By BRIANA GORMAN

bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6608

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- North Carolina's victory over Connecticut on Saturday wasn't pretty but at the end of the day, a win is a win.

The Huskies were called for a hold in the end zone in the final minutes, resulting in a safety that allowed the Tar Heels to eke out a 12-10 win to improve to 2-0 to start the season.

And even though UNC won the game it sill dropped in the Associated Press poll rankings as it fell from 19th in the country to 24th.

If UNC hopes to move back up in the rankings it will need a big offensive showing in this week's in-state grudge match with East Carolina. The Pirates will be looking to rebound after a 35-20 loss to West Virginia in which they gave up 509 yards of offense to the Mountaineers.

But while UNC's offense struggled for most of the game, the defense continued to show why it's the strength of this team this season. For the second consecutive week the Tar Heels held their opponent under 200 yards of total offense, including less than 75 rushing yards.

Junior cornerback Charles Brown is emerging as one of the team's top defensive players as he picked off a pass for the second straight game and also caused and recovered a fumble