Yesterday was the type of game UNC quarterback Drake Maye had been waiting to enjoy.
A week after failing to throw a single touchdown against App State, Maye exploded for 414 yards and two touchdowns during yesterday’s 31-13 triumph over Minnesota.
What made Maye’s showing all that more impressive was the fact it came a Golden Gophers defense that, coming in, allowed just 92.5 passing yards per game through its first two games.
Adding onto Maye’s already impressive day – his 414-yard outing put him in elite UNC quarterback company. Along with Sam Howell, Mitch Trubisky, T.J. Yates and Marquise Williams, Maye is now one of five quarterbacks in school history with multiple 400-yard passing games (career-high 448 against Wake Forest on Saturday, Nov. 12).
Maye’s first touchdown pass came from the deep ball variety, as he slung a 46-yarder to Georgia Tech transfer Nate McCollum. Maye and McCollum had a strong connection going throughout the game, as McCollum caught 15 of Maye’s 29 completions for 165 yards.
Drake Maye to Nate McCollum TD @UNCFootball pic.twitter.com/7tGEU33Tof
— Tar Heel Tapes (@TarHeelTapes) September 16, 2023
Before the season began, Maye was a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. After a sub-300 passing yard, 2-interception performance against South Carolina and a touchdown-less outing against App State, those dreams pretty much left the window.
With Maye’s 2023 breakout game against the Golden Gophers, which included his second-highest passing yardage total in his college career, he’s right back in the thick of the race for college football’s most prestigious individual trophy.
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