North Carolina earned its first win of the season and evened its record at 1-1 with a 48-23 victory over Illinois on head coach Larry Fedora’s 54th birthday. The Tar Heels improved to 4-0 all-time against the Illini with wins in 1971, 1987, 2015 and 2016.
• North Carolina scored 48 points for the second consecutive year against Illinois. Last season, UNC won 48-14 in Chapel Hill. This is the 23rd time in 54 games under head coach Larry Fedora that Carolina has scored 40-or-more points.
• Quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two scores. He completed 19 of 24 pass attempts for 265 yards. He completed his first touchdown pass of the season with a 24-yard screen pass to tailback T.J. Logan in the second quarter and later had a 20-yard scoring strike to Mack Hollins in the third quarter.
• Trubisky rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter. He had a 1-yard run to tie the score at seven and later had a 6-yard TD run to give UNC its first lead. Tonight marks the first time he has scored two rushing touchdowns in a game. He leads the team with three rushing touchdowns this season and has six in his career.
• Trubisky extended his streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 129. He last threw an interception against NC State in 2014.
• Senior T.J. Logan, who entered the game ranked fourth nationally in all-purpose yards, had 161 all-purpose yards, including 124 in the first half. He had 73 kickoff return yards, 34 yards receiving and 54 yards rushing. Logan had a 58-yard kickoff return in the first half to set up a UNC field goal and later scored on a 24-yard screen pass from Trubisky.
• Elijah Hood scored his first touchdowns of the season with a pair of rushing scores in the fourth quarter. He scored on a 7-yard run early in the quarter and later had a 62-yard run. The 62-yard TD run was the second-longest of his career. He had a 67-yard scoring run in the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl vs. Baylor.
• With five punt return yards against Illinois, senior Ryan Switzer became just the ninth player in ACC history with 1,000 career punt return yards. He now has 1,001 career punt return yards.
• Mack Hollins’ 20-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was his 17th career TD catch, which ranks fifth in UNC history.
• Sophomore linebacker Andre Smith had a career-high 14 tackles, including eight solo and six assists. He also had a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. His previous high was 11 tackles in a win last season at Pittsburgh.
• Senior place-kicker Nick Weiler connected on a career-long 49-yard field goal in the first quarter. He missed a 42-yarder in the third quarter. it was his first miss since misfiring on a 49-yarder at NC State last year.
• Two North Carolina players – redshirt freshman tight end Carl Tucker and junior offensive guard R.J. Prince – made their first career starts on offense.
• Today’s game at Illinois’ Memorial Stadium was Carolina’s first on field turf since the Notre Dame game in 2014. The Tar Heels lost that game, 50-43.
• Senior defensive end Mikey Bart recorded a fumble at the 19-yard line in the first quarter. It was the first fumble recovery of his career.
• Sophomore Jeremiah Clarke made his second career sack in the first quarter.
• North Carolina scored 17 points in the first quarter. That is the Tar Heels’ highest scoring output in a quarter since scoring 35 in the first quarter last season in a win at NC State.
• Tailback Khris Francis had a career-long 20-yard reception in the second quarter. His previous long was a 19-yarder as a freshman in 2013.
• Redshirt freshman Jake Bargas made his first career reception on a tipped pass that was originally intended for Ryan Switzer.
- UNC Communications
• North Carolina scored 48 points for the second consecutive year against Illinois. Last season, UNC won 48-14 in Chapel Hill. This is the 23rd time in 54 games under head coach Larry Fedora that Carolina has scored 40-or-more points.
• Quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two scores. He completed 19 of 24 pass attempts for 265 yards. He completed his first touchdown pass of the season with a 24-yard screen pass to tailback T.J. Logan in the second quarter and later had a 20-yard scoring strike to Mack Hollins in the third quarter.
• Trubisky rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter. He had a 1-yard run to tie the score at seven and later had a 6-yard TD run to give UNC its first lead. Tonight marks the first time he has scored two rushing touchdowns in a game. He leads the team with three rushing touchdowns this season and has six in his career.
• Trubisky extended his streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 129. He last threw an interception against NC State in 2014.
• Senior T.J. Logan, who entered the game ranked fourth nationally in all-purpose yards, had 161 all-purpose yards, including 124 in the first half. He had 73 kickoff return yards, 34 yards receiving and 54 yards rushing. Logan had a 58-yard kickoff return in the first half to set up a UNC field goal and later scored on a 24-yard screen pass from Trubisky.
• Elijah Hood scored his first touchdowns of the season with a pair of rushing scores in the fourth quarter. He scored on a 7-yard run early in the quarter and later had a 62-yard run. The 62-yard TD run was the second-longest of his career. He had a 67-yard scoring run in the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl vs. Baylor.
• With five punt return yards against Illinois, senior Ryan Switzer became just the ninth player in ACC history with 1,000 career punt return yards. He now has 1,001 career punt return yards.
• Mack Hollins’ 20-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was his 17th career TD catch, which ranks fifth in UNC history.
• Sophomore linebacker Andre Smith had a career-high 14 tackles, including eight solo and six assists. He also had a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. His previous high was 11 tackles in a win last season at Pittsburgh.
• Senior place-kicker Nick Weiler connected on a career-long 49-yard field goal in the first quarter. He missed a 42-yarder in the third quarter. it was his first miss since misfiring on a 49-yarder at NC State last year.
• Two North Carolina players – redshirt freshman tight end Carl Tucker and junior offensive guard R.J. Prince – made their first career starts on offense.
• Today’s game at Illinois’ Memorial Stadium was Carolina’s first on field turf since the Notre Dame game in 2014. The Tar Heels lost that game, 50-43.
• Senior defensive end Mikey Bart recorded a fumble at the 19-yard line in the first quarter. It was the first fumble recovery of his career.
• Sophomore Jeremiah Clarke made his second career sack in the first quarter.
• North Carolina scored 17 points in the first quarter. That is the Tar Heels’ highest scoring output in a quarter since scoring 35 in the first quarter last season in a win at NC State.
• Tailback Khris Francis had a career-long 20-yard reception in the second quarter. His previous long was a 19-yarder as a freshman in 2013.
• Redshirt freshman Jake Bargas made his first career reception on a tipped pass that was originally intended for Ryan Switzer.
- UNC Communications
