for 234 yards and three touchdowns, one in the first overtime, as No. 17 UNC held on for a 40–34 double-overtime victory over Appalachian State on Saturday night at Kenan Stadium.

It ended a six-game losing streak for UNC in overtime games and was the first multiple-overtime win in program history.

“It was a great football game, and I’m proud of our guys,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “We talk about finishing all the time. There were times we didn’t finish during the night, but we finished when it mattered in the end. That’s the first time we’ve won an overtime game since I’ve been here.”

Maye drove the Heels in the final minute of regulation, but fifth-year transfer kicker Ryan Coe was wide left on a 39-yard field goal attempt as regulation time expired after numerous delays that may have iced him.

“Our guys were really down, but I’m so proud of them; they picked themselves up and went right back to work,” Brown said of the team’s mood after the missed kick at the end of regulation.

Both teams got touchdowns in the first overtime, the Mountaineers on a seven-yard Nate Noel touchdown run and the Heels on Hampton’s 17-yard scoring run.

In the second OT, Maye ran 13 yards for a TD but was stopped short on his run for the pylon for a two-point conversion. UNC won the game when App State came up short on fourth down, as App State quarterback Joey Aguilar’s pass intended for Dashaun Davis was incomplete to end the game.

Starting because of a lower-body injury to fifth-year running back British Brooks, Hampton ripped off a 68-yard touchdown run in the first half to highlight his impressive game.

“Omarion is a really good player, and we’ve seen that type of performance coming,” Brown said. “Tonight, he ran the ball so well for the whole game, over 230 yards rushing and was the difference in the ball game.”

It was the most rushing yards by a Carolina running back since Carter ran for 309 against Miami in 2020 and the 13th-most in program history.

“The O-line was good all night, opening up holes,” the 6–0, 220-pound Hampton said. “So if they opened up the hole, I gotta hit ‘em. That’s my job. Just being more patient and being better with my vision.”

Maye passed for 208 yards on 21 of 30 passing on a night that the running game powered the Tar Heels’ offense but connected on a huge deep ball for an 85-yard fourth-quarter gain. Wide receiver Kobe Paysour had a career-high 73 receptions yards and wide receiver J.J. Jones collected 91.

“I think we’re kind of feeling like you go into a test you didn’t really study for and you end up pulling like a B out and getting by on the test,” Maye said. “So, that’s kind of the vibe, happy that we got out of there.”

What did Brown tell Maye after the game?

“I walked over and told him ‘you’re one of the best players I’ve ever seen.’ We had so many things go against us tonight and he never changes expression, he just keeps playing,” Brown said. “The run for the touchdown in overtime was unbelievable, he read the play and made a great fake. He had so many plays over the course of the game that came down to him just making plays. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen, and we’re really, really lucky to have him.”

After getting plenty of praise following the opening-game victory over South Carolina, UNC’s defense struggled to stop a Mountaineers team that trailed Gardner-Webb in the third quarter a week earlier. But after UNC took the lead in the fourth quarter, the defense got its first three-and-out of the game.

“Last year, we gave up 61 against these guys,” Brown said. “When you look at comparisons, absolutely we’re better. We’ve got to keep getting better.”

Linebacker Cedric Gray led the Tar Heels with 11 tackles, the 12th double-digt tackles game of his career. He said that the team just had to keep its poise after the missed field-goal attempt at the end of regulation.

“I think you never stay high or never stay too low until the clock hits zero; I think that’s the biggest thing for me,” Gray said. “As a defense, we knew it was a possibility that he could’ve missed that field-goal [attempt]. Unfortunately, that ended up happening. The last thing you want to do is just be complaining and worrying about it. You have to go play in overtime and if you want to win you’ve got to forget that and move on.”

UNC failed to gain a yard in the wildcat formation to end its first two drives. On the first drive, Hampton fell short on a fourth-and-1 at the App State 13. Caleb Hood couldn’t convert on the second drive on a third-and-1 run.

“A lot of things we can fix,” Brown said. “You usually don’t want win games when you don’t make a fourth and inches on their end to start the game. Early in the game, 14 points we lost there.”

Brown said his team will no longer go to the wildcat on short-yardage situations.

After missing a 47-yard first-quarter field-goal attempt, the Mountaineers’ Mike Hughes kicked a career-high 46-yarder with 11:10 left in the first half to give App State a 3–0 lead.

Thanks to an excellent cut and center Corey Gaynor’s good block, Hampton ripped through the left side of the line and sped 68 yards on the second play of the next drive to give UNC a 7–3 edge. It bettered his previous-longest career run of 58 at Georgia State last season.

Two UNC penalties extended first-half App State drives. The second one — defensive holding against cornerback Tayon Holloway — led to a 5-yard touchdown pass from Aguilar to tight end Eli Wilson to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive as App State regained the lead at 10–7.

Coe tied it on a 47-yard field goal with 3:05 left in the first half.

The Mountaineers quickly seized a seven-point lead, going 75 yards in six plays on the first drive of the second half. Aguilar lofted a 33-yard touchdown pass to Davis.

UNC responded with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie it. Maye completed a slick 10-yard shovel pass on a third-and-four and connected for 29 yards to Paysour before Caleb Hood ran five yards for his first touchdown since 2021.

Under pressure from senior linebacker Cedric Gray, Aguilar rushed a pass that senior safety Don Chapman intercepted to set up another Carolina drive at the App State 49. That produced a 31-yard Coe field goal and 20–17 UNC lead with 6:26 left in the third quarter.

App State retook the lead on Noel’s seven-yard touchdown run with 10:44 left in the game to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive.

A 57-yard Maye to Jones pass (the longest reception of Jones’ career) set up a 4-yard Hampton scoring run to put UNC up 27–24 in a four-play drive that took 85 seconds.

App State tied it with 1:22 left on Hughes’ 33-yard field goal.

NOTES — Carolina is home again next Saturday at 3:30 to face Minnesota (ESPN). The Gophers won their opener Aug. 31 at home 13–10 over Nebraska and beat Eastern Michigan 25–6 at home Saturday night. … With UNC fifth-year left guard Ed Montilus (lower-body injury) out,  Willie Lampkin started at left tackle, Diego Pounds at right tackle (his first career start) and William Barnes at right guard. … Tight end John Copenhaver had his right wrist and hand heavily taped. … Defensive back Will Hardy (hamstring issue) and wide receiver Nate McCollum (groin) played. … Tez Walker was an honorary game captain and drew loud cheers before the pregame coin toss. The Tar Heels had Walker’s No. 9 on a decal on their helmets … Carolina is 5–0 in home openers since Brown returned to Chapel Hill in 2019. … UNC leads the series with App State 3–1, with the Mountaineers winning 34–31 at Kenan Stadium in 2019. … The Mountaineers fell to 2–10 all-time as an FBS team against ranked teams after winning at No. 6 Texas A&M 17–14 last season.

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No. 17 UNC 40, App State 34, 2 OTs

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UNC schedule

Month/ date	Opponent/event	2023 record	UNC record in series
April
20	Spring game, 3 p.m.	—	—
August
29 (Thurs.)	at Minnesota	6–7	1–0
September
7	Charlotte	3–9	0–0
14	N.C. Central	9–3	0–0
21	James Madison	11–2	3–0
28	at Duke	8–5	65–40–4
October
5	Pittsburgh	3–9	12–5
12	Georgia Tech	7–6	22–33–3
26	at Virginia	3–9	66–58–4
November
2	at Florida State	13–1	3–17–1
16	Wake Forest	4–8	72–36–2
23	at Boston College	7–6	6–2
30	N.C. State	9–4	68–39–6

Photo via @UNCFootball