Tag: drake Maye

Where UNC is projected in latest bowl game outlook

The UNC football program is projected to play in the Pinstripe Bowl following a 2-0 start to the 2022 season.

It has been just two weeks into the season and the UNC football program is getting some national attention for its play.

The Tar Heels are 2-0 after wins over Florida A&M and Appalachian State and were recently named a winner of the week one cycle.

Now, UNC is projected in the Pinstripe Bowl against Minnesota, according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network. McMurphy has the Tar Heels as a one-point favorite.

North Carolina has been led by quarterback Drake Maye who has been terrific in his first two starts. After throwing for five touchdowns in his first start, a program-record for a debut, he followed it up with 354 yards and four touchdowns against Appalachian State.

Maye has totaled 646 yards through the air and a team-high 131 yards on the ground. He has 10 touchdowns and zero turnovers.

The Tar Heels have a matchup with Georgia State this weekend and then host Notre Dame the following game — a big matchup.

Head coach Mack Brown touched on the potential of this team following its week one win.

UNC is looking to improve on a 6-7 record from last year and a blowout loss in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

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UNC football helmet stickers for Week 1 win at Appalachian State

We take a look at helmet stickers from the UNC football programs win over Appalachian State on Saturday.

With Saturday’s thrilling win over Appalachian State, the North Carolina Tar Heels are now 2-0 on the year and survived in a tough environment.

It’s been a good start to the season for the most part with the offense carrying the load through two games. UNC’s defense does need to step it up but there were times on Saturday which were encouraging for the future. However, there were the same mistakes over and over again from the unit too.

Before we turn the page on this week and focus on Georgia State, it’s time to give out helmet stickers for the game.

We give these out after each game of the year to a few players that we believe were the standouts for UNC. This week, there was a familiar face in the helmet stickers but we also welcome three newcomers too.

 

SKOL Search: Anthony Richardson captivates the nation

Welcome back to our SKOL Search series! To kick off the season and 2023 NFL draft coverage, here are the top performances from week one

Welcome to SKOL Search 2023: a series dedicated to who the Minnesota Vikings could draft in the NFL draft.

Throughout the course of last season, we brought you scouting reports, mock drafts and different scenarios under this banner and will continue that this season with an expanded format.

This year, the banner of SKOL Search will cast a much wider net. Every week, there will be a roundup-style breakdown of major prospect performances, scouting reports throughout the season, mock draft roundups and much more.

After week one, the quarterbacks were the ones that stole the show.

Tar Heels survive wild one at Appalachian State

Mack Brown and the UNC football program escaped Boone with a crazy win over Appalachian State.

Everyone just take a deep breath.

The North Carolina Tar Heels escaped on Saturday with a 63-61 win over Appalachian State to move to 2-0 on the year. And I emphasize survival.

After falling behind 21-7 and seeing the Mountaineers score on their first three possessions of the game, UNC’s defense locked on and got some crucial stops while the offense led by [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] found the end zone. The Tar Heels took a 28-21 lead at halftime. UNC then outscored App. State 13-0 in the third quarter and were seemingly in control.

But the fourth quarter had different ideas.

The two teams combined to score 62 points in the fourth quarter with a wild back and forth in the final minutes. App State tied the game late but UNC answered with a touchdown pass from Drake Maye to DJ Jones for 42 yards.

The Mountaineers answered back with a quick score of their own to make it 56-55 with 30 seconds left. App State failed on the two-point conversion and were forced to onside kick it. From there, UNC recovered as Bryson Nesbit returned it 43 yards for the touchdown and a 63-55 lead with 28 seconds left.

That lead should be safe, right? Wrong.

The Mountaineers got a long kickoff return and then scored a few plays later on a Chase Brice touchdown pass. But UNC was able to stop Brice on the two-point conversion to seal the win.

The two teams combined to score five touchdowns in the final four minutes including three in the final 31 seconds of the game. It was a tough one but UNC came out victorious.

Maye finished the game 24 of 36 for 352 yards, 4 passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

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Tar Heels score 21 straight to take halftime lead

The North Carolina Tar Heels battle back to score 21 unanswered points and take the lead at the half over Appalachian State.

The North Carolina Tar Heels were down early but fought back to snag the 28-21 lead heading into the locker room.

UNC and Appalachian State offenses have been on fire, with both defense scrambling for answers. After finding themselves down 21-7, allowing three straight scoring drives, North Carolina’s offense took off with red-shirt freshman wide receiver [autotag]Kobe Paysour[/autotag] on the receiving end of a 14-yard touchdown.

Then on the next drive, UNC’s defense caught a significant break after Appalachian kicker Michael Hughes missed a 51-yard field goal. North Carolina answered the missed kick with a 21-yard rushing touchdown by freshman [autotag]George Pettaway[/autotag].

The defense for UNC made a significant stop on the next drive forcing ASU to punt for the first time in the half. North Carolina then marched down the field and ended the half with quarterback [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] throwing his third touchdown pass to tight end [autotag]Bryson Nesbit[/autotag].

A game that looked sour early ends the first half looking sweet for UNC.

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ACC analyst believes UNC could turn Coastal division ‘upside down’

UNC quarterback Drake Maye is fresh off a historic debut but can he turn the ACC Coastal Division around?

Drake Maye’s performance in his first game as starting quarterback for the North Carolina Tar Heels was an impressive one. He set a new program record for most touchdown passes thrown in a debut game and led UNC to a win over FAMU.

While it wasn’t top D-1 talent, there was some promise in Maye’s game and some across the country are starting to see that. Already Maye has earned recognition from Athlon Sports and 247Sports earlier this week but longtime ACC writer Brett Friedlander believes Maye is good enough to impact the always wacky ACC Coastal Division.

In his piece for Saturday Road, Friedlander writes on Maye’s play in the first half where he scrambles and takes off for a run. Maye was flipped upside down on the play, much to the dismay of head coach Mack Brown. But it could be a sign of things to come according to Friedlander:

He failed to stick the landing and found himself laying upside down on the turf, a posture that is somehow appropriate. Because if he continues to put up numbers even close to the kind he did against FAMU on Saturday, the latest Maye to wear Carolina blue could potentially turn the ACC’s Coastal Division race completely upside down.

It’s only one game and the rest of the ACC begins action this weekend with UNC taking on a tough App. State team on the road. But if Maye is really good and can lead this offense, then why not?

Stay tuned.

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Analyst doesn’t think UNC ‘took much of a step back’ at QB with Drake Maye

One analyst doesn’t think UNC football will take ‘much of a step back’ at QB with Drake Maye this season.

The UNC football program is off to a 1-0 start in the 2022 season and a lot of that has to do with the play of quarterback [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] in the opener.

Maye, who was making his first career start last weekend, threw for a UNC program-record five touchdowns leading the Tar Heels to a 56-24 win over Florida A&M.

Taking over for Sam Howell isn’t going to be easy for Maye, and despite ‘one of the best debuts’ that Mack Brown has seen at quarterback, there will surely be some growing pains along the way.

However, Josh Pete of Late Kick Live and Late Kick Pod, says the Tar Heels won’t take much of a step back at quarterback this season with Maye under center.

Maye came to UNC as a four-star prospect. He had originally committed to Alabama, but then decided to flip his pledge to North Carolina and continue in the family tradition — his dad Mark Maye played QB for the Tar Heels and brother Luke Maye for the UNC basketball program.

The Tar Heels are looking to bounce back from a 6-7 season in 2021 after being ranked pre-season top-10 to begin the year.

Their next game is Saturday against Appalachian State on the road.

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UNC football names players of the game in win over FAMU

The North Carolina Tar Heels football program announces their three players of the game win over Florida A&M.

After North Carolina’s victory over Florida A&M, the football program announced their players of the game.

The Tar Heels dominated FAMU 56-24 despite a slow start to the game, putting on an offensive clinic in the process. Quarterback Drake Maye was named offensive player of the game, with Power Echols getting defensive player and Obi Egbuna earning special teams player of the game.

Maye’s historic night clearly indicates why the freshman received the honors, as he threw five touchdown passes in his first career start. He also played mistake-free football, throwing zero interceptions and rushing for 55 yards without a fumble.

When it came to the defense, it could have gone to multiple players. However, none was as consistent as linebacker Power Echols. The Sophomore led both teams in total tackles with 10, including a sack and two tackles for loss.

Lastly, Egbuna earned special teams player of the game after helping contain FAMU special teams attack. UNC fans expected the senior defensive back to show impact as he was one of the three named team captains for week zero, and he did not disappoint.

This game was an ideal season start for these three Heels, and a repeated performance can help them get through Appalachian State on Saturday.

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UNC cracks top 30 of ESPN FPI ranking

The North Carolina Tar Heels crack ESPN’s FPI top 30 and will look to climb the ranks with a win over Appalachian State come Saturday.

Through one week of the 2022 college football season, the North Carolina Tar Heels have moved up in the latest ESPN football power index rankings.

Now ranked 30th, UNC is working its way into the top 25, and their 56-24 win over Florida A&M will help that effort. However, FAMU was without 25 players, and some could say giving up 24 points was just too many for the lopsided rosters.

This season the UNC football program came in with a different off-season tune, not placing in the top 25 versus their 10th preseason ranking last year. The low ranking could be credited to the 6-7 record in 2021 and the departure of quarterback Sam Howell.

For UNC to crack that top 25, they will need to win games against teams on their level, starting with Appalachian State this Saturday. A win not only offers North Carolina a chance to crack ESPNS’ top 25 FPI rankings, but they also can end their seven-game losing streak on the road.

The excellent news is that UNC quarterback [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] looks like a star in the making. The bad news is that defensive struggles were fully displayed in the season opener, showing the same bad qualities as before. If UNC wants to leap into that top 25 and stay, their defense will have to stay on pace with the offense for a more well-rounded team.

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Drake Maye tops the list of debuts for quarterbacks by Athlon Sports

UNC football quarterback Drake Maye earned some national recognition after his debut in Week 0.

Week 0 gave us a taste of college football as a full slate of games approaches this weekend for Week 1. Among those games that were played on Saturday was UNC opening up the year at home by beating Florida A&M.

And in that performance, we witnessed the arrival of quarterback [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] for the Tar Heels. Maye set a new program record by throwing five touchdown passes, the most in a debut for UNC. But he also caught the attention of the national media, too.

Athlon Sports ranked Maye No. 1 as the best debuts for quarterbacks in Week 0 among the teams that played. Here is what they said about Maye:

High expectations surrounded Maye as a top-100 recruit but filling the void left behind by Sam Howell was no easy assignment. The North Carolina native gets high marks for his debut in Chapel Hill, as he guided the Tar Heels to an average of 7.8 yards per play in a 56-28 win over FCS Florida A&M. Maye was in command of the offense (29 of 37 for 294 yards and five scores) and added 55 yards on the ground. The redshirt freshman is the first player in program history to throw five touchdowns in a season opener.

It’s only one game but the prospects of Maye being really good are out there and he showed that on Saturday.

Now, the trick for Maye is to be consistent and keep this play up all season long. If he does, UNC is in good hands moving forward.

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