UNC Football Moments After – UNC vs. Florida State 35-11 Win
UNC Tar Heels Football Team Continues With Improved Play Routing the Seminoles for Their 2nd Straight Road Win
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
After a much-needed win against Virginia last week, the North Carolina football team looked to add to the winning column against Florida State on Saturday afternoon. Florida State came into this game with just one win on the season and the worst offense in the ACC. With that said, the Tar Heels’ defense came out and ensured the Florida State offense didn’t get any confidence offensively from the start of the game. In the first half, UNC’s defense was outstanding, forcing Florida State to punt on four of their five possessions and holding the Seminoles to just 61 yards of total offense. Carolina’s defensive line completely dominated Florida State’s offensive line and recorded five sacks in the first half alone, with three coming from defensive end Beau Atkinson.
Offensively, the Heels got off to a rocky start, didn’t convert a fourth and goal early on, and were held scoreless in the first quarter. In the second quarter, UNC’s offense finally caught a rhythm and put together two straight touchdown drives to give the Heels a 14-3 lead. Jacolby Criswell was 11 of 14 for 148 yards and completed passes to four different receivers going into halftime. Carolina started the second half on a high note with a 6-play 75-yard touchdown drive to push their lead to 21-3 and had taken complete control of the game.
North Carolina’s defense continued to dominate throughout the second half, forced two turnovers, finished the game with seven sacks, and other than one blown coverage by the defense that allowed a touchdown UNC got stops on eight of the Seminoles’ 10 offensive possessions. Offensively, Omarion put his full imprint on this game with 32 rushes for 172 yards and a career-high 5 touchdowns, leading the Heels to their 5th win of the season after his seventh 100-yard rushing game this season.
UNC Game Stats
UNC Total Offense- 500 yards
Rushing 289 Passing 211
UNC Passing: Jacolby Criswell 13/17 211 yards 1TD
UNC Rushing: Omarion Hampton 32-172 4TDs
UNC Receiving: Omarion Hampton 3-93 yards 1TD, Kobe Paysour 3-59 yards
Florida State Total Offense- 201 yards
Florida State Passing: Brock Glenn 6/11 123 yards 1TD, Luke Kromenhoek 2/7 2 INTs
Florida State Rushing: Lawrence Toafili 8-24 yards
Florida State Receiving: Malik Benson 1-50 yards
UNC Bright Spots
Jacolby Criswell threw for 211 yards and one touchdown
Omarion Hampton had 32 rushes for 174 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. He had three catches for 93 yards and one receiving touchdown
Defensive End Beau Atkinson had 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss
Linebacker Amari Campbell and Defensive End Kaimon Rucker each recorded a sack
Defensive Lineman Jahvaree Ritzee, Kevin Hester, and Defensive End Desmond Evans recorded 0.5 sacks.
Safety Will Hardy and Cornerback Alijah Huzzie each had an interception.
Needs Work
Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsay needs to make sure he is consistent with calling plays that are having success in the game and does not get caught up trying to call anything too exotic because it puts his team behind the sticks on second and third down too often, especially in the red zone.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels improved to 5-4 on the season and have won two straight games since the bye week. The Heels look like a completely different team than the one we saw during that four-game losing streak. They finally have an identity on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they run the football and use the play action pass off the run keying in on the intermediate pass concepts. Defensively, they are aggressive getting after the quarterback and emphasizing blowing up plays in the backfield, making it difficult as they can for the quarterback with their pressure and rushes.
Kaimon Rucker came back completely healthy after the Heels’ bye week, and it has completely changed the outlook of the defense. Rucker sets the tone for the defense, and they follow his lead. Without Rucker, Carolina’s defense looked lost and unfocused and now they are playing their best football yet. Combine this version of UNC’s defense with North Carolina’s explosive offense led by one of the nation’s best running backs Omarion Hampton and this team is finally good complimentary football. The Tar Heels have three games left on the season against Wake Forest, Boston College, and NC State, which are all winnable. Carolina must keep the momentum going and play to the same standard they played at these last two weeks for the remainder of the season. Next up is Wake Forest on November 16th.