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UNC rips Rutgers
Yates is sharp, with two TD passes to Nicks, one to Tate
AP Photo
Wide receiver Brandon Tate of North Carolina outruns Jason McCourty of Rutgers for a second-quarter touchdown.
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Published: September 12, 2008
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - North Carolina used an alert defense and the passing of quarterback T.J. Yates to belt Rutgers 44-12 last night at Rutgers Stadium and stay unbeaten after two games.
UNC intercepted four passes and Yates fired three touchdown passes, two to Hakeem Nicks and the other to Brandon Tate, to break a long road losing streak. The win was UNC's first on the road outside of North Carolina since Oct. 5, 2002.
UNC had lost its last 20 road games outside of its home state.
Defense and Yates' passing helped UNC break open the game in the third quarter after building a 17-6 halftime lead. UNC scored three touchdowns in the first 10:09 of the period to take a 38-6 lead, with the second touchdown coming on the third interception.
Bruce Carter, a sophomore linebacker, made the interception at the UNC 34 and rumbled 66 yards for the touchdown and a 31-6 lead with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
UNC improved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2000 season. Rutgers fell to 0-2 with both losses at home.
UNC built its 17-6 halftime lead behind Yates' right arm and the defense's first two interceptions.
Yates completed nine of 15 passes in the first half for 151 yards and two touchdowns. His second scoring pass covered 69 yards and came at a most opportune time for UNC.
Rutgers had just kicked its second field goal by San Te Te, a redshirt freshman specialist from Conover and Hickory High School. UNC took over at its 31 after the kickoff and Yates connected with Tate on the first play.
Tate blew past cornerback Jason McCourty on the right side and caught Yates' pass at the Rutgers 32. McCourty made a valiant attempt to catch up and make a tackle, but Tate veered to the left to reach the end zone.
The catch was the longest of Tate's UNC career.
Jay Wooten's extra-point kick, his second of two in the half, provided the 11-point lead with 4:54 left before halftime.
UNC struggled early to run the ball again, generating 28 yards in 16 carries in the half, but Yates' right arm kept the offense moving. UNC did not have a penalty in the half and the defense held Rutgers to no third-down conversions in five attempts.
Quarterback Mike Teel tried to rally Rutgers in the final 4:54 and moved his team to the UNC 27 but was intercepted when passing to receiver Tim Brown in the end zone. Kendric Burney made the interception at the goal line and returned the ball to the UNC 34 to snuff out the threat.
Rutgers took a 3-0 lead on Te's first field goal from 34 yards. UNC's first interception, made by Charles Brown, led to a tying field goal.
Brown stepped in front of Tiquan Underwood at the Rutgers 35 to catch the ball and return it three yards. UNC could advance to the 26 but Wooten's 43-yard field goal tied the score with 13:26 left before halftime.
Yates then put UNC in front for the rest of the half with 9:28 left. He connected with Nicks on a 9-yard pass into the end zone. Nicks came off the line and cut to his right and wasn't picked up by any Rutgers defenders and was wide open in the end zone.
Wooten's first extra-point kick produced a 10-3 lead.
This was the first time UNC has won by more than 30 points on the road since a 38-3 win against Clemson and the first time the Tar Heels have scored more than 40 points in a road game since a 41-3 win against Georgia Tech in 1993.
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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