Harrell leads North Carolina past Charlotte 38-20 in new role

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- — North Carolina quarterback Conner Harrell threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score after moving into the starting role as the Tar Heels beat Charlotte 38-20 on Saturday.

Harrell was 16-for-25 passing for 219 yards with an interception. The third-year sophomore was in his second career start, moving up to first string after Max Johnson’s season-ending leg injury in the opener at Minnesota.

North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Harrell handled the pressure well as his responsibilities increase.

“He knows we have a chance to have a really good team,” Brown said, “and we’ve got to have a quarterback step up.”

North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, a preseason All-American, gained 77 yards rushing on 11 first-half carries, but he didn’t play in the second half because of an apparent leg injury.

“He could have played,” Brown said. “We pulled him out because we wanted to make sure he’s safe moving forward.”

Harrell’s 58-yard touchdown pass to Christian Hamilton off a reverse gave the Tar Heels a 28-13 edge.

Charlotte quarterback Max Brown was knocked out of the game with a first-half injury after completing 8 of 12 passes for 175 yards. He was sacked twice.

Backup Deshawn Purdie led the 49ers on a touchdown march on the first possession of the second half, capped by his 5-yard pass to Bryce Kennon.

Purdie later threw a 28-yard TD pass to Henry Rutledge.

“This football team got better over the first week,” Charlotte coach Biff Poggi said. “This is a significantly better football team than we had last year. We are moving in the right direction.”

Charlotte settled for first-half field goals of 25 and 20 yards from Kyle Cunanan.

North Carolina led 21-6 at halftime of the first meeting between the teams.

Harrell threw for 30 yards to Bryson Nesbit for 30 yards to complete a 94-yard drive for the game’s first points. Later in the first quarter, Nate McCollum scored on a 37-yard receiver end-around.

QB CHANGE

This week it was the 49ers making an in-game quarterback change. Purdie did enough to gain his coach’s confidence.

“I found out Max wasn’t going to play in the second half, and I go to Purdie and said, ‘OK, it’s your show,’ ” Poggi said. “And he looks at me and says, ‘I was built for this.’ And the first series I think we went out and scored. He has a huge upside.”

Purdie was 9-for-19 passing for 134 yards.

RUCKER SITS OUT

North Carolina played without edge rusher Kaimon Rucker, who has played in 51 career games and made two tackles for loss in the opener.

Mack Brown said he suffered an injury Thursday in the weight room but shouldn’t miss more than a couple of weeks. Rucker was fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2023 in sacks.

THE TAKEAWAY

Charlotte: The 49ers had more total yards than North Carolina after the first drive of the second half, but the inability to contain the Tar Heels became a problem. The 49ers haven’t figured out where they’re going to find consistent offense and an injury to the starting quarterback could complicate that quest.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels are learning to improvise on offense after losing a starter in the backfield for the second week in a row. They had enough firepower with 490 yards of total offense to get through this game and in the meantime were able to test several combinations of players in winning their home opener for the seventh consecutive year.

UP NEXT

Charlotte: Home Saturday vs. FCS opponent Gardner-Webb.

North Carolina: Home Saturday vs. FCS opponent North Carolina Central.

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