UNC Football Moments After – UNC vs. Clemson 28-20 Loss 

UNC Tar Heels Football Team Falls Apart in the Lightning-Delayed Game to the Clemson Tigers

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The North Carolina football team traveled to Clemson to face off against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels got off to a fast start, forcing a three-and-out on their defensive possession and following it up with a 6-play, 47-yard drive, capped off with Demon June’s fourth rushing touchdown of the season. UNC’s defense suffocated Clemson’s offense in the first half, holding the Tigers to just 49 yards on their first 20 plays and just 6 points and 117 yards for the entire first half, with those two Clemson scoring drives being extended by Tar Heels self-inflicted mistakes and penalties. Clemson had nothing for the Tar Heels’ defensive line, who were disrupting the line of scrimmage as much as possible, and the secondary, who were outstanding with their sticky coverage, hardly allowing any catches downfield. Carolina’s offense was very efficient and balanced on three of their first four drives, leading to 17 points. The Heels clearly had an advantage with their rushing attack and leaned heavily on their running backs, which led to 112 rushing yards and a 17-6 lead going into halftime. 

In the third quarter, the Tar Heels offense started to stagnate. Although they ran the ball successfully, the Heels struggled to get the pass game going. UNC quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. was inaccurate and seemed out of sync with his receivers on multiple plays, throwing the ball behind them or overthrowing it because the communication just wasn’t there. Starting in the second half, North Carolina had four straight offensive possessions that went nowhere, resulting in three punts and one fumble, which put pressure on their defense to keep Clemson off the board.  Due to the offensive struggles, including a critical fumble by Demon June that put Clemson in scoring position, UNC’s defense was on the field a lot. Carolina’s defense did a great job limiting Clemson’s attack for most of the game but started to wear down, allowing some explosive plays and giving up critical third downs. This let Clemson climb back in the game and make it 17-15 midway through the third quarter.  

Once the fourth quarter started, the Tar Heels were looking to turn it around and get back on track offensively. With about 8 minutes left, Carolina drove down the field after some huge runs from UNC running backs Demon June and Benjamin Hall and found themselves on 2^nd and goal at the 7-yard line, but suddenly there was a lightning delay.

For the second straight week, there had been a lightning delay in the second half of a UNC football game. Last week, the delay lasted about one hour and 15 minutes, and this week it lasted about 2 and a half hours. Nevertheless, the Tar Heels came back on the field where they left off before the delay and gained a couple of yards, ultimately finishing the drive with a field goal to give them a 20-15 lead. Clemson had been much better offensively in the second half and continued that improved play, marching down the field for a touchdown to take their first lead of the game.

At this point, the momentum shifted completely away from the Tar Heels, but they would need to respond. Carolina needed some better playcalling and Billy Edwards to step up as a passer to help the Heels regain the lead since Clemson started to stifle their rushing attack. UNC started the drive with a couple of completed passes that would put them in position for a third and 2. But after a one-yard run from Benjamin Hall and an errant pass from Billy Edwards on the fourth-down play, the drive failed to extend, giving Clemson back the ball with a chance to put the game away. The Tigers would run in a touchdown after some missed tackles and extend the lead to 28-20 with about a minute left.

The Heels would have one last shot to attempt to make a comeback, but Billy Edwards threw two straight incompletions and an interception to lose the game for the Tar Heels, essentially. In a game where North Carolina led until the last five minutes, Clemson made clutch plays when it mattered most while the Tar Heels fell apart and blew every opportunity; they had to put away the Tigers. Carolina came out of that light delay unprepared to finish the job. UNC made too many mistakes, including missed tackles, an inability to generate consistent pass rush, and an abysmal offense that managed just 3 points in the second half. North Carolina’s offense was one-dimensional for most of the game, with only the running game showing any success. Once Clemson adjusted, the Heels could never find a rhythm in the passing game, which ultimately proved to be their downfall. These offensive struggles left a tired defense on the field too often, and once Clemson gained offensive confidence, it became too much to overcome, leading to UNC’s first loss of the season.  

UNC Game Stats  

UNC Total Offense: 349 yards 

Rushing 214   Passing 135 

UNC Passing: Billy Edwards Jr. 13/30, 135 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT 

UNC Rushing: Benjamin Hall 18 carries, 130 yards; Demon June 12 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD  

UNC Receiving: Jordan Shipp 6 catches, 68 yards; Benjamin Hall 1 catch, 15 yards, 1 TD 

Clemson Total Offense: 401 yards 

Clemson Passing: Tait Reynolds 20/29 215 yards 1TD 1 INT 

Clemson Rushing: Gideon Davidson 16 carries 105 yards 1TD, Tyler Brown 1 carry 34 yards 1TD 

Clemson Receiving: Bryant Wesco 5 catches, 77 yards; Christian Bentancur 2 catches, 35 yards, 1 TD 

UNC Bright Spots  

Running Back Benjamin Hall had 18 carries for 130 yards and 1 reception for 15 yards and one receiving touchdown. 

Running Back Demon June had 12 carries for 57 yards and one rushing touchdown. 

Wide Receiver Jordan Shipp had 6 catches for 68 yards. 

Linebacker Derek McDonald led the team in tackles with 10 

Defensive lineman Xavier Lewis had two sacks and two tackles for loss. 

Needs Work  

The Linebacker play needs work. The starting linebackers don’t look nearly fast or athletic enough to be playing significant snaps at the FBS level. They are slow to get to the football, struggle in coverage, and are often out of position and unable to make an impact play. Their issues being in their gaps and fits have caused the rushing defense to suffer and allow too many yards. I would like to see them rotate their linebackers to see if they can get better production from their younger players in that unit. The defense also needs to be better with their tackling. The missed tackles allowed drives to extend and big yard gains that ultimately cost them in this game. 

Billy Edwards must be more accurate and take his time to make the right reads for his receivers. The passing game held the offense back today, and it was the biggest reason the team lost today. They also need Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino to call better plays with successful pass concepts and plays that get his receivers and tight ends wide open more often. The lack of passing production made the offense stagnant and unable to put enough points on the board to win. 

Final Observations 

The Tar Heels fall to 2-1. This was an explicably bad loss today against Clemson. North Carolina was the better team and should’ve won. But their mistakes caught up with them. Inconsistent tackling, horrendous playcalling from Bobby Petrino, and Billy Edwards Jr.’s inability to complete passes were the biggest issues in the Heels’ loss today. The biggest disappointment was the Offense. The passing game must be better, and Bobby Petrino must find a way to put the offensive personnel in a better position to succeed in the passing game. It’s unacceptable to put just 3 points in a half and not be able to score touchdowns in the red zone because of poor play calling.

You must stick with what is successful. At one point, the passing offense was so bad that they went multiple drives without completing a pass, and that’s a major problem. They need to make changes, and if Billy Edwards Jr. keeps playing this way, the coaches must prepare the two backup quarterbacks so they’re ready to play. It might be time to see whether either Miles Oneil or Travis Burgess can run the offense better than Billy Edwards Jr. With Edwards playing that way, it limits the offense. It keeps the Tar Heels from ultimately reaching their potential, especially with the defense being a pretty good unit.  

The defense played well until the offense stalled on consecutive drives, which kept the defense on the field too long and wore it down as the game continued. That cannot happen, so the offense needs to be much better. If they can improve linebacker play, the defense can be in the argument for the best in the ACC because the defensive line has been outstanding with its pass rush and run defense, and the secondary has done a decent job in coverage.  The talent is there. The coaches need to make the proper adjustments. They have a week off to shore up the passing game’s woes and develop a game plan that can put a better passing game product on the field.

The week off is much needed because it lets guys get healthy, refocus for the rest of the season, and lets the coaches evaluate where they are as a team and how they can improve each unit as they prepare for even tougher opponents for the remainder of the season. Bill Belichick and his staff are on the clock because if they don’t play well and have a poor season, they will be gone. The best football can still be ahead of them, but you cannot afford to lose games to teams you are better than, and as a coaching staff, you must do everything in your power to put your players in the best position on the field to succeed. They haven’t done that consistently enough since Bill Belichick and his staff have been there, and that was expected given the coaching pedigree he’s built over the years. Next up is the third-ranked team in the country, Notre Dame, on October 3.