North Carolina falls to West Virginia 30-10 in Duke's Mayo Bowl

By Mark Bergin, WRAL senior multiplatform producer, & Graham Hill, WRALSportsFan

North Carolina Tar Heels	10
West Virginia Mountaineers	30
Final

Charlotte, N.C. — Final: The West Virginia Mountaineers (9-4, 6-3 Big 12) defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels (8-5, 4-4 ACC) 30-10 in Duke's Mayo Bowl from Charlotte.

Fourth quarter: West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes made a 29-yard field goal to extend their lead to 30-10.

Fourth quarter: Jaheim White had an 11-yard touchdown run. West Virginia extended their lead to 27-10 after a made PAT.

Third quarter: West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes made a 34-yard field goal to make it 20-10.

Third quarter: On North Carolina's first possession of the second half, Conner Harrell's pass was intercepted by Tyrin Bradley for Harrell's second interception of the game. West Virginia would retake possession on their 21-yard line.

Halftime: The West Virginia Mountaineers led the North Carolina Tar Heels 17-10 at halftime.

Second quarter: West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes made a 30-yard field goal to extend their lead to 17-10.

Second quarter: Conner Harrell threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Jones. North Carolina cut the lead to 14-10 after a made PAT.

Second quarter: Beanie Bishop Jr. scored off a 78-yard punt return. The Mountaineers made it 14-3 after the made PAT.

Second quarter: North Carolina kicker Noah Burnette made a 28-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

First quarter: West Virginia running back DJ Oliver fumbled the ball at North Carolina's 45-yard line. The Tar Heels would retake possession.

First quarter: Conner Harrell's pass was intercepted by Aubrey Burks in the end zone. West Virginia would retake possession from their 20-yard line.

First quarter: On the opening play of the game, Garrett Greene threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Traylon Ray. The Mountaineers took a 7-0 lead after a made PAT.

Pregame:

North Carolina football fans won’t get to see quarterback Drake Maye, wide receiver Tez Walker or linebacker Cedric Gray in a Tar Heels uniform again after what’s been a disappointing to finish to the 2023 season.

Tar Heels fans will have the opportunity to see 72-year-old Mack Brown get slathered in mayonnaise if North Carolina can beat West Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Kickoff between North Carolina (8-4, 4-4 ACC) and West Virginia (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) is set for 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 27 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The game airs on ESPN.

Will Mack Brown accept a mayonnaise bath if North Carolina beats West Virginia?

On Wednesday, Brown didn’t answer whether he would accept the mayonnaise bath. He also didn’t take any questions from reporters.

Instead, Brown criticized NC State coach Dave Doeren’s decision to call UNC players “pieces of s***” inside the locker room after the Wolfpack beat the Tar Heels 39-20 on Nov. 25.

Brown has experience with the mayo bath though. In 2021 he said that he would, “let someone hit me with a frying pan 365 days if we won. Mayonnaise is easy.”

Of course, the Tar Heels lost that game and Brown was leave the sticky celebration to South Carolina coach Shane Beamer.

Bank of America Stadium is the same venue where the Tar Heels opened the 2023 season with a win over South Carolina.

The Tar Heels started the season with a 6-0 record. They were ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25.

North Carolina is vying to snap its three-game bowl losing streak. The Tar Heels last won a bowl game in 2019 with a 55-13 win over Temple in the Military Bowl.

First extensive look at UNC QB Conner Harrell

With Maye opting to skip the bowl game to begin preparations for the 2024 NFL Draft, Tar Heels fans will get their first extensive look at freshman quarterback Conner Harrell.

Next season, Harrell is expected to compete for North Carolina’s starting quarterback position with transfer Max Johnson.

In the 2023 season, Harrell has played in three games, completing four passes on six attempts for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Look for Tar Heels to utilize RB Omarion Hampton

With Harrell’s lack of game experience, look for the Tar Heels to showcase sophomore running back Omarion Hampton.

Hampton has 1,442 rushing yards on 234 carries (6.2 yards per carry) and 16 total touchdowns this season.

Before NC State held Hampton to 28 yards rushing in the regular season finale, he had six consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing.

Hampton is considered by some as a Heisman candidate in 2024. However, quarterbacks have 12 of the last 14 Heisman trophies. Alabama’s Derrick Henry was the last running back to win the Heisman trophy in 2015.

North Carolina’s defense

Virginia put out the blueprint for the rest of the ACC to beat North Carolina: Win at the line of scrimmage and control the clock.

In three of the Tar Heels’ four losses, opposing ACC teams dominated them in time of possession.

🏈 Nov. 25: NC State had the ball for 40:06

🏈 Nov. 18: Clemson had the ball for 38:11

🏈 Oct. 28: Georgia Tech had the ball for 27:56

🏈 Oct. 21: Virginia had the ball for 37:06

North Carolina’s defense allows 405.4 yards per game, which ranks 95th among 130 FBS teams. The Tar Heels allow 27.08 points per game, which ranks 72nd in the country.

West Virginia players to watch

Fifth-year West Virginia head coach Neal Brown’s team will be without its leading rusher CJ Donaldson Jr., who had surgery.

Donaldson played in all 12 games during the 2023 season, rushing for 798 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Running back Justin Johnson Jr. entered in the transfer portal.

It means WVU’s running back group in the game will be led by freshman Jahiem White and sophomore Jaylen Anderson.

True freshman DJ Oliver could see snaps as well. Oliver has played in four games. The NCAA no longer counts a bowl game against a player towards their redshirt status, keeping Oliver at the four-game limit.

Keep an eye on sixth-year cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr., who transferred from Minnesota. Bishop was a consensus All-American with 20 passes defended, four interceptions and 59 total tackles. He was a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award given to the best defensive player in college football.