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College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 41, Pittsburgh 24
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 23, 2023
Where: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 57°
Head Official: Stuart Mullins
Attendance: 48544

Drake Maye ran for two touchdowns and threw an unconventional pass for another touchdown as No. 17 North Carolina defeated host Pittsburgh 41-24 on Saturday night.

Maye normally throws right-handed but he added a left-handed toss while draped by a defender as the Tar Heels (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won in their first true road game of the season.

Alijah Huzzie had a first-half punt return for a touchdown and made a second-half interception for North Carolina, which benefited from the Panthers' three turnovers. The Tar Heels didn't commit a turnover and were charged with only three penalties.

Pittsburgh (1-3, 0-1) couldn't keep up despite a kickoff return for a touchdown by Kenny Johnson.

Maye completed 22 of 30 passes for 296 yards. Kicker Noah Burnette had third-quarter field goals from 43 and 48 yards.

Pittsburgh quarterbacks Phil Jurkovec and Christian Veilleux combined for 197 passing yards. Rodney Hammond Jr. gained 83 rushing yards on 14 carries.

The Tar Heels had plenty of highlights in building a 28-17 halftime lead.

After the teams traded touchdowns to make it 14-14, Huzzie's 52-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the Tar Heels their first lead with 7:23 remaining in the first half.

After Ben Sauls' 44-yard field goal for Pittsburgh, the Tar Heels extended their margin.

Under duress, Maye's left-handed touchdown pass to Kobe Paysour covered seven yards and came with one minute left in the first half.

North Carolina opened the second-half scoring with a 75-yard drive ending on Maye's 1-yard run to make it 35-17. After Burnette's first field goal, Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a score to draw the Panthers within 38-24, but Pitt would not score again.

Pitt used almost eight minutes on a game-opening touchdown drive capped by Hammond's 7-yard run.

That began a back-and-forth with the teams trading touchdowns. Omarion Hampton ran three yards for North Carolina's touchdown before Daniel Carter's 1-yard run for the Panthers.

Maye helped the Tar Heels tie it 14-14 on a fourth-and-1 touchdown run.

North Carolina lost in overtime in its last two visits to Pittsburgh but avoided drama this time.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
North Carolina   Pittsburgh
Omarion Hampton Player Rodney Hammond Jr.
18 Attempts 14
66 Yards 83
3.7 Avg Yards 5.9
1 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
North Carolina   Pittsburgh
J.J. Jones Player Konata Mumpfield
6 Receptions 8
117 Yards 90
19.5 Avg Yards 11.2
0 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
North Carolina 373 77 296 5 2 2 2.0 0
Pittsburgh 307 113 194 3 1 0 5.0 0