PITTSBURGH – Choosing three Tar Heels that stood out the most from their 41-24 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium was fairly easy, given how well some of North Carolina’s players performed.

Carolina improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC with the win, dropping Pitt to 1-3 and 0-1. On Sunday, UNC moved up to No. 15 in both the Associated Press and Coaches’ Top 25 polls.

Here are our 3 Stars from the Tar Heels’ win over the Panthers:

Simply put, Huzzie is a playmaker. We said back in the spring, and throughout the summer, he would be UNC’s best defensive back, and he is. And he gives the Heels three consistently outstanding players on defense, joining Cedric Gray and Kaimon Rucker.

Versus Pitt, Huzzie was targeted five times allowing one reception for 11 yards, had a PBU, and two interceptions. Plus, on special teams, he returned a punt 29 yards and another 52 yards for a touchdown.

He is a playmaker, and has shown without question over the first month of the season he was a steel transferring from East Tennessee State.

Maye once again combined football smarts with efficient execution and a grittiness that is rare for a quarterback:

*He made so many excellent decisions against the Panthers, and while there is still some room to grow, his mind appears in sync now with OC Chip Lindsey.

*Maye is developed into a really good game manager. He’s a gun slinger, but he’s a gun slinger with a conscience. He was 22-for-30 passing with 296 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. Plus, Maye ran for two scores and had some key runs, picking up four first downs.

*Those runs usually ended with Maye getting popped. And he was sacked five times, plus a major hit early in the game when a fumble by Maye was overturned and ruled an incomplete pass. He got drilled that time, but he kept on going. UNC has had some really tough QBs over time going back to Darian Durant, Marquise Williams, and Sam Howell, but Maye just might be the most rugged of them all.

The junior from Myrtle Beach has taken his game up a healthy notch or more this season, with Saturday night being perhaps his best game as a Tar Heel. Jones became the go-to guy of the receiver room being targeted eight times with six receptions for a career-high 117 yards.

Five of his catches went for first downs, and his 52-yarder on the second snap of the third quarter helped set up a Carolina touchdown. Jones graded out at 77.9 for the night.