Howell Throws Four TDs; Propels Tar Heels to Victory over Miami

CHAPEL HILL, NC – Sam Howell threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Tar Heels defeated the Hurricanes 45-42 in shootout fashion Saturday.

Miami had put themselves in position to tie or win the game after driving the ball down to the North Carolina 16-yard line in the final minute, but freshman linebacker Cedric Gray intercepted Miami Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s pass off a tip by senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel with six seconds remaining that sealed the victory.

Howell was 17 for 26 for 154 yards with one interception while also accumulating 98 yards on the ground on 17 carries for the Heels.

Howell’s physicality and toughness really showed in his running game as well after consistently making plays with his feet, making defenders miss, and running through contact, taking sometimes at least four defenders to bring him down.

Senior Running Back Ty Chandler ran for two touchdowns for the Tar Heels collecting 104 yards on 18 carries. Sophomore Wide Receiver Josh Downs led the way in the receiving game for the Heels tallying 11 receptions for  96 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman Running Back Jaylan Knighton led the way for the Hurricanes racking up 165 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns and catching one more in the loss. The Hurricanes nearly erased an 18 point deficit in the second half but costly penalties and turnovers down the stretch were ultimately too much to overcome.

With defensive communication being a key focus for the Tar Heels this week, the Heels showed improvement in this category and look to keep building off of that. “I felt like the communication got a lot better, but now we have to continue working on our technique so we don’t have as many penalties,” Gemmel said in his postgame video conference.

After a vital win, the Tar Heels improve to 4-3 on the season and 3-3 in conference play and will have a bye week before traveling to Southbend to take on Notre Dame on Oct. 30 at 7:30 PM.