3 Stars: Wake-UNC

When a football team scores 59 points and racks up 742 yards of offense, there won’t be a shortage of candidates for our 3 Stars that follow every North Carolina football game. But, it’s called “3 Stars” for a reason, so that’s all we can go with.

So, with that said, here are our 3 Stars from UNC’s 59-53 win over Wake Forest on Saturday at Kenan Stadium:

The sophomore quarterback turned in what might be the greatest individual performance in program history by completing 32 of 45 pass attempts for 550 yards and six touchdowns, and the numbers could have been much better. Howell threw away five passes, three balls were dropped and his interception should have been ruled a catch, so you can easily taking on another 75 yards passing and several more completions to his day.

Oh, and he ran the ball, too, getting UNC a key first down on a third-and-seven scramble in the fourth quarter four snaps before he ran 20 yards into the end zone for the go-ahead score.

Oh again, he led UNC back from a 21-point deficit, its largest come-from-behind win ever at home.

The senior wide receiver exploded for by far his best game of the year as he grabbed 10 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Newsome caught 72 passes and had more than 1,000 yards receiving last season but it’s been a struggle for most of this campaign. Saturday, however, the Dazz so many people expected to see was on hand and turned in a sensational performance.

Two weeks after catching 11 passes for 240 yards with three TDs at Virginia, the junior wide receiver was outstanding once again versus Wake by hailing in eight passes for 163 yards and two TDs. He’s gone for more than 100 yards receiving in three of UNC’s last four games.

Also receiving votes: Javonte Williams, offensive line, Phil Longo, Chazz Surratt.