- Joined
- Feb 9, 2018
- Messages
- 3,076
After all the secrecy and hype surrounding the mystery of who Mark Richt would start at QB tonight, it ended up not really mattering too much at all.
On a night where “The Rock” was rocking in a blackout, it was N’Kosi Perry who got the nod, but he only needed 12 pass attempts to get his first career win. Instead, it was the defense that was the story of the game, as the Miami Hurricanes tied a school record by cashing in three defensive touchdowns off six UNC turnovers to lead a rout of the Tar Heels, 47-10.
In the freshman QB’s first ever start, the UM defense took control of the game to give the young gunslinger some breathing room. Both of UM’s starting defensive ends found paydirt in the first half: first, it was Jon Garvin scooping up a Shaq Quarterman strip sack deep in UNC territory and rumbling the next 9 yards to put Miami up 14-3.
Next, Joe Jackson recognized a screen attempt by UNC QB Chazz Surratt and sagged off his rush to make the INT; Jackson outran Surratt 42 yards the rest of the way for the TD. OLB Romeo Finley then made reservations for six and put the icing on the cake, reading Surratt’s eyes to step in front of a slant and take it 83 yards the other way, giving UM a commanding 40-10 lead early in the 4th quarter.
The Canes ended the game with a beautiful drive, going 11 plays for 61 yards featuring 10 runs from Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas, bleeding 7 mins and 26 seconds off the clock. On 3rd and goal from the one, senior FB Trayone Gray punched it in for the TD to get the game to the final score.
Miami’s middle linebackers had themselves a game in this one. Quarterman recorded 5 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, a PBU, and the aforementioned forced fumble before leaving the game with an ankle injury early in the third quarter; Richt mentioned postgame it was a sprain and not considered serious. There was no dropoff to backup Mike Smith though, as the redshirt senior stepped in and tallied 4 tackles and 2.5 TFL in relief.
The only UNC touchdown of the night actually came off a Miami error. Midway through the first quarter, a Gerald Willis unsportsmanlike penalty after UM had the Tar Heels stopped on third and 12 gave UNC new life, and they took advantage of the mistake. Three plays later, Surratt pulled it down and took off, making one defender miss and powering into the endzone for the 17 yard TD run, pulling the Tar Heels within 4.
It was all Miami from there though, as the Canes racked up 33 unanswered points to put away UNC for good. The UM offense was fueled by yet another dominant performance on the ground, as Miami posted over 200 rushing yards for the 4th straight game. After a slow start running the ball, Homer (14 carries, 88 yards) opened up the floodgates in the first quarter with a nice cutback run that saw the junior dash down the right sidelines to pick up 56 and put UM inside the Tar Heels’ 5. On the very next play, Dallas (11 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD) was dancing in the endzone for UM's first TD of the night.
Even though UM didn’t need Perry to win the game for them, the freshman played under control and managed the game well for the Canes. He finished 8-12 (67%) for 125 yards, 1 INT, and threw a 5 yard, quick slant TD to Darrell Langham in the second quarter. Perry also added 6 carries for 26 yards on the ground.
“I just had to keep my composure, but it was a great feeling knowing I was starting,” Perry said after the win.
Most Miami fans would share that sentiment, N’Kosi.
Game Notes
TEAM NOTES
**Miami scored touchdowns four different ways, via rushing, receiving, fumble return and interception return. Thursday’s performance marked the first time the Hurricanes have scored via those four ways since August 28, 2003 vs. Louisiana Tech.
**The win Thursday night was Miami’s 12th straight regular season home win dating back to October 15, 2016, the longest such streak for Miami since winning 26 straight from 1999 through 2003.
OFFENSIVE TEAM & INDIVIDUAL NOTES
**Starters: #5 QB N’Kosi Perry, #24 RB Travis Homer, #9 TE Brevin Jordan, #18 WR Lawrence Cager, #4 WR Jeff Thomas, #3 WR Mike Harley, #78 LT Tyree St. Louis, #50 LG Venzell Boulware, #74 C Tyler Gauthier, #62 RG Hayden Mahoney, #55 RT Navaughn Donaldson
**Miami’s 33 points were the second-most ever scored in a first half of an ACC game by the Hurricanes, coming one point short of the team’s record (34 at Wake Forest, Nov. 12, 2005).
**The 56-yard run by Homer was the second-longest rush of his career and the second-longest rush by any Hurricane all season.
**Dallas’ 100-yard performance was the second of his career and third by a Hurricane this season.
DEFENSIVE TEAM & INDIVIDUAL NOTES
**Starters: #97 DE Jon Garvin, #9 DT Gerald Willis III, #93 DL Pat Bethel, #99 DE Joe Jackson, #55 LB Shaq Quarterman, #56 Michael Pinckney, #53 LB Zach McCloud, #28 DB Michael Jackson, #5 DB Amari Carter, #22 DB Sheldrick Redwine, #2 DB Trajan Bandy
**UM’s defense scored its first touchdown of the season in the first half on a 9-yard fumble return by DL Jon Garvin. The fumble return by Garvin for a touchdown was Miami’s first since Michael Jackson recovered a fumble for a touchdown at Notre Dame on October 29, 2016.
**LB Shaq Quarterman led UM and set a career mark with 3.0 tackles for loss in the first half Thursday; it marked the sixth performance of 3.0 TFLs by a Hurricane this year.
**The last time Miami scored three defensive touchdowns in a game was Sept. 23, 2000 at West Virginia, when Howard Clark, Leonard Myers, and Phillip Buchanon all put points on the board for the Canes against the Mountaineers.
**After breaking out the Turnover Chain only 6 times through 4 games this season, the Canes matched that number against the Tar Heels, taking the ball away 6 times in the game.
**The Canes’ defense came into this game leading the country in tackles for loss and 3rd down defense and only further proved why tonight. UM held UNC to 2/13 on third downs and racked up 14 TFL in the outstanding effort.
On a night where “The Rock” was rocking in a blackout, it was N’Kosi Perry who got the nod, but he only needed 12 pass attempts to get his first career win. Instead, it was the defense that was the story of the game, as the Miami Hurricanes tied a school record by cashing in three defensive touchdowns off six UNC turnovers to lead a rout of the Tar Heels, 47-10.
In the freshman QB’s first ever start, the UM defense took control of the game to give the young gunslinger some breathing room. Both of UM’s starting defensive ends found paydirt in the first half: first, it was Jon Garvin scooping up a Shaq Quarterman strip sack deep in UNC territory and rumbling the next 9 yards to put Miami up 14-3.
Next, Joe Jackson recognized a screen attempt by UNC QB Chazz Surratt and sagged off his rush to make the INT; Jackson outran Surratt 42 yards the rest of the way for the TD. OLB Romeo Finley then made reservations for six and put the icing on the cake, reading Surratt’s eyes to step in front of a slant and take it 83 yards the other way, giving UM a commanding 40-10 lead early in the 4th quarter.
The Canes ended the game with a beautiful drive, going 11 plays for 61 yards featuring 10 runs from Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas, bleeding 7 mins and 26 seconds off the clock. On 3rd and goal from the one, senior FB Trayone Gray punched it in for the TD to get the game to the final score.
Miami’s middle linebackers had themselves a game in this one. Quarterman recorded 5 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, a PBU, and the aforementioned forced fumble before leaving the game with an ankle injury early in the third quarter; Richt mentioned postgame it was a sprain and not considered serious. There was no dropoff to backup Mike Smith though, as the redshirt senior stepped in and tallied 4 tackles and 2.5 TFL in relief.
The only UNC touchdown of the night actually came off a Miami error. Midway through the first quarter, a Gerald Willis unsportsmanlike penalty after UM had the Tar Heels stopped on third and 12 gave UNC new life, and they took advantage of the mistake. Three plays later, Surratt pulled it down and took off, making one defender miss and powering into the endzone for the 17 yard TD run, pulling the Tar Heels within 4.
It was all Miami from there though, as the Canes racked up 33 unanswered points to put away UNC for good. The UM offense was fueled by yet another dominant performance on the ground, as Miami posted over 200 rushing yards for the 4th straight game. After a slow start running the ball, Homer (14 carries, 88 yards) opened up the floodgates in the first quarter with a nice cutback run that saw the junior dash down the right sidelines to pick up 56 and put UM inside the Tar Heels’ 5. On the very next play, Dallas (11 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD) was dancing in the endzone for UM's first TD of the night.
Even though UM didn’t need Perry to win the game for them, the freshman played under control and managed the game well for the Canes. He finished 8-12 (67%) for 125 yards, 1 INT, and threw a 5 yard, quick slant TD to Darrell Langham in the second quarter. Perry also added 6 carries for 26 yards on the ground.
“I just had to keep my composure, but it was a great feeling knowing I was starting,” Perry said after the win.
Most Miami fans would share that sentiment, N’Kosi.
Game Notes
TEAM NOTES
**Miami scored touchdowns four different ways, via rushing, receiving, fumble return and interception return. Thursday’s performance marked the first time the Hurricanes have scored via those four ways since August 28, 2003 vs. Louisiana Tech.
**The win Thursday night was Miami’s 12th straight regular season home win dating back to October 15, 2016, the longest such streak for Miami since winning 26 straight from 1999 through 2003.
OFFENSIVE TEAM & INDIVIDUAL NOTES
**Starters: #5 QB N’Kosi Perry, #24 RB Travis Homer, #9 TE Brevin Jordan, #18 WR Lawrence Cager, #4 WR Jeff Thomas, #3 WR Mike Harley, #78 LT Tyree St. Louis, #50 LG Venzell Boulware, #74 C Tyler Gauthier, #62 RG Hayden Mahoney, #55 RT Navaughn Donaldson
**Miami’s 33 points were the second-most ever scored in a first half of an ACC game by the Hurricanes, coming one point short of the team’s record (34 at Wake Forest, Nov. 12, 2005).
**The 56-yard run by Homer was the second-longest rush of his career and the second-longest rush by any Hurricane all season.
**Dallas’ 100-yard performance was the second of his career and third by a Hurricane this season.
DEFENSIVE TEAM & INDIVIDUAL NOTES
**Starters: #97 DE Jon Garvin, #9 DT Gerald Willis III, #93 DL Pat Bethel, #99 DE Joe Jackson, #55 LB Shaq Quarterman, #56 Michael Pinckney, #53 LB Zach McCloud, #28 DB Michael Jackson, #5 DB Amari Carter, #22 DB Sheldrick Redwine, #2 DB Trajan Bandy
**UM’s defense scored its first touchdown of the season in the first half on a 9-yard fumble return by DL Jon Garvin. The fumble return by Garvin for a touchdown was Miami’s first since Michael Jackson recovered a fumble for a touchdown at Notre Dame on October 29, 2016.
**LB Shaq Quarterman led UM and set a career mark with 3.0 tackles for loss in the first half Thursday; it marked the sixth performance of 3.0 TFLs by a Hurricane this year.
**The last time Miami scored three defensive touchdowns in a game was Sept. 23, 2000 at West Virginia, when Howard Clark, Leonard Myers, and Phillip Buchanon all put points on the board for the Canes against the Mountaineers.
**After breaking out the Turnover Chain only 6 times through 4 games this season, the Canes matched that number against the Tar Heels, taking the ball away 6 times in the game.
**The Canes’ defense came into this game leading the country in tackles for loss and 3rd down defense and only further proved why tonight. UM held UNC to 2/13 on third downs and racked up 14 TFL in the outstanding effort.
