North Carolina 28, Miami (FL) 24

1234T
UNC (3-1)0771428
MIA (2-2)1430724

Final

12:00 PM ET, September 27, 2008
Land Shark Stadium
MIAMI, FL

North Carolina rallies from 14-point deficit to shock Miami

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1618
Total Yards299309
Passing264174
Rushing35135
Penalties6-556-54
3rd Down Conversions6-138-16
4th Down Conversions1-20-0
Turnovers02
Possession26:2333:37
Air/Ground Leaders
North Carolina Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Sexton11/1924220
Tate1/11200
Miami (FL) Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Marve18/2713532
Harris4/63900
North Carolina Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Little143818
Houston51816
Miami (FL) Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Cooper19110031
Benjamin21107
North Carolina Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Nicks5133174
Tate362037
Miami (FL) Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Farquharson351129
Cooper329111
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERUNCMIA
TD11:02Kayne Farquharson 9 Yd Pass From Robert Marve (Matt Bosher Kick) 07
TD00:39Graig Cooper 11 Yd Pass From Robert Marve (Matt Bosher Kick) 014
SECOND QUARTERUNCMIA
TD12:49Greg Little 6 Yd Run (Jay Wooten Kick) 714
FG05:07Matt Bosher 34 Yd 717
THIRD QUARTERUNCMIA
TD09:38Ryan Houston 2 Yd Run (Jay Wooten Kick) 1417
FOURTH QUARTERUNCMIA
TD09:59Aldarius Johnson 4 Yd Pass From Robert Marve (Matt Bosher Kick) 1424
TD09:00Hakeem Nicks 74 Yd Pass From Cameron Sexton (Jay Wooten Kick) 2124
TD00:46Brooks Foster 14 Yd Pass From Cameron Sexton (Jay Wooten Kick) 2824
Associated Press

MIAMI -- Cameron Sexton threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brooks Foster with 46 seconds left, Trimane Goddard had two interceptions in the final minutes, and North Carolina rallied from an early 14-point deficit to beat Miami 28-24 on Saturday.

Rallying The Troops

After struggling in the first three quarters in place of injured starter T.J. Yates, UNC backup QB Cameron Sexton came up big to rally the Tar Heels in the fourth quarter against Miami.

Cameron Sexton
Saturday at Miami
1st 3 Qtrs 4th Qtr
Comp-Att 5-9 6-10
Pass yds 94 148
TD-Int 0-0 2-0

Sexton -- playing because North Carolina starter T.J. Yates will miss six weeks with a broken left ankle -- relieved starter Mike Paulus early and completed 11 of 19 passes for 242 yards, including two fourth-quarter scores.

He found Hakeem Nicks with a 74-yard pass with 9 minutes remaining, then coolly found Foster in the right corner of the end zone in the final minute to give North Carolina (3-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) its first lead of the day.

Miami had one more chance, getting the ball at its own 31. Robert Marve found Kayne Farquharson for a 29-yard gain that took the Hurricanes to the North Carolina 20 with 15 seconds remaining.

Marve nearly hooked up with Farquharson again on the final play of the game, but Goddard's second pick of the quarter sealed the Tar Heels' win. Farquharson had his hands on the ball in the end zone, yet Goddard was the one who wound up with possession.

Marve threw three touchdown passes for Miami (2-2, 0-1), and Graig Cooper rushed for 110 yards plus had a receiving TD for the Hurricanes, who lost to the Tar Heels for the second straight season.

A year ago, Miami almost pulled off a stunning comeback against North Carolina, nearly rallying from a 27-0 halftime deficit.

This time, the Tar Heels showed the Hurricanes how to pull one of those off.

Down 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter after Marve connected with Aldarius Johnson on a 4-yard touchdown pass, the Tar Heels went to work. Nicks caught the ball ahead of a diving Bruce Johnson for the first North Carolina touchdown of the final quarter, seeming to stun the Hurricanes a bit, and then Sexton delivered the perfect touch pass at the end.

It was a stirring turnaround, especially considering how the game started.

The Hurricanes needed only eight plays to go 89 yards -- with Cooper rushing three times for 60 of them -- on the opening drive, capped by Marve finding Farquharson with a 9-yard touchdown pass.

A special-teams blunder by the Tar Heels later in the opening quarter gave Miami a two-touchdown edge.

North Carolina punter Terrence Brown dropped a snap, fell on the ball at the Tar Heels 11, and the Hurricanes quickly capitalized. Marve lofted the ball to Cooper on a middle screen that resulted in an 11-yard TD for a 14-0 lead.

Miami made it look easy in the first 15 minutes, outgaining North Carolina 127-24, limiting the Tar Heels to minus-4 yards rushing and less than two yards per play.

Suddenly, everything that went right in the first quarter suddenly stopped for Miami.

Greg Little's 8-yard run early in the second quarter helped draw North Carolina within 17-7 at halftime, and Ryan Houston scored from 2 yards out midway through the third to draw the Tar Heels within 17-14.

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, September 27th
13 South Florida 41 Final
North Carolina State 10
Navy 24 Final
16 Wake Forest 17
Maryland 20 Final
20 Clemson 17
Virginia 3 Final
Duke 31
North Carolina 28 Final
Miami (FL) 24
Rhode Island 0 Final
Boston College 42
Colorado 21 Final
Florida State 39
Virginia Tech 35 Final
Nebraska 30