Tag: drake Maye

UNC QB Drake Maye added to Manning Award Watch List

Drake Maye was one of 12 players to be added to the Manning Award Watch List on Friday.

North Carolina quarterback [autotag]Drake Maye [/autotag]is once again being recognized for his play this season.

In his first year starting, Maye has been fantastic for UNC. He’s helped lead the Tar Heels to a 6-1 overall record and a 3-0 record in Atlantic Coast Conference play. And now, the national audience is starting to recognize his play.

On Friday, the Manning Award presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl added Maye to the midseason watch list. Maye is one of 12 additions to make the watch list which is presented annually to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States.

Maye’s 326.1 passing yards per game this year ranks third in the nation and his 24 passing touchdowns are second.

The award will name finalists on December 1, and a winner will be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.

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Pitt linebacker: ‘We are going to hit Drake Maye hard’

Pitt linebacker Tylar Wiltz may have provided some bulletin board material for the UNC football team and quarterback Drake Maye on Saturday.

The UNC football program returns from the bye week and faces a showdown against the Pitt Panthers on Saturday night in Chapel Hill. UNC is 3-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play while Pitt is off to a sluggish start at 1-2.

A win for UNC pretty much ends Pitt’s chances at winning the coastal division and gets the Tar Heels to 4-0. It’s safe to say this is a huge game for both teams.

One big factor in this game will be Drake Maye against the Pitt defense. And ahead of the game, a Pitt linebacker may have provided some bulletin board material for the Tar Heels.

Linebacker Tylar Wiltz spoke to the media ahead of the game and potentially revealed part of the game plan for the Panthers. Here is what Wiltz said via The Trib Live:

“We’re athletic, just like them. We work hard, just like them,” he said. “We’re going to hit (Maye) hard just like we hit Malik (Louisville’s Cunningham) and, if he doesn’t get up, that’s not our problem. We’re going to do what we do as a defense.

Those are some words.

If I’m UNC’s offensive line and I hear that, I take it personally. The quarterback needs to be protected and Maye is probably the single biggest key to victory for the Tar Heels.

Let’s hope Maye and this offense take the comments to heart and come out rolling over the Panthers on Saturday night.

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Drake Maye named player to watch in College Football Playoff race

UNC football quarterback Drake Maye was listed as one of the most important players for the College Football Playoff race.

The UNC football program controls its own destiny as we get set for Week 9 of the college football season. With a 3-0 record in the ACC, the Tar Heels have put themselves in a position to win the Coastal Division and compete for a conference title.

While Mack Brown and his team won’t focus on the rankings or standings just yet, the Tar Heels are a team that could make some noise in November.

And a big player in doing that will be quarterback Drake Maye. The quarterback is off to a hot start this season, his first year starting and he could make an impact in the College Football Playoff race. At least that’s that ESPN thinks.

On Monday, ESPN released its list of the 25 most important players in the College Football Playoff race and Maye cracked the list under the section of “potential spoilers”. Here is what ESPN had to say about Maye’s role:

22. QB Drake Maye, North Carolina. Results have broken perfectly for the Tar Heels, who have a 71% chance of winning the ACC Coastal, per SP+. They would almost certainly meet Clemson (98.8% favorite in the Atlantic) in the ACC championship game, and if passing is one of the keys to taking down the Tigers — Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman threw for 337 yards and six TDs in an overtime loss to Clemson — Maye could be up to the task. He’s fifth in Total QBR, ahead of Bama’s Bryce Young and USC’s Caleb Williams, among others, and he’s second in the nation with 24 touchdown passes in just seven games.

It’s a long shot for the Tar Heels to reach the College Football Playoff as there would have to be absolute chaos. But a spoiler? Heck, why not.

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Drake Maye leads the Heels in narrow 38-35 win over Duke

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ offense steps up in a big win over the Duke Blue Devils, bringing home the victory bell and moving to 6-1 on the season.

The North Carolina Tar Heels escaped a road scare on Saturday night at Duke, rallying late in the fourth quarter to get a big 38-31 win. The win moves UNC to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in ACC play, an early edge in the coastal division race.

UNC started the game with the ball and did quick work, putting three on the board in just 1:42 seconds. Duke answered back on the next drive with running back Jordan Waters finding the end-zone, capping off a 75-yard drive. North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye got UNC back in the lead with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kamari Morales.

UNC’s defense had some significant moments in this game, a big one coming on Duke’s next drive, where they forced the Blue Devils to a turnover on downs. After that, North Carolina would get their bell rung, with the offense punting then fumbling on back-to-back drives as Duke matched it with touchdowns.

Before Duke could go into the half with a 21-10 lead, Maye threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this time finding running back Caleb Hood with 13 seconds left in the second quarter.

The third quarter was all UNC. Running back Elijah Green got things going for North Carolina, rushing for a touchdown to give them the 24-21 lead over Duke. UNC’s defense forced Duke into another punt, leading to Greens’ second rushing touchdown of the game.

Now up 31-21, North Carolina had a shot to add more points after another defensive stop. However, Noah Burnette missed the 52-yard field goal try.

A game that felt out of reach crept back into nervous territory, with Duke capitalizing on the missed kick with a touchdown to bring the score 31-28, UNC lead. Duke followed up that touchdown with another one after a UNC punt, putting the Blue Devils ahead 35-31.

The nightmare continued for UNC, this time with Maye fumbling. After killing 5:23 seconds off the clock, Duke felt North Carolina’s misfortunes with a missed field goal of their own.

The game came down to a final UNC drive. Maye led the Tar Heels to a game-winning touchdown, finding wide receiver Antione Green with 16 seconds left. Maye finished with 28 of 38 pass completions, 380 passing yards and three touchdowns.

This marked Mack Browns 12th straight win against the Blue Devils.

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WATCH: Drake Maye throws game-winning touchdown pass as UNC beats Duke

UNC football quarterback Drake Maye throws a game-winning touchdown to wide receiver Antoine Green to beat Duke.

The victory bell is staying in Chapel Hill for the fifth-straight year thanks to a late touchdown that delivered a big win for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

[autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] found Antoine Green with 16 seconds left on third down for a go-ahead touchdown in the end zone to stun the Blue Devils’ faithful on Saturday night in Durham. After Duke missed a field goal up four late, Maye marched the Tar Heels down the field in just a few plays and capped it off with a nice throw to Green in the end zone for the score.

Watch as Maye hits Green for the go-ahead score:

The play came just a few minutes after Maye found Josh Downs for a crucial fourth-down conversion to keep the drive alive for the Tar Heels.

Things looked bleak for UNC as they led 31-21 at the start of the fourth quarter and had the ball at the Duke 35. But a failed flea-flicker, a sack and a missed field goal gave the ball back to Duke as they rallied off 14-straight to take the late lead.

But Maye and the Tar Heels never gave up and the legend of the freshman quarterback continues to grow.

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UNC QB Drake Maye has been added to the Maxwell Award Watch List

UNC football quarterback Drake Maye has been added to the Maxwell Award Watch list for midseason.

UNC football quarterback [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] is starting to pick up more and more national recognition for his play so far this season. And on Wednesday, he found himself added to an award watch list.

The Maxwell Award announced on Wednesday that Maye has been added to the watch list for the award, which is presented annually to the best player in college football. Maye was left off the preseason watch list for the award while teammate Josh Downs made the cut.

The quarterback has been fantastic for the Tar Heels all season long, throwing for 21 touchdowns and rushing for 3 more. He has just 3 interceptions on the year.

Joining Maye on the midseason watch list are fellow ACC players D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson) and Garrett Shrader (Syracuse), and Pittsburgh running back Israel Abanikanda.

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Drake Maye receiving national Heisman attention from Joel Klatt

FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt gives UNC football quarterback Drake Maye some more national Heisman love after Week 6.

UNC football fans know just how good quarterback Drake Maye is through the first five games of the season. But now, the quarterback is starting to gain some national attention as well.

FOX Sports college football reporter Joel Klatt broke down the Heisman race as it stands after Week 6. There’s a clear frontrunner with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud taking that role, after that it’s a good race with a lot of good names in the running. And that includes Drake Maye.

Klat listed Maye in that next group of in the running along with the likes of Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, and Hendon Hooker among others:

Maye continues to deliver good performances for UNC week after week and it’s nice to see the recognition showing. He did throw two interceptions against Miami but still had a big game in the win.

As the year goes on, UNC is going to need to rely on Maye and the offense to put up points and win some games. If he does that, we should see him continue to get more love in the Heisman race.

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Drake Maye, DeAndre Boykins earn ACC honors

UNC football quarterback Drake Maye and defensive back DeAndre Boykins earn player of the week honors for the win over Miami.

Saturday’s big win over Miami has the UNC football program at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels are in good position to make a run in the coastal division and set up a showdown with Duke on Saturday night in Durham.

However, before we fully dive into the Duke matchup a pair of UNC football players earned some honors for the win over Miami.

Quarterback Drake Maye was named the ACC Rookie of the Week while DeAndre Boykins was named the Defensive Back of the Week.

Maye threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns while completing 19 of his 28 attempts in the game. While he did throw two interceptions, Maye was sharp for the Tar Heels all game long. It’s the fourth Rookie of the Week honor for Maye.

Defensively for UNC, Boykins helped lead the way with four tackles, a sack and the game-sealing interception of Tyler Van Dyke to help the Tar Heels win the game.

Van Dyke was named the ACC Quarterback of the Week for his efforts in the loss to UNC.

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UNC has statement drive late in win over Miami

Drake Maye and the UNC football offense had a statement drive in the win over Miami on Saturday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels found a way to go into Miami and get a big win to move to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But it wasn’t easy.

After taking a 21-7 lead with just under 2 minutes left in the first half, Miami clawed back and kept the game within one score for most of the way. And when UNC needed a drive to kill the clock and put points on the board, they got one.

Drake Maye led an 18-play, 81-yard drive that took 8:21 off the clock in the fourth quarter, ending in a Noah Burnette 19-yard field goal to give UNC a two-score lead at 27-17. They held on to win the game 27-24 and that drive taking up that much time was a big reason why they were able to come out ahead.

On the drive, UNC converted on a few third downs led by Maye who hit receivers and kept plays alive with his feet there. He took it into his own hands and it paid off despite only getting the field goal and getting inside the Miami five-yard line.

In other words, it was a statement that UNC can get it done on the road and should be considered a legit contender in the coastal division.

And this team is still getting better.

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Twitter reacts to Patrick Mahomes-esque throw by Drake Maye

Twitter reacts to a Patrick Mahomes-like throw to Josh Downs for a touchdown.

Through the first five weeks of the season, UNC football quarterback Drake Maye has impressed not only Tar Heels’ fans but the national media as well.

With UNC facing Miami in a big ACC coastal division showdown, Maye is bringing his A-game early on. He has two touchdown passes in the first half and has been on the money with his throws.

That includes an impressive touchdown pass to Josh Downs as he was getting hit, floating it up there for his receiver to grab and then make a play. It was a Patrick Mahomes-esque throw per the announcers:

https://twitter.com/UNCFootball/status/1578860636762783745

Twitter agreed as well as they reacted right away to the score that put UNC up 21-7 in the first half.