UM DEFENSE DOMINATES
Chazz Surratt and returned the interception 83 yards for a third defensive touchdown, this one punctuating the dominant performance.
Those three turnoversturned-touchdowns tied a school record and marked the first time since Sept. 23, 2000, against West Virginia that the Hurricanes’ defense scored three times in a game. And they weren’t Miami’s only takeaways on this night.
For a good chunk of the game, the Hurricanes pressured Surratt and fellow quarterback Nathan Elliott, who started the game for the Tar Heels but was taken out after some early struggles.
Miami ultimately forced six turnovers and scored 24 points off those takeaways, an interception of Surratt by Jhavonte Dean just before the half leading to a 28-yard field goal from Bubba Baxa that gave Miami a 33-10 lead heading into the locker room.
The defensive dominance only made the night easier for first-time starter Perry and the rest of the Hurricanes offense, which also played well in what turned out to be some limited opportunities, with North Carolina running 75 plays to Miami’s 46.
Perry, who saw the first extensive playing time of his college career less than a week ago in Miami’s 31-17 win over FIU, connected on his first five pass attempts and led the Hurricanes to scoring drives on two of their first three possessions.
On Miami’s first scoring drive, the Hurricanes (4-1, 1-0) turned to their running-back tandem of Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas to move the ball down the field.
Homer, who had his first 100-yard effort of the season against FIU, broke free on Miami’s second drive for a 56-yard run, his longest rush of the season. And one play later, Dallas — who had the first 100-yard game of his Hurricanes career two weeks ago in Toledo — scored on a 4-yard run.
Dallas finished with a career-high 114 yards while Homer finished with 88 yards.
On North Carolina’s ensuing possession, linebacker Shaq Quarterman sacked Surratt for a 15-yard loss. He jarred the ball loose, Garvin picked it up and scored the first of Miami’s three defensive touchdowns to give the Hurricanes an 11-point lead.
The Tar Heels (1-3, 0-1) pulled within 14-10 later in the first quarter when Surratt scored on a 17-yard run, but that was as close as North Carolina would get after the Hurricanes began making some defensive adjustments.
Jackson, who had scored once earlier in his career in a 2016 win at Georgia Tech, intercepted Surratt’s pass with nine minutes left to push Miami’s lead to 24-10 and the rout was on for a Hurricanes team that made it clear this week it hadn’t forgotten how the struggling Tar Heels gave them a scare last season in Chapel Hill.
Perry did make some freshman mistakes during his first start, turning the ball over on a fumble and an interception. He finished 8-of-12 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown — a 5-yarder to Darrell Langham in the second quarter.
And now, with North Carolina behind them, the Hurricanes will turn their focus to their annual showdown with rival Florida State.
The Seminoles are set to visit Hard Rock on Oct. 6.