Tar Heels outlast Golden Gophers on road and snap losing streak
North Carolina Coach Mack Brown gives a farewell to the crowd after a 19-17 victory over Minnesota Thursday August 29, 2024 at Huntington Bank Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
MINNEAPOLIS — North Carolina invaded Huntington Bank Stadium Thursday night, and escaped with a 19-17 victory over Minnesota, but it wasn’t easy by any means.
It was Coach Mack Brown’s second-straight win over the Golden Gophers, and he appreciates that the Tar Heels fought through adversity. After all, there was an hour weather delay, a hostile crowd and an injury to his starting quarterback in the second half.
Not to mention the game was a defensive slugfest in rainy conditions, and featured three lead changes in the fourth quarter. Coach P.J. Fleck had his defense ready to play, and Minnesota set the tone early on. However, veteran kicker Noah Burnette delivered in the clutch, with four field goals in the second half, including the game winner from 45-yards out.
The 50,805 fans in attendance fell silent at that moment. Everything eventually came down to a last second field goal attempt by Golden Gopher kicker Dragan Kesich, but he missed and the Tar Heels stormed the field with excitement. Brown thought it was a classic way to end a thrilling football game.
“We haven’t won games where one of the phases didn’t play well, and we found a way to win this game, so that’s what’s important, it’s all about winning,” Brown said. “I told P.J. after the game that this is what College Football should be about; a bunch of great kids playing as hard as they can for three-plus hours, and it comes down to a last kick.”
Brown started Max Johnson at quarterback over Conner Harrell, but North Carolina couldn’t do much on offense in the first half. As a matter of fact, the game was scoreless after the first quarter.
The teams had to adjust to the wet field though, and the Tar Heels drew first blood after Johnson led the offense on a nine-play, 80-yard drive in the second quarter. Minnesota scored 14 unanswered points, and Brown’s team found themselves down by a touchdown at halftime. Still, he remained confident in Johnson behind center.
“We felt in general that the offense was uptight in the first half, and Minnesota is a good defense, we knew that, we knew this would be a line of scrimmage game,” he said. “We were having trouble protecting, so we adjusted some things at halftime, and gave him (Johnson) some better opportunities, and I thought that Max settled down, and had more confidence in that third quarter.”
Johnson got knocked out of the game with an injury towards the end of the third quarter, and Harrell replaced him. Harrell played the entire fourth quarter, and led the Tar Heels on two scoring drives. He only completed two of his four passes, but didn’t take no sacks. His 32-yard completion to wideout J.J. Jones with under four minutes left in the fourth quarter, put the Tar Heels in position to kick the go-ahead field goal.
It’s mind-boggling that North Carolina’s offense ran 64 plays for 252 total yards, and still pulled out a win. The Golden Gophers did their best to contain All-ACC running back Omarion Hampton, but he still put on a show. Hampton was a workhorse, and carried the ball 30 times for 129 yards, plus he caught five passes out of the backfield.
Brown was also impressed by the tenacity of his defense. Minnesota finished with a mere 244 yards of total offense, and didn’t score a touchdown in the second half.
Defensive back Jakeen Harris recorded a team-high, 10 tackles. Linebacker Power Echols added seven stops. Defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie had a monster performance, with six tackles, including three for loss and three sacks. Kaimon Rucker and Amare Campbell also put the quarterback to the turf.
Brown was so thankful for Burnette’s leg power and accuracy. He made all four of his attempts, including a 52-yarder. Now North Carolina (1-0) has a lot of momentum after taking down a Big Ten team on the road. The win also ended a three-game losing skid for the Tar Heels.
Brown doesn’t know much about the status of Johnson’s injury. The gunslinger went to the hospital after he left the game, and was with his family. The Hall of Fame Coach was glad that Harrell stepped up to the plate when his number was called, and displayed some bright moments.
“Conner had two drives to win the game, the play that he made where it looked like he was going to run on the option and stopped, then threw the ball downfield was a game-winning play,” the 73-year old said. “That’s who he is, that’s what he can do, and Conner never pouted about not start starting, he was all in.”
North Carolina (1-0) will host Charlotte next week, and Brown wants to keep the positive energy going. He’s going to enjoy this victory, the rest of his birthday week and can’t wait to see his players back in practice correcting all of their mistakes.
