UNC Tar Heels Football Team Drills Duke

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

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The North Carolina football team bounced back in impressive fashion against their in-state-rival Duke on Saturday afternoon after their loss to Virginia last week. The Tar Heels offense came out extremely explosive scoring touchdowns on their first 6 offensive possessions in the first half alone and scoring 8 touchdowns overall. They were dominant both in the run and pass game and were entirely too much for the Duke Blue Devil’s defense to handle.

The UNC defense did its job slowing down Duke for most of the game before allowing two touchdowns in the second half. For the second straight game, they have forced at least one turnover with an interception and a fumble. Javonte Williams led the way with 151 yards rushing and four touchdowns, which allowed the Tar Heels to their 56-24 victory over the Blue Devils.

UNC Game Stats

UNC Total Offense- 573 yards

Rushing 338 Passing 235

UNC Passing: Sam Howell 19-28-235yds 3TDs, 1INT

UNC Rushing: Javonte Williams 12-151 yds 3TDs, Michael Carter 17-85yds 1TD, Sam Howell 7-35yds 1TD

UNC Receiving: Emery Simmons 2-67yds, Dazz Newsome 6-57yds 1 TD, Michael Carter 3-46yds 1TD, Javonte Williams 4-24yds 1TD

Duke Total Offense- 411 yards

Duke Passing: Chase Brice 11-23-155yds 1INT, Gunnar Holmberg 7-9-71yds

Duke Rushing: Mateo Durant 11-132yds 1TD, Eli Pancol 2-27yds 1TD

Duke Receiving: Darrell Harding Jr. 5-70yds, Deon Jackson 1-47yds

UNC Bright Spots

Sam Howell threw for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns, and one interception. He rushed 7 times for 35 yards and one touchdown

Javonte Williams rushed 12 times for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had four receptions for 24 yards and one touchdown.

Michael Carter rushed 17 times for 85 yards and one touchdown. He had 3 receptions for 46 yards and one touchdown

Dazz Newsome had 6 receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Deandre Hollins had one interception and Chazz Surratt recovered a fumble.

Needs Work

The UNC defense needs to continue to work on tackling in space and do a better job of knowing their assignments and staying in their gaps out there on the field. This will help them cut down on allowing the big plays.

The Tar Heels also need to be more disciplined and cut down on their penalties. They had 6 penalties for 80 yards.

Final Observations

This is the second straight win for the North Carolina football team against Duke after losing three times in a row to Duke before last season. The Tar Heels offense continues to show its explosiveness. Quite frankly when they are playing like that offensively, there are not too many defenses in the country that can stop them.

The defense needs to continue to show improvement and get better each week on the field. There are too many mistakes being made with the missed tackles and the players not knowing their assignments on the defensive side of the ball. One silver lining is that some of the freshmen were able to get out there today and show what they bring to this young defense, which bodes well for them going forward The more they add their freshman to their defensive rotation, the better the defense will become down the stretch of this season.

The North Carolina football team holds their destiny in their own hands because they still have the chance to make the ACC championship if they win out and Clemson beats Notre Dame. The Tar Heels’ goal going forward should be to lean on the offense to carry the load and for the defense to limit their mistakes since they are still a young unit. This will put them in a position to win for the remainder of the season.