Coastal Division champion North Carolina concludes the
regular season Saturday, Nov. 28, in Raleigh vs. NC State. Kickoff is slated for
3:30 p.m. This is the first year since 2004 that this in-state rivalry has not
had started in the noon hour.
Carolina inched up a spot to No. 11 in both the Associated
Press and Coaches Top 25 Polls this week. It is the highest AP ranking for UNC
since finishing the 1997 season at No. 6. The Tar Heels have won 10 in a row
and are 10-1 overall and 7-0 in league play. A win on Saturday against NC State
(7-4 overall, 3-4 ACC) would mark just the fourth time in school history a UNC
team has won 11 games.
Last week in Blacksburg, Va., Carolina scored in overtime on
a 5-yard touchdown pass from Marquise Williams to Quinshad Davis to take a
30-27 victory and clinch the Coastal Division. The Tar Heels were leading by 14
points with less than five minutes before consecutive turnovers, which led to
scores, tied the game at 24. In overtime, Carolina forced a Hokie field goal on
the opening possession and then scored on its first drive in the extra period. NC
State beat Syracuse last week, 42-29, at Carter-Finley Stadium.
QUICK HITS
- Carolina's 10-game win streak is the third-longest current
streak in the country. - Carolina has scored in 22 of the last 23 quarters. UNC had
scored in 20 consecutive quarters until Virginia Tech held the Tar Heels
scoreless in the second quarter. - Marquise Williams is just the fifth quarterback in ACC
history with 2,000 career rushing yards. Williams ranks 12th in UNC history
with 2,243 yards. He is tied for fourth all-time with Kelvin Bryant at UNC with
32 rushing scores. - Williams has been responsible for a school-record 89 career
touchdowns, which ranks fourth in ACC history. Williams has rushed for 32
scores (UNC record for QB), passed for 54 and has three receiving TDs. Williams
is just 63 yards shy of Darian Durant’s school record for total offense. - Tailback Elijah Hood has 14 rushing touchdowns, which ranks
second in the league. He is third in the ACC with 96.3 rushing yards per game
and is the 27th 1,000-yard rusher in school history (1,060). - Carolina leads the ACC and ranks 10th in the country in
passes defended (52 pass breakups, 14 INTs). - Cornerback Des Lawrence leads the ACC in pass breakups (13),
and cornerback M.J. Stewart leads the ACC in passes defended per game (1.78 per
game, 12 PBUs, 4 INTs in nine games). - Eleven current Tar Heels have made 20-or-more career starts.
Quinshad Davis leads the way with 44, followed by OG Landon Turner (39), OT Jon
Heck (35), LB Jeff Schoettmer (35) and OG Caleb Peterson (34). - Carolina ranks 10th in the country in scoring offense (40.9)
and 21st in scoring defense (19.5). - Carolina is one of just 10 teams in the country averaging
more than 200 yards per game rushing (216.5) and 250 passing (273.9). - Preseason first-team All-America guard Landon Turner will
make his 40th career start Saturday against NC State. Turner has graded out at
90 percent or higher in nine of 11 games this season. - Last season, North Carolina made just six field goals and
none longer than 30 yards. This season, kicker Nick Weiler has made 17 of 19
attempts, including four from 46 yards-or-longer. - Senior wide receiver Quinshad Davis is the all-time leader
at UNC in receptions (192) and touchdowns (24) and is second in career
receiving yards with 2,448.
