North Carolina Tar Heels: Beat #23 Pitt on Road

The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the #23 Pitt Panthers tonight to secure their seventh victory on the season. This seventh win makes the Tar Heels bowl eligible since one of the FCS wins does not count for eligibility. It is also likely that the Tar Heels will gain a poll ranking for the first time this year. The Heels were the only one loss power 5 team not in the polls as of last week.

The script was flipped somewhat for the Heels in this one as they normally had been the team with the comeback. This time they came out with the big first half lead that had to survive an attempt by the other team. Pitt proved better at this than Virginia, but still found themselves needing an onside kick at the end of the game. They did not get it.

X – Let Ryan Switzer play every game in Pennsylvania

Although this trip back for Switzer was not as exciting as Switzer’s last trip to Heinz Field as a freshman, he still had a big day for the Heels. His first mention was the play where Marquise Williams got facemasked, recovered, and then threw the ball deep to Switzer for a touchdown. Switzer ran under it and there was no safety help for Pitt.

In the fourth, Switzer keyed the final scoring drive of the Heels by catching a 26 yard pass. That field goal that followed pushed the game out of reach.

Y – Nate Peterman had to win the game for Pitt and didn’t

The quick start and first half margin took Pitt out their preferred style. Tennessee transfer Peterman had to take command and bring Pitt back. He found Tyler Boyd ten times, but most of the time he had to make plays without Boyd as an option. He turned in a game with 262 yards and a touchdown. This was the plan for the Heels, as Qadree Ollison stayed on the sidelines despite a 5.4 yards per carry average.