CLEMSON, S.C. — As soon as Darian Durant saw his teammate lying on the ground at the 27-yard line, he raced back from the North Carolina sideline to swipe his helmet off the bench.
The circumstances prematurely calling him into action weren’t desirable, but Durant rolled with the punches and continued to produce a perfect performance.
Durant completed all 11 of his passes on Saturday and had a hand in three touchdowns to help the Tar Heels dismantle No. 13 Clemson 38-3 in Death Valley.
UNC coach John Bunting continued to employ his two-quarterback system, but once starter Ronald Curry went down with a strained left hamstring with 7:14 left in the third quarter, the show was Durant’s to run.
“With me getting experience early in the year, due to any kind of injury to either one of us, the coaches would probably still have the same confidence in both of us,”Durant said.
“I feel like the rotation has worked out because we have no one that’s going in there that’s inexperienced.”
Both North Carolina quarterbacks outperformed Clemson’s talented duo of Woodrow Dantzler and Willie Simmons.
Dantzler, who gained 517 total yards last week against N.C. State, was shut down so much that Simmons replaced him late in the third quarter.
Simmons came off the bench to lead the Tigers to a comeback victory against UNC last year, but he had even less success than the star he replaced.
The Tar Heels (5-3, 4-1 in the ACC) were Tiger tamers, limiting Clemson to 14-of-46 passing for 144 yards and two interceptions.
UNC also limited Dantzler to 43 yards rushing on 12 carries by cutting off his lanes in the middle of the field, where he torched the Wolfpack.
“The defense did a great job attacking blockers at the edge with a vision of the quarterback to keep him from cutting up the middle,”Bunting said.
Said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, “They got the secondary involved in run support. Other teams probably haven’t got the confidence in their defense to do that.”
UNC defensive end Julius Peppers had one sack on Dantzler and also picked off his team-leading third pass of the year in the second quarter.
With the Tigers (4-2, 2-2) facing a second-and-3 from their own 27, Dantzler rolled left to make a throw. Peppers beat tight end Morgan Woodward and tipped the pass. In almost the same motion, he dove for and came down with the ball at the 22-yard line.
“Last week all we heard was Dantzler, Dantzler, Dantzler from the N.C. State game,”Peppers said. “We wanted to come out and prove we are good players, too.”
Three plays after Peppers’ pick, Durant found Bosley Allen for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Tar Heels ahead 14-3. Durant, who is from Florence, S.C., put on quite a display for the 38 family and friends in attendance.
After Curry got hurt on his 7-yard run in the third quarter, Durant came in for the final five plays of that drive and scored on a 5-yard run to give UNC a 28-3 advantage.
Durant extended the lead to 32 points with a 1-yard run near the end of the third quarter.
Durant threw for only 97 yards, but every pass he attempted found the hands of UNC receivers.
“I was just going with the flow, trying to complete everything I threw,”Durant said.
The Tar Heel wide receivers deserve a lot of credit for Durant’s success. Allen led the way with two touchdown catches and finished with four receptions for 100 yards. Sam Aiken had five receptions for 82 yards.
“Early in the year we were struggling and they got criticized a lot for their play,” Durant said. “I’m glad they’ve come together as a receiving corps, and everybody’s putting up major numbers.”
Allen’s second TD came on a 48-yard pass from Curry with 7:29 left before halftime. Curry finished 3-of-7 for 109 yards, and he rushed eight times for 82 yards.
For the second straight week, he had a fine individual performance cut short by an injury.
“I felt it knot up and then pop, and I fell to the ground,” Curry said. “I felt good today, I was in a good rhythm. It’s unfortunate I had to go down in the second series of the third quarter.”
NOTES:UNC’s 35-point margin of victory tied its largest ever in Death Valley. In 1970, UNC defeated the Tigers 42-7 in Bunting’s last game at Clemson....Maryland, which defeated Duke on Saturday, is alone in first at 5-0 in the conference, one game ahead of UNC. “Somebody please, please beat Maryland, that’s all I’m asking,” defensive tackle Ryan Sims said....While Peppers was talking to reporters after the game, defensive ends coach Jim Webster walked by and pointed at his star pupil. “Heisman, Heisman,”Webster said.
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Contact Bret Strelow at 704—797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com
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