UNC football's Drake Maye, Alijah Huzzie star in Tar Heels' ACC win at Pitt

UNC football’s all-white jerseys and pants were grass-stained by the end of a bruising 41-24 win at Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

After absorbing some early blows from the physical Panthers (1-3, 0-1 ACC), the 17th-ranked Tar Heels (4-0, 1-0) bounced back and found their groove to cruise in the ACC opener.

UNC won at Pitt for the first time since 2017 and improved to 4-0 in a season for the first time since 1997 — head coach Mack Brown’s final year in his first stint with the Heels.

UNC quarterback Drake Maye accounted for three touchdowns, including two rushing TDs, and 296 passing yards. The Panthers hadn't allowed more than 40 points since their 42-24 loss at UNC in 2022.

Here’s what stood out in North Carolina’s ACC opener at Pittsburgh.

Alijah Huzzie to the house for UNC football

UNC defensive back Alijah Huzzie flipped the momentum in the first half with a 52-yard punt return for a touchdown to give the Tar Heels their first lead of the night. They wouldn't trail again. Huzzie’s special teams TD was UNC’s first punt return TD since Dazz Newsome did it against Syracuse in 2018. In the second half, Huzzie hauled in two interceptions for his first takeaways with the Tar Heels.

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UNC quarterback Drake Maye channels Patrick Mahomes

UNC quarterback Drake Maye had a play that will no doubt be among ESPN SportsCenter’s top-10 plays. Just before halftime, Maye took a page out of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ book and completed a left-handed pass for a touchdown. Maye’s magical 7-yard pass to Kobe Paysour capped a 21-point second quarter for the Heels.

UNC’s defense rebounds from rough start

Pitt came out swinging and connected with a pair of haymakers to take a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. After allowing 153 yards on the first two drives, UNC’s defense got off the deck and limited Pitt to 50 yards on the Panthers’ next four drives to take an 11-point lead into halftime. Kaimon Rucker had two sacks for the Heels.

UNC off next week before hosting Syracuse

The Tar Heels head into their off week with a perfect record before welcoming fellow unbeaten Syracuse (4-0) to Chapel Hill on Oct. 7. The Orange host Clemson (2-2, 0-2 ACC) next week.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC football: Drake Maye, Alijah Huzzie star in ACC win at Pitt