Sexton, Heels upend Hurricanes

Staff photo by Robert Willett

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MIAMI — Cameron Sexton hadn't taken a snap for North Carolina in over a year.

No problem. The redshirt junior led the Tar Heels on a game-winning drive, hooking up with Brooks Foster for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Tar Heels a 27-24 win. Couple with Trimane Goddard's game-saving interception, and the Tar Heels suddenly have two wins on the road.

The Hurricanes blitzed constantly on the final drive, but Sexton calmly handled the pressure. He rolled out of the pocket, evaded the Hurricanes and found Foster in the end zone.

The touchdown gave Carolina its first lead of the game.

With starting quarterback T.J. Yates sidelined for six weeks with a fractured left ankle, North Carolina turned to Sexton, Mike Paulus and even Brandon Tate. Paulus got the start, but by the second half, Sexton was the one making the offense move.

In the fourth, Sexton threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks, cutting Miami's lead 24-21.

With 6:21 left, safety Trimane Goddard grabbed an interception, giving the Tar Heels the ball just 43 yards from their own end zone. But on a third-and-9, Sexton was sacked, and Jay Wooten’s 53-yard field goal try went wide left.

Redshirt freshman Mike Paulus started the game, but on UNC’s third offensive possession, Sexton came in behind center. The 58-yard scoring drive included several completed passes by Sexton, another by wide receiver Brandon Tate, and a 6-yard touchdown score by running back Greg Little that cut UNC’s deficit to 14-7.

The momentum seemed to carry over to UNC’s defense until, on a fourth-and-5, a Tar Heel ran into Miami’s punter, giving the Hurricanes an automatic first down. UNC still held UM to a 35-yard field goal on the drive, but it was symptomatic of the bobbles the team had during the entire first half.

For example: on UNC’s second offense possession, a holding penalty turned a roughly-40-yard run by Shaun Draughn into a 7-yard gain, two consecutive false start penalties backed it up 10 more yards, and Paulus had to recover his own fumble.

Then, on a 4th-and-16, punter Terrence Brown couldn’t handle a snap that was slightly to his left, falling on the ball at the 11.

Three plays later, a Cooper catch gave Miami a 14-0 lead.

But with Sexton behind center, Carolina came out strong to start the second half. He completed a 38-yard pass to Tate to help set up Ryan Houston’s second career touchdown run; that cut UNC’s deficit to 17-14.

With 9:59 left in the fourth, Miami quarterback Robert Marve found Aldarius Johnson in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown pass. That gave Miami a 24-14 cushion.

But 59 yards later, on a third-and-10 from the 26, Sexton found Nicks for the longest passing play on Sexton’s career.

BRIEFLY: Tate has also broken the NCAA record for combined kickoff return (punts and kickoff) yardage, previously held by California’s Deltha O’Neal (3,455).