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I know what you're thinking: Is North Carolina even good? How did the Tar Heels put up 80 points in three quarters?
Those answers are: (1) Not particularly, and (2) With a balanced offensive attack.
Sure, the opponent was Old Dominion, a better-than-average FCS team. The Monarchs were 8-3 before Saturday's game and will be joining Conference USA next season. And yet the score was 80-20 at the end of the third quarter. Fearing it could get ugly, both coaches agreed to shorten the fourth quarter from 15 minutes to 10.
So, yeah, of course UNC (6-5) had a decided physical advantage, but this was not a debacle of a team the Tar Heels were facing. Really, Old Dominion didn't play that poorly. The Monarchs ended up with 371 yards, averaged 5.9 yards per rush attempt and were even with North Carolina in turnovers.
It was just that North Carolina averaged 14.6 yards per play. UNC's first touchdown came 67 seconds into the game on a 56-yard pass from Marquise Williams to Quinshad Davis.
And Old Dominion answered it. Actually, Old Dominion took a 10-7 lead at the 5:43 mark of the first quarter. Then North Carolina scored a touchdown, and Old Dominion answered again, this time with a field goal to make it 14-13 Tar Heels with 2:39 left in the first quarter.
But then the roof caved in.
At one point, North Carolina scored touchdowns on eight consecutive possessions, including a 99-yard kickoff return. The Tar Heels rolled up 721 yards. The 80 points were a school record for North Carolina, as was Williams' 469 total yards passing.
This was the second time this season a blowout has been cut short. During Louisville's 72-0 win over Florida International in September, clock operators went to a running clock during the fourth quarter, though there was a good deal of confusion as to whether that had been mutually agreed upon.
The 100-point barrier seems to be the thing people worry about. Generally these blowouts don't get shortened until it looks like 100 points is within range. Naturally, that hasn't happened often, but if you're looking for teams that got into the 70s, you don't have to go too far back.
In 2001, West Virginia beat Rutgers 80-7; Oklahoma beat Texas A&M 77-0 in 2003; Kansas beat Nebraska 76-39 in 2007; Texas Tech beat Nebraska 70-10 in 2004; and West Virginia beat Clemson 70-33 in the 2012 Orange Bowl.
The granddaddy of all college football blowouts, of course, is Georgia Tech's 222-0 win over Cumberland in 1916, which led to the disbanding of the Cumberland football program. It was still obligated to play the game for some reason, but for that reason the game doesn't count as an official NCAA record.
The FBS record is Wyoming's 103-0 win over Northern Colorado in 1949. Other notable scores Fort Valley State's 106 points against Knoxville in 1969 and Houston's 100-6 win over Tulsa from the year before.
