UNC Up To No. 17 In AP & No. 15 In Coaches' Polls

North Carolina moved up four spots in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 to the No. 17 ranking after defeating Pittsburgh, 42-24, on Saturday night at Kenan Stadium.

The Tar Heels are in the poll for the third consecutive week, debuting at No. 22 two weeks ago. They were No. 21 this past week, but with several teams in front of them losing, and Carolina closing out the Panthers scoring the final 28 points of the game, the Heels jumped to the seventeenth spot.

Carolina moved up from 21st to No. 15 in the Coaches’ poll.

“I am really proud of the guys,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said following the victory. “I think that’s the toughest game we’ve had. The most physical game that we’ve had that we’ve won since we’ve been here three-and-a-half years.”

UNC trailed 17-7 in the first half and 24-14 with 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter Saturday, but the defense allowed Pitt 60 yards on its final 21 offensive snaps, while Drake Maye and the Heels cruised on offense.

Maye finished 34-for-44 passing with 388 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran the ball 14 times for 61 yards, meaning Maye was responsible for 449 of UNC’s 474 total yards. That’s 94.5 percent of Carolina’s yardage.

UNC receivers Antoine Green (10 catches, 180 yards, and two scores) and Josh Downs (11 receptions, 102 yards, two touchdowns), also had huge games.

Carolina has won four consecutive games and improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC. UNC has a two-game lead in the loss column over Miami and Duke in the Coastal Division. If the Tar Heels win at Virginia next week and Duke and Miami lose their games, the Heels will clinch the coastal division title.