Charlotte - The West Virginia Mountaineers (9-4) handled the North Carolina Tarheels (8-5) Wednesday evening in the Duke's Mayo Bowl 30-10.
On the first play of the game, West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene found Traylon Ray deep down the left side for a 75-yard touchdown pass, marking the third longest pass play in Duke's Mayo Bowl history.
The Tar Heels moved the ball to the WVU 12-yard line and were threatening to tie the game before Aubrey Burkes intercepted Conner Harrell's pass in the endzone at the 3:26 mark of the first quarter, keeping the score 7-0 in favor of the Mountaineers.
The Tar Heels were set up at midfield following a fumble from freshman running back DJ Oliver. However, it took 10 plays to set up Noah Burnett's 28-yard field goal to cut into the WVU lead 7-3.
Beanie Bishop recaptured the Mountaineer momentum with a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown and gave West Virginia a 14-3 advantage with 1:29 left to play in the first half.
North Carolina quickly responded, driving the ball 76 yards on five plays, capped off with a 16-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Jones.
With 27 seconds remaining in the half, Greene connected with Hudson Clement on three passes for 61 yards for a Michal Hayes' 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Mountaineers a 17-10 lead, heading into halftime.
Following a seven-yard run from Garrett Greene, a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty put the Mountaineers into North Carolina territory. Then, Greene hit Clement for a 21-yards, but the drive stalled, and the Mountaineers settled for a 34-yard field goal from Michael Hayes, extending the lead 20-10.
Garrett Greene burst through the left side for a 48-yard run on the Mountaineers initial possession of the fourth quarter, then followed with a 24-yard strike to tight end Kole Taylor before Jahiem White punched it into the endzone form 11 yards as the Mountaineers extended the lead 27-10 with 12:48 remaining in the game.
After the Tar Heels failed to convert a fourth and three from their own 26-yard line, The Mountaineers tacked on a Michael Hayes field goal to push the lead 30-10.
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