UNC vs. Pittsburgh: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The North Carolina Tar Heels took over first place in the ACC Coastal Division with a 26-19 victory over the No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night at Heinz Field. It's the first time North Carolina has started 4-0 in conference play since 1997, per the ESPN telecast.

North Carolina's defense helped solidify the win as Pittsburgh had possession of the ball for 11 more minutes than the Tar Heels. But UNC held Pitt to 41 fewer yards than its offense accumulated. 

A slow start didn't see the game's first big play until the second quarter. The Tar Heels landed it when quarterback Marquise Williams hit Ryan Switzer for a 71-yard touchdown that helped put North Carolina up 10-3.

ESPN College Football shared the replay:

Switzer drew some lofty comparisons from the ESPN commentating crew, as CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli pointed out:

"

7:41 PM ET: When Ryan Switzer was called “a Wes Welker type."

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) October 29, 2015"

Switzer had five receptions for 126 yards on the night. The Tallahassee Democrat's Corey Clark thinks Switzer might be on his way to one of Wes Welker's former teams:

Pittsburgh, who saw its deficit grow to 10 points early in the second quarter, couldn't get anything done on offense. Its only success came by throwing toward Tyler Boyd, who caught 10 of quarterback Nathan Peterman's 27 completions on the day for 89 yards.

As SB Nation CFB observed, this was nothing new for Pitt:

With acrobatic grabs, he even impressed the opposition as GoHeels.com's Turner Walston weighed in on Boyd's performance:

Mistakes saw the Panthers' deficit grow deeper before halftime. With four minutes left in the half, Dontez Ford fumbled after an eight-yard reception, giving the ball back to the Tar Heels. 

They took full advantage as Williams hit Mack Hollins for a 32-yard touchdown. ESPN College Football shared the replay:

It was UNC's fourth score on four possessions as the team took a 20-3 lead into halftime, but it was the Tar Heels' last touchdown of the day. Williams utilized the big play to get North Caroilna's points as he completed 14 of 23 passes for 270 yards.

He also added 52 yards on the ground.

North Carolina's offense came to a screeching halt at the start of the second half.

On North Carolina's first drive of the second half, Pittsburgh blocked a punt, gaining possession at the 15-yard line. But the Panthers could muster only a field goal.

Using Boyd to get deep into UNC territory, Pitt scored its first touchdown of the day with 4:10 to go in the third on a four-yard run from Qadree Ollison. 

The Panthers finally scored again with 46 seconds left in the game after Peterman hit Scott Orndoff for a six-yard touchdown pass. North Carolina's Quinshad Davis—who earlier in the game set the school's record for most career receptions with his 182nd catch, per North Carolina's official Twitter account—sealed the win by recovering the ensuing onside kick.

Postgame Reaction

Whenever a team can go on the road and defeat a ranked opponent in decisive fashion, it's impressive. And North Carolina made a great case as to why it should land in the Associated Press Top 25 next week. 

The Tar Heels' performance pleased head coach Larry Fedora, who spoke with ESPN after the game (via Pro Football Central's Lee Vowel):

For the home team, morale can't be high, as the Panthers likely saw their stay in the Top 25 come to an end Thursday night.

Their losses haven't come against weak sides, however. Pitt lost to the No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes in its third game of the season before falling to a UNC team that could be around No. 25 next week. 

But the schedule doesn't get any easier, as the Panthers' next two games will be against the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 22 Duke Blue Devils.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.