By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Drake Maye finally got one of the playmaking wide receivers he came into the season expecting and took full advantage.
After being banged up and catching only one pass in the first two games, Georgia Tech transfer Nate McCollum caught 15 passes for a career-high 165 yards to ignite No. 20 North Carolina’s 31–13 victory Saturday at Kenan Stadium over Minnesota.
Big plays on defense against the Gophers (2–1) are also a huge reason the Tar Heels will enter ACC play 3–0. They had multiple interceptions for the first time since doing it two seasons ago against Wake Forest and stopped the Gophers on nine of 12 third downs.
Playing the slot, McCollum was the target of all five Maye throws on the opening drive. He caught four catches for 65 yards, including a nice catch on an underthrown pass for a 46-yard touchdown play.
“He became Josh Downs for us today,” UNC coach Mack Brown said of McCollum. “He was the go-to guy. Now, Pittsburgh is going to start putting too much on him, and somebody else will have to step up.”
“A lot of people say that, but I just think I’m my own player,” said McCollum, who praised Maye. “He definitely makes my job easier. He is a leader and has the ability to take control of the whole
offense. He’s super-humble, and it’s a blessing to play with somebody like that.”
It got better after that big opening drive as Carolina moved on with the unfortunate reality that the second playmaking receiver Maye expected to target, Tez Walker, won’t play this season.
“Obviously, I’m just trying to throw to the open guy, and Nate got open a lot tonight,” Maye said. “He is a heck of a player and is going to get open. He’s got that same kind of twist that Josh had the past few years.”
It was a productive day for Maye with his second career 400-yard passing game, except for a pair of second-quarter interceptions. He was 29 of 40 for 414 yards and two touchdowns and a 165.9 passer rating. He also had 448 yards last season at Wake Forest.
“I’ve never seen anybody do it better than Drake,” Brown said. “We’ve had some great quarterbacks, but Drake has a knack of finding the open player, and he’ll do that next week.”
The potent passing game was essential, considering that UNC could get little going on the ground.
“Sometimes it might be that player’s game, but you never know,” McCollum said. “Next week, it could be the running backs’ game. To me, you just play hard every play and do what you’re supposed to do, and things will come your way.”
After averaging 5.8 yards per carry in the first two games, the Tar Heels could muster only 2.9 against the Gophers.
“Didn’t run like we wanted to early, but we did late,” Brown said. “I am very happy for our guys. Today was a hard game against a tough and physical team. We knew they would come in and try to run the ball and keep the ball, but we ended up having the ball for 33 minutes to their 27. In their previous two games, teams were averaging 50 plays a game against them and we ended up having 77 plays to their 61. The way we controlled the game is a credit to how our defense played tonight.”
Junior UNC linebacker Power Echols, who led the Tar Heels with seven tackles, snagged a tipped pass for his third career interception to end the Gophers’ promising first drive at the UNC 16.
“We felt that as long as we communicated and continued to play to the level we knew they wouldn’t be able to score on us,” Echols said. “Tonight felt different; it felt like we all came together and collectively stopped them.”
A long pass to wide-open fifth-year tight end Kamari Morales went for 55 yards at the start of the second quarter, setting up Omarion Hampton’s one-yard touchdown run that made it 14–0.
Maye was looking for McCollum when Minnesota’s Jack Henderson stepped in front of him and intercepted the pass. Starting at the UNC 16, the Gophers had to settle for a 23-yard Dragan Kesich field goal seven plays later. Junior star position player Alijah Huzzie broke up a third-and-goal pass in the end zone.
A 39-yard pass to J.J. Jones keyed a late first-half drive that Bryson Nesbit capped with a 19-yard touchdown reception.
Fifth-year safety Gio Biggers’ pass interference penalty extended a 75-yard Minnesota drive that produced a two-yard Darius Taylor touchdown run with 30 seconds left in the first half. A 45-yard Kesich field goal on the first drive of the second half trimmed UNC’s lead to 21–13.
UNC fifth-year cornerback Armani Chapman stuffed a potential tying scoring drive with an interception in the end zone, the third of his career, late in the third quarter.
“This is a special team,” Chapman said. “I tell them all the time that this team shouldn’t take anything for granted. Being around guys like Cedric Gray and Drake Maye allows you to go out there with supreme confidence. I feel like this team is special.”
Maye connected for 38 yards with sophomore wide receiver Gavin Blackwell on the ensuing drive that produced a 42-yard field goal by junior Noah Burnette.
Fifth-year running back British Brooks scored on a one-yard touchdown run with five minutes left for his sixth career score but his first since 2021.
NOTES — Carolina goes on the road at 8 p.m. Saturday for its ACC opener against Pittsburgh (ACC Network). The Panthers (1–2) won 45–7 win over Wofford, lost 27–21 loss to Cincinnati and fell 17–6 Saturday night at West Virginia. … The Tar Heels have started 3–0 for the sixth time under Brown, the third such season since his return as head coach in 2019. … Carolina is 7–1 in games when Maye passes for over 300 yards. … Maye is the only UNC QB to start a season completing 20 or more passes in three straight games. … In the last seven games, Maye has as many interceptions as touchdown passes (8). … Junior tight end John Copenhaver played without the heavy wrap around his right hand and wrist that he dealt with for the App State game. … Fifth-year place-kicker Ryan Coe, who missed the potential game-winning field-goal attempt at the end of regulation against App State, wasn’t in uniform after getting hurt (lower-body injury) early in the Mountaineers game. Burnette, who only kicked off in the first two games, handled PATs and field-goal attempts, and redshirt freshman Liam Boyd did kickoffs. … McCollum’s previous career high was 103 reception yards last season on Nov. 5 in Georgia Tech’s 28–27 win at Virginia Tech. … Chapman’s previous two interceptions were both against Virginia Tech, one each in the last two seasons. … It was the first meeting between UNC and Minnesota, which fell to 16–8 against ACC teams, including 4–3 on the road. Minnesota is the 124th school Carolina has played in football.
No. 20 UNC 31, Minnesota 13
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
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