Whether you watched North Carolina’s 63–61 win at Appalachian State on Saturday, followed the action on social media or learned about the madness after the fact, one thing is for certain—the college football world isn’t likely to forget this game anytime soon.
In case you missed it, the teams combined for 124 points and 1,216 total yards. There were 68 total first downs and 62 fourth-quarter points. A record crowd of 40,168 witnessed the fireworks at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, N.C.
After the dust finally settled, Tar Heels players and coaches expressed a mixture of exhilaration and relief. After all, the Mountaineers scored 40 points in the fourth quarter and still came up just short.
UNC led 41–21 after three quarters, and in turn, some App State fans decided to leave the game early (and may regret it after what followed). But it wasn’t until the final seconds, after UNC had stuffed a two-point conversion that would’ve tied the game, that the Tar Heels could exhale.
“We had the game well out of reach, and we just didn’t put it away,” UNC coach Mack Brown said afterward, per Ross Martin of Inside Carolina. “We got to put it away.
“We were underdogs,” Brown continued, noting a point spread that favored the Mountaineers by as many as three points. “… I am excited to win against a real good team on the road … We are 2–0.”
Brown, a veteran of nearly 400 major college games as a head coach at UNC, Texas and Tulane, then stepped back figuratively and put the barnburner into context.
“It was a great game for the state of North Carolina,” Brown said, per Martin. “Our coaches won’t sleep tonight. They are already looking at the video.”
UNC redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who completed 24 of 36 passes for 352 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, said he knew the plucky Mountaineers would be up for the game.
“It was their Super Bowl—and we knew that—but we came out with the win. How about that win?” Maye said, per Josh Graham of WSJS Radio.
Ultimately, Maye probably understated the level of chaos and excitement supplied by the Tar Heels and Mountaineers.
Said Maye, “That had to be one of the top college football games this year.”
Or ever.
