Drake Maye: We're feeling like we pulled a B out of a test we didn't study for

Appalachian State gave No. 17 North Carolina its best shot on Saturday, falling to the Tar Heels 40-34 in double overtime after a slow start out of the gates for both teams.

UNC star quarterback Drake Maye, who finished the game with 208 passing yards and one rushing touchdown to his credit, revealed a unique perspective on his outlook of the nail-biting victory.

“You go into a test you didn’t study for and you end up pulling a B out and get by on the test, that is kind of the vibe,” Maye said postgame. “We got out of there without too much to be down about. We’re 2-0 in the win column. Not many people out there that are 2-0. The best thing we can do is learn from it and get ready for Minnesota. It’s going to be a tough team.”

While Maye didn’t produce the numbers we’ve come to expect out of him, North Carolina’s offense put up 527 total yards of offense and even more impressively, finished the game without a single turnover. They were also 8-13 (61.5%) on third down during the contest — which is overall a strong showing, especially without the flashy numbers from Carolina’s star QB.

North Carolina didn’t necessarily need Maye’s heroics this time around, either. Instead, head coach Mack Brown leaned heavily on the rushing attack during the contest — and it worked. UNC rushed for 319 yards (7.1 yards per attempt) led by sophomore Omarion Hampton‘s 234-yard, three-touchdown performance that was highlighted by a 68-yard touchdown to get the Tar Heels on the scoreboard in the second quarter.

Something a little more worrying is the slow start for North Carolina. Knotted 10-10 at the halftime break, Maye hadn’t throw for 100 yards at that point in the game and the UNC offense had no real flow for the first 30 minutes. A 30-point second half and overtime period would prove to be too much for the Mountaineers to overcome.

Now, Carolina can turn its attention Minnesota for its Week 3 matchup. Kickoff between the Tar Heels and Gophers is set for Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN. Both teams are looking to climb to 3-0 heading into the bulk of their conference play beginning in Week 4.