Led by second-year head coach Butch Davis, the Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Tate finished with a school-record 397 all-purpose yards for the Tar Heels, who showed little else in an unimpressive start to their second season under Butch Davis.
In a game suspended nearly two hours due to weather, they blew a 14-0 first-half lead and had to rally from a third-quarter deficit against Football Championship Subdivision McNeese State, who outplayed the Heels much of the way.
[9] T. J. Yates threw three touchdown passes and the Tar Heels won for the first time outside North Carolina since 2002, beating error-prone Rutgers 44-12 in a nationally televised game that pitted Butch Davis against his former pupil, Greg Schiano.
Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate combined for 10 catches, 204 receiving yards, and three touchdowns as the Heels offense rolled over Rutgers.