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Heupel, Peppers, Romo on college HOF ballot

Josh Heupel, the Heisman Trophy runner-up while playing for Oklahoma in 2000, and former North Carolina pass-rushing star Julius Peppers are among 12 players making their first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year.

The Hall of Fame class will also include at least one player from outside the highest level of Division I football. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who played at Eastern Illinois, is among the first-time-eligible candidates in the so-called divisional category.

The National Football Foundation emailed ballots Monday to its more than 12,000 members and current Hall of Famers. Results of the voting are submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which selects a class of 13 players and two coaches. The 2020 class will be announced in January, before the College Football Playoff championship on Jan. 13.

Among the other first-time candidates are C.J. Spiller of Clemson, Chris Samuels of Alabama and James Laurinaitis of Ohio State. Players become eligible 10 years after their college careers end and when they are done playing professionally.

Heupel, heading into his second season as coach at UCF, was the quarterback for the Sooners when they won their last national championship. Peppers won the Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player and Lombardi Award as the best lineman in 2001 before going on to a 17-year NFL career. He announced his retirement in February.

Among the holdovers on the ballot of 76 major-college players are Heisman Trophy winners Eric Crouch of Nebraska (2001), Carson Palmer of Southern California (2002) and the late Rashaan Salaam (1994) of Colorado.

For coaches to be eligible for induction, they must have coached at least 10 years and 100 games with a winning percentage of .600. Darryl Rogers, who coached at Fresno State, San Jose State, Michigan State and Arizona State during a 20-year head-coaching career, is one of five coaches on this year's ballot.

UNC > Miami

Associated Press

ATLANTA -- Sam Howell had North Carolina's offense in a groove, dominating time of possession, scoring easily and consistently moving the chains on third down.

"I definitely love driving down the field," he said. "You're just taking the heart out of the defense. You're just wearing them out all down the field. It's one of the best things about this game."

Howell threw four touchdown passes and the Tar Heels suffered no letdown from last week's narrow loss to the nation's No. 1 team, snapping a three-game losing streak with a 38-22 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday.

"Basically this was a test for us to see if, after we spent so much energy against Clemson, we would come back and do it again?" coach Mack Brown said. "I thought they played hard tonight. They played with passion tonight and did a lot of good things."

Howell, a freshman who set several career highs, completed 33 of 51 passes for 376 yards as North Carolina piled up a season-high 587 yards of total offense and Javonte Williams ran 20 times for a career-high 144 yards and a TD.

The Tar Heels (3-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) won convincingly, going up 24-7 early in the final period on Howell's 18-yard TD pass to Dyami Brown in the left corner of the end zone and 31-15 on the next possession when tight end Garrett Walston caught a short pass near the right sideline and scored a 16-yard touchdown.

Georgia Tech (1-4, 0-2) has lost three straight with the nation's lowest-scoring offense and had gone seven quarters without a touchdown before cutting the lead to 17-7 in the third quarter.

Redshirt freshman James Graham made his first career start for the Yellow Jackets and shared early snaps with running QB Tobias Oliver. The offense took a big blow early in the second when Graham threw a deep interception to Don Chapman at the Tar Heel 32. North Carolina scored its first touchdown on the ensuing drive.

"I had a few reads that I wish I could get back and a few throws that I shouldn't have made, but it felt pretty good overall coming out and starting," Graham said after completing 11 of 24 passes for 171 yards.

North Carolina led 17-0 at halftime on Noah Ruggles' 32-yard field goal, Dazz Newsome's 20-yard touchdown catch and Beau Corrales' 6-yard TD reception. Outside linebacker Tomon Fox had a sack in the second and nose tackle Aaron Crawford had a sack in the third.

Howell loved how the Tar Heels converted 11 of 19 third downs and still have plenty of room to grow.

"I think we're starting to build our identity as an offense," he said. "There's still a lot of stuff we can clean up. We could've had a lot more points. We've just got to clean some stuff up."

THE TAKEAWAY

North Carolina: The Tar Heels, who were coming off a one point loss to then-No. 1 Clemson, still have plenty to clean up. Newsome, Rontavius Green and Brown dropped long passes near the goal line in the first half, and there were more hiccups in the third. A penalty pushed the offense back, and Ruggles missed wide right on a 39-yarder. Brown dropped an easy pass on the next drive and the Tar Heels went three-and-out, but the blowout was sealed when Javonte Williams' 3-yard run made it 38-15.

Georgia Tech: The Jackets had won nine of the last 10 home games in the 40-year series, but didn't give the announced crowd of 45,044 much to cheer about other than Graham's 28-yard TD pass to Malachi Carter and Jordan Mason's 2-yard TD run in the fourth that cut the lead to 24-15 on a two-point conversion. Georgia Tech has yet to score in the first quarter this season, but it put up 22 points and 125 yards rushing in the second half.

"We started to find a little bit of rhythm and had some explosive plays," first-year coach Geoff Collins said. "The guys kept battling and cut it down in the fourth quarter and made it a really good game."

HURTING

The Tar Heels starting strong safety Cam'Ron Kelly had surgery for a torn ACL Thursday and will miss the rest of the season. Kelly was injured in the closing minutes against Clemson. It got worse for the secondary in the first quarter when starting cornerback Trey Morrison left with an upper body injury and was done for the day.

FASHION STATEMENT

Georgia Tech wore a new color scheme for the first time, an onyx gray uniform to raise awareness for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Four team captains were dressed in gold capes for the pregame coin toss, and during two early timeouts, Georgia Tech introduced children recovering from serious illnesses. The kids and their young siblings also wore gold capes. Collins wore a cape during the pregame walk to the field.

UP NEXT

North Carolina is off next week and visits Virginia Tech on Oct. 19.

sup man. you need to join the discord

PITTSBURGH -- The play gave Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett the option of keeping it or handing it off to running back Vincent Davis.

Only it really wasn't an option at all. Pickett knew he was going to keep the ball before he even took the snap on first-and-goal at the North Carolina 3 in overtime on Thursday night.

"Judging by the way they were playing, I (felt) like it's going to be one-on-one and (I'd) make a guy miss and score," Pickett said.

Done and done.

Pickett's 3-yard sprint over left tackle gave the Panthers the lead in the extra period and Pitt's defense made it stand up, giving the Panthers a 34-27 victory over the Tar Heels that kept Pitt in the mix for a second straight Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division title.

"It was a personal game," said Pickett, who threw for 359 yards and a touchdown and added 53 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. "We made it personal this week. A lot of those guys have never lost to Pitt on that team ever. It was a really good feeling to get that win."

The Panthers (7-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended a six-game losing streak against the Tar Heels when North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell threw incomplete on fourth-and-16. Pitt players and staff poured onto the field in celebration when Howell's heave for Michael Carter in the end zone fell well short.

"Those guys believe in each other and like I said, that's as big a team win as you can have offensively, defensively," Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi said. "They made plays when they needed to. . Guess the monkey is off the back."

Howell finished 27 of 43 for 322 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for North Carolina as the Tar Heels rallied twice in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Antonio Williams ran for 107 yards and Dazz Newsome caught 11 passes for 170 and a touchdown.

Howell threw two touchdowns in an 88-second span to erase a 24-10 deficit. Pitt moved back in front on a 24-yard field goal by Alex Kessman with 5:18 to play but Howell responded by taking North Carolina 60 yards in 13 plays. Noah Ruggles hit a 32-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation, setting the stage for another tight finish. All seven meetings between the schools as conference rivals have been decided by a touchdown or less.

"That's our second overtime loss," North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. "I'm proud that the kids fight so hard. We, as coaches, have got to figure out how to get them over the hump."

Pitt, which entered the game second in the country in sacks, got to Howell five times, including a sack by Jaylen Twyman that pushed the Tar Heels back to fourth-and-long in overtime.

The Panthers have relied heavily on Pickett this season, partly by design following the arrival of first-year offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, and partly out of necessity with the running game struggling to find anything resembling consistency.

Against the Tar Heels, Pickett found time to let loose. He completed passes of at least 25 yards to five different receivers, including a beautiful rainbow to Shocky Jacques-Louis midway through the second quarter that the sophomore wide receiver turned into a 74-yard touchdown that gave the Panthers a 17-7 lead.

In a series that's found a way to be both lopsided and tight at the same time -- North Carolina's six victories over Pitt entering Thursday came by a combined 26 points -- the Tar Heels didn't go quietly. Howell's fearless play in the second half sparked a comeback that proved North Carolina is heading in the right direction in Brown's return.

A TWO-WIN DAY?

Narduzzi took a not exactly thinly veiled shot at the officiating. The Panthers lost safety Damar Hamlin in the second quarter when he was ejected for targeting. Officials made the call on a play in which Hamlin appeared to make a diving attempt at an interception and instead slammed into Newsome.

"We got two good wins today, beat everybody on the field today," Narduzzi said, later adding, "we had a couple victories out there today. One against UNC and we'll leave it at that."

BIG PICTURE

North Carolina: Howell can sling it. The freshman kept his poise despite being under heavy pressure most of the night. As he matures, the Tar Heels figure to be on the upswing. Still, North Carolina will need wins in each of its final two games to earn a bowl berth.

Pitt: Pickett's competitiveness is the main reason the Panthers have a shot at a rare Coastal repeat. He absorbed a pair of late hits on consecutive plays in the third quarter and took a series of shots yet kept getting back up.

UP NEXT

North Carolina: Tar Heels welcome Mercer in their home finale on Nov. 23.

Pitt: Travels to Virginia Tech on Nov. 23. The former Big East rivals have split their six meetings since Pitt joined the Hokies in the ACC.

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https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/153/north-carolina-tar-heels

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina has hired Nebraska's Jovan Dewitt as its outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.

UNC announced Dewitt's hire Monday after Dewitt spent the past two seasons in the same role with the Huskers.

He replaces Scott Boone, with a team spokesman saying last week Boone wouldn't return to Mack Brown's staff after "a mutual decision to part ways" due to philosophical differences.

Dewitt's special teams have seven punt or kickoff returns for touchdowns in the past four seasons along with four blocked punts over the past two years.

Dewitt worked with current UNC defensive coordinator Jay Bateman at Army in 2014 and 2015. He has also worked at UCF, Florida Atlantic and Northern Iowa in the past decade.

Doj

Posted On: February 13, 2020
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina has announced several home game designations at Kenan Stadium for the 2020 football season, including Family Weekend on Sept. 26 vs. Georgia Tech, Homecoming and Monogram Day on Nov. 7 vs. UConn, and Military Appreciation Day on Nov. 14 vs. Pitt.

Kenan Stadium will host Carolina's home opener on Sept. 19 vs. JMU following games at UCF and in Atlanta vs. Auburn to start the season.

Below is a list of UNC's special events and dates for the 2020 football season:
Sept. 19 vs. JMU
Home Opener
Sept. 26 vs. Georgia Tech
Family Weekend
Nov. 7 vs. UConn
Homecoming
Monogram Day
Nov. 14 vs. Pitt
Military Appreciation Day
Nov. 27 vs. NC State
Senior Day
Game times will be announced at a later date by the ACC and its television partners. Stay tuned to GoHeels.com in the months ahead as more promotion information becomes available.

Season tickets are available for the 2020 season. Fans who had season tickets in 2019 can click HERE to renew. If you did not have season tickets in 2019, please click HERE to place your new season ticket deposit. Fans can also order today by calling the Carolina Ticket Office at (919) 962-2296 or by emailing tickets@unc.edu.

For up-to-date information on Carolina football, visit GoHeels.com/Football and follow us on Twitter (@TarHeelFootball), Instagram (@tarheelfootball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/TarHeelFootball).

Is that not their normal stadium? Or is this just some info on their normal schedule?