College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 62, Miami 26
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 12, 2020
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Temperature: 74°
Head Official: Jeff Flanagan
Attendance: 12092

Michael Carter and Javonte Williams combined for 544 rushing yards and five touchdowns Saturday, as the 17th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels beat 10th-ranked Miami every which way, amounting to a 62-26 victory over the host in an ACC game.

UNC (8-3, 7-3) produced 778 yards of total offense -- the most yards Miami has ever allowed.

Carter ran for 308 yards (12.8 average) and two touchdowns. Williams ran for 236 yards (10.3 average) and three touchdowns.

It was the most combined rushing yards by two teammates in FBS history. In addition, both running backs went over 1,000 yards for the season, and Williams broke the school record for single-season rushing TDs (22).

Meanwhile, Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell scored a hat trick, passing for a touchdown, running for a touchdown, and catching a touchdown pass on a trick play. He passed for 224 yards as North Carolina amassed 31 first downs.

UNC receiver Dyami Brown caught four passes for 167 yards.

Miami (8-2, 7-2) was embarrassed at home as its defense gave up seven scores in a row until Grayson Atkins missed a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter. That was Miami's only "stop" of the game as UNC did not punt and did not turn the ball over.

Emblematic of Miami's mishaps was a carry by Cam'Ron Harris during which he was hit by wide receiver Dee Wiggins, his teammate, who was running in motion down the line of scrimmage on the play.

Hurricanes quarterback D'Eriq King passed for 239 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 53 yards, but it wasn't nearly enough.

UNC led 21-3 after a dominant first quarter. After a 47-yard field goal by Jose Borregales gave Miami a 3-0 lead, Howell's 51-yard over-top pass to Brown set up UNC's first touchdown. Williams scored on a 2-yard run.

On UNC's second possession, Howell threw an apparent interception to DJ Ivey. But that pick was nullified by a penalty when Miami was flagged for having too many men on field. That led to Williams' one-yard run.

Then, after Miami's Donald Chaney was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-one, the next play was a 65-yard run by Carter. That made the score 21-3, and the rout was on.

By halftime, it was a blowout, with UNC on top, 34-10. UNC's big plays in the second quarter included Carter's 25-yard TD run and Howell's 87-yard pass to Brown, which led to Atkins' second field goal of the first half.

Miami ended a 34-0 UNC run by getting King's two-yard TD pass to Mike Harley with 10 seconds left in the first half.

Miami got just one point closer in the third quarter on King's 76-yard TD pass to Brevin Jordan and a two-point conversion toss to Wiggins, cutting UNC's lead to 41-18.

But, on the second play of the fourth quarter, UNC answered with a double-reverse, 1-yard pass from Rontavius Groves to Howell to put the game away.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
North Carolina   Miami
Michael Carter Player D'Eriq King
24 Attempts 11
308 Yards 53
12.8 Avg Yards 4.8
2 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Receiving
North Carolina   Miami
Dyami Brown Player Brevin Jordan
4 Receptions 6
167 Yards 140
41.8 Avg Yards 23.3
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
North Carolina 778 554 224 8 2 1 3.0 0
Miami 314 75 239 3 1 0 1.0 0