Piscataway, NJ (Sports Network) – T.J. Yates threw for 204 yards and a touchdown to lead the shorthanded North Carolina Tar Heels to a 17-13 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a non-conference affair at Rutgers Stadium.
Yates completed 22-of-30 pass attempts to pace the Tar Heels (1-2), who were minus 12 players, including seven starters, due to continuing investigations by the NCAA. Johnny White caught four passes for 63 yards for North Carolina, while adding 36 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Tom Savage completed just 16-of-29 passes for 150 yards with no touchdowns and a pair of costly interceptions in the loss for Rutgers (2-1). Mohamed Sanu caught nine passes for 74 yards while posting 41 yards and a score on the ground for the Scarlet Knights.
The first quarter belonged to the Scarlet Knights, as Rutgers took a 3-0 lead late in the stanza with a 32-yard San San Te field goal. The Knights then followed by a 10-yard touchdown run by Sanu just minutes later.
The Tar Heels got on the board early in the second period of play following a one-yard White touchdown plunge.
Yates gave North Carolina a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter with a five-yard toss to Ryan Taylor.
The Scarlet Knights pulled to within 14-13 just minutes later with a 39-yard kick from Te.
But the Tar Heels responded early with a field goal of their own early in the final period of play, a 25-yard kick from Casey Barth to give North Carolina a 17-13 lead that it would not relinquish.