Marquise Williams Named ACC Offensive Back of the Week

How good was Marquise Williams on Saturday? He was honored as the ACC's Offensive Back of the Week despite his team losing 50-43 at Notre Dame.

OFFENSIVE BACK – Marquise Williams, North Carolina, Jr., QB, 6-2, 220, Charlotte, N.C.

Williams accounted for four touchdowns (two passing, one rushing, one receiving) in the Tar Heels’ 50-43 loss at sixth-ranked Notre Dame. He became the first ACC player since 2000 to throw a TD pass and record TDs running and receiving in the same game twice in a career. Williams finished 24-of-41 passing for 303 yards and rushed for a career-high 132 yards on 18 carries to become the first player in school history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game. Williams played the entire game, leading the Tar Heels to 521 yards of total offense.  North Carolina’s 43 points are the most Notre Dame has ever surrendered in a win and came against the nation’s No. 3-ranked scoring defense.  The Tar Heels’ 521 total yards are the most allowed by Notre Dame since Alabama had 529 in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game.

In case you were wondering, Williams accounting for 458 yards was 87% of UNC's total offense against the Irish. Clearly the play was to put the whole offense on Williams' shoulders and it nearly worked out for a huge upset. The final result is the only thing that keeps what Williams did on Saturday from one of the more epic performances in Tar Heel football history.

This performance should put to bed any notion of playing redshirt freshman QB Mitch Trubisky unless the game is out of hand. The question is how much of the offensive load can Williams consistently shoulder? It is foolhardy to think he can bring this type of production in every game. At some point the running backs need to produce so Williams isn't at risk nearly as often.