ACC Football: North Carolina 24, Rutgers 22

Sunday, September 11, 2011 12:00 AM | Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend| Associated Press CHAPEL HILL North Carolina relied upon a stifling defense and an offense which made only enough big plays to offset its bad plays. Giovani Bernard rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns to help the Tar Heels beat Rutgers 24-22. Bernard scored upon runs of 60 and 6 yards for the Tar Heels (2-0), who overcame five turnovers to begin the season with consecutive wins for the third time in the last four seasons. Anytime you win a ballgame and five turnovers . its a good day to be a Tar Heel, North Carolina coach Everett Withers said. North Carolina won with five turnovers for the first time since 1995. Rutgers (1-1) had no turnovers but totaled only 1 yard rushing. The Scarlet Knights (1-1) lost the ball upon downs during their own 42 with 2:32 remaining, and the Tar Heels ran out the clock from there. We had opportunities to win, and we only didnt take them, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. Thats why you play games. Bryn Renner was 20 of 26 for 273 yards and a touchdown for North Carolina, but he threw three interceptions. Dwight Jones had six catches for 135 yards and a score. Chas Dodd was 25 of 47 for 243 yards and two touchdowns for the Scarlet Knights. Mohamed Sanu, who reeled in an 18-yard scoring pass from Dodd, set career highs with 13 catches for 119 yards for Rutgers. Bernard showed his speed to the outside upon both of his scoring runs. Midway through the second quarter, the UNC running back took a toss to the right and outran Rutgers Steve Beauharnais to the corner. Bernard cut back to the middle of the margin to elude another tackle by David Rowe, then sprinted away from the pursuit to give the Tar Heels a 14-6 lead. Bernard gained 2 yards or fewer upon 10 of his 16 rushing attempts. He had totaled minus-1 yard upon his first four carries before busting loose for his first touchdown. Its only something which youve got to keep working! at, Ber nard said. Youve got to have a short mind and not worry about it if you get tackled for a loss. Its not the biggest thing ever. I think if we keep chopping during it, were going to find a crease and make a big play out of it. On his scoring run late in the third quarter, Bernard bounced an inside run toward the left sideline. He gave belligerent to step out of a tackle by Rutgers Brandon Jones, and beat Beauharnais again this time around the corner to extend North Carolinas lead to 24-15. The Scarlet Knights pulled within 24-22 upon a 5-yard touchdown catch by Tim Wright with 10:40 remaining. The Tar Heels led 17-12 during halftime despite dominating the first two quarters statistically. They outgained Rutgers 286-91 in the first half, even while running five fewer plays from scrimmage. We only have to protect the ball, Renner said. What did we have, four turnovers in the first half? Thats only unacceptable. Were very lucky to get this win. Renner wasnt as sharp as he was last week, when he set an ACC record for completion percentage in the first start of his career by completing 22 of 23 passes against James Madison. But he got off to a fast start against Rutgers, throwing a 66-yard touchdown strike to Jones upon the games first possession. Renner completed his first five passes, giving him a school-record 19 consecutive completions dating back to the opener. The streak ended upon an interception by Duron Harmon, who returned the ball 45 yards to the North Carolina 2-yard line. The Scarlet Knights couldnt capitalize to tie the score. Dodd came up only short of the goal line upon his lunge to the end zone upon third down, and North Carolina linebacker Kevin Reddick stuffed a run by DeAntwan Williams upon fourth down. That was huge, Withers said. Rutgers scored after its other takeaways in the first half. The Tar Heels lost fumbles upon the next two possessions after Renners first interception, resulting in a pair of margin goals by San San Te to cut North Carolinas le! ad to 7- 6. After another Renner interception, Sanu made a leaping one-handed grab for an 18-yard touchdown to bring Rutgers within 14-12 late in the second quarter. The Associated Press 09/10/11 17:39