UNC-N.C. State Postgame Notes

---A win today for North Carolina would have equaled the largest deficit overcome to win a game in UNC school history. UNC trailed N.C. State, 17-0, in the first half before rallying to take the lead in the fourth quarter. UNC beat Georgia Tech in 1987 and Virginia in 1997 after trailing by 17 points in both those games.

---Kendric Burney's 76-yard interception return for a touchdown was his first career interception. The score gave UNC its first lead of the game. Charles Brown's 92-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter is the third-longest interception return in school history. The last time Carolina returned an interception for a touchdown was Kareen Taylor vs. Maryland in 2005. It was the second interception of Brown's career.

---This is just the third time ever that North Carolina returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game. The others came against Tulane in 1994, and Maryland in 1948. Bill Maceyko had both scores against Maryland. Reggie Love (100 yards) and Oscar Sturgis (10 yards) had the two interception returns for scores against Tulane.

---Carolina set a single-game school record today with 168 yards on interception returns (76 by Burney and 92 by Brown). The previous UNC record was 165 yards in the before-mentioned 1948 Maryland game. Carolina now has 11 interceptions on the season, the most since picking off 11 passes in 2005. It's just the second time since 2000 that North Carolina has intercepted at least 10 passes in a season.

---Linebacker Durell Mapp had a career-high 23 tackles against N.C. State. His previous single-game high was 18 tackles, which he did against East Carolina in September. The last Tar Heel to record 20 or more tackles in a game was Dexter Reid, who had 21 against Miami (OH) in 2002. Mapp had 15 solo tackles and assisted on eight other stops. He also had a two-yard sack, his second of the season.

---Defensive end Hilee Taylor recorded his ninth and 10th sacks of the season. The sacks moved him into fourth on the UNC single-season sack list. Taylor now trails only Lawrence Taylor (16 in 1980) Julius Peppers (15 in 2000) and Greg Ellis (12.5 in 1996) in UNC single-season sack records. This was his second game this year with at least two sacks (he had three against Virginia in September).

---Sophomore fullback Bobby Rome's 50-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Tate in the third quarter marks the first time a non-quarterback has tossed a touchdown pass for North Carolina since tailback Ronnie McGill hooked up with Brandon Russell vs. Syracuse in 2003. Rome came to UNC as a quarterback, but moved to fullback in 2006.

---Freshman quarterback T.J. Yates completed 22 of 42 passes for 241 yards. He has 2,297 passing yards this year and moved past Duke's Thaddeus Lewis for fourth on the ACC's all-time freshman passing yardage list. He also moved into sixth place on UNC's single-season passing yardage chart, moving past Darian Durant's 2002 and 2004 seasons. Yates is now third in single-season completions at UNC with 186 (48 completions shy of tying the record) and is first all-time among Tar Heel freshmen.

---Sophomore wide receiver Hakeem Nicks had five receptions today (his sixth straight outing with at least five catches) and now has 61 receptions for the season, which is 10 shy of tying UNC's single-season record set by Jawarksi Pollock in 2003.

---Connor Barth made field goals of 47 and 27 yards to increase his career total to 50 conversions. He is now two conversions shy of the school record of 52, held by Josh McGee.

---N.C. State had 291 yards of total offense in the first half, and 105 in the second half. The Tar Heels had only allowed its last three opponents (South Carolina, Wake Forest, and Maryland) an average of 284.3 yards per game.

---UNC had just 12 rushing yards today (including minus-15 yards on quarterback sacks), it's lowest rushing total of the 2007 season (the previous low was 60 rushing yards against Virginia). This is now the 15th time in the last 16 games between UNC and N.C. State that the team that rushed for more yards won the ball game.

---UNC punter Terrence Brown averaged 48.0 yards on five punts, and had three punts of 50-plus yards (including one for 60 yards), and inside the N.C. State 20-yard line.

---Junior Brandon Tate had 95 yards on kickoff returns. He is now just 30 yards shy of tying the ACC career record for kickoff return yardage. He has 2,284 kickoff return yards in his three years at North Carolina. Tate came into today's game first in the ACC in all-purpose yardage per game (150.7) and had 167 all-purpose yards against NCSU (97 kickoff return yards, 68 receiving yards, minus-1 rushing yards).

---North Carolina has now lost five times in 2007 by seven points or fewer. This was the team's third loss by four or fewer points (two to Virginia, three to East Carolina, four to NCSU).