UNC Football: Tar Heels roll over Illini in Champaign

UNC rebounds from a week one loss to Georgia by going into Illinois and beating the Fighting Illini on Saturday night

For a little bit it looked as if the North Carolina Tar Heels wouldn’t be able to stop Illinois’ one-two punch at running back.

The Tar Heels saw Illini running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn rush for a 65-yard touchdown on the third play of the game. It put the Illini up 7-0 and gave fans flashbacks of week one against Georgia.

But that was all quickly forgotten thanks to UNC’s talented backfield.

The game changed when……Running back T.J. Logan caught a screen pass from quarterback Mitch Trubisky on 3rd down and made Illini defenders look silly as he scampered in for a touchdown. The score put UNC up 24-14 and they never looked back.

Trubisky got UNC on the board with his 1-yard one on the team’s second drive of the game. After Illinois answered with a touchdown of their own, Trubisky added a 6-yard touchdown run towards the end of the first quarter.

For the Tar Heels, Trubisky was a bright spot in the game. He didn’t commit a turnover and threw for 265 yards on 19-of-24. In addition to his two receiving touchdowns, he added two passing touchdowns too.

Running back Elijah Hood put the final nail in the coffin as he ran for a 62-yard touchdown with 6:49 left in the game. The score put UNC up 45-23. They would go on to add another field goal by Weiler to get a 48-23 result.

Defense steps up

The game was a big improvement defensively for the Tar Heels. Yeah they gave up 23 points and a long touchdown run but the defense was MUCH better in the second half.

UNC’s defensive line anchored that impressive play.

Nazair Jones was a force all night long defensively and Andre Smith was flying all over the field as a linebacker. After that disappointing loss in week one, things went a little better in week two for the Tar Heels.

Now with James Madison coming into Chapel Hill next Saturday, the Tar Heels have a chance to get some momentum going before they begin conference play against Pittsburgh on September 24th.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for more on UNC’s win over Illinois and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!