RALEIGH - North Carolina’s three forced third-quarter turnovers played a huge part in its 41-10 blowout win over N.C. State at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday.

UNC came out of the halftime break behind 10-6 and, for most of the first half, was outplayed by a more energetic Wolfpack team.

The momentum quickly shifted in the third quarter, however, when freshman safety Don Chapman intercepted N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary at the 10:42 mark, the first of the three forced turnovers in a 9:45 stretch. Two plays later, sophomore running back Javonte Williams scored on a 26-yard run to give the Tar Heels a 13-10 lead.

“It’s just a good feeling to capitalize,” Chapman said. “Coach (Mack) Brown put a lot of pressure on the DB room and we finally came out and showed up.”

Just under six minutes after Williams’ touchdown, with UNC up 20-10, sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel forced and recovered a fumble after stripping Wolfpack running back Zonovan Knight. Gemmel’s third forced fumble of the season gave the Tar Heels’ offense the ball back on N.C. State’s own 43-yard line.

Six plays later, Williams scored his third touchdown of the third quarter to stretch UNC’s lead to 27-10.

“They were huge,” Gemmel said about the turnovers. “It was really good because the offense was capitalizing off them. The turnovers we were getting weren’t just going to waste.”

On the Wolfpack’s next possession, Leary was picked off once again at the 0:59 mark when sophomore cornerback Trey Morrison dove in front of wide receiver Thayer Thomas for his first career interception.

With all the momentum firmly in the Tar Heels’ hands, freshman quarterback Sam Howell threw his second touchdown of the game to sophomore wide receiver Dyami Brown just two plays and 39 seconds after Morrison’s interception. This gave UNC a 34-10 lead and basically ended any hopes N.C. State had of making a comeback.

In total, the Tar Heels’ three forced third-quarter turnovers led to 21 points in under a 10-minute stretch. For senior safety Myles Dorn, who went on to register his second interception of the season in the fourth quarter, giving the defense a season-high four turnovers in the game, the third-quarter barrage was no surprise and something this team can build on going into next season.

“We knew we had the talent and the ability to turn the ball over,” Dorn said. “And, just to make it happen in the last game, it’s significant just going into next year.”

UNC’s defense stepped up against N.C. State, shifting the momentum and playing a huge roll in what was the program's largest margin of victory over its rival since a 52-20 win on Nov. 2, 1996.