UNC Tar Heels Football Team Struggles on the Road Again
by Derrick Clyburn
North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell (7) gets past Georgia Tech linebacker Ayinde Eley (10) to score a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
The North Carolina football team reverted back to their poor play from the first game of the season. They seemed unprepared and didn’t have the focus or energy required to win a tough road game.
The poor play of the North Carolina offense seemed to rub off on the Tar Heels defense, which didn’t fare much better. The play on both sides of the ball was flat and uninspiring. UNC went into half-time down 13-7. The Tar Heels allowed the Yellow Jackets to hang around with poor uncreative play-calling and an untimely fumble by Sam Howell.
In the second half, the Tar Heels couldn’t pull any closer than 13 points and the defense had no answer for 2nd string quarterback Jeff Sims who rushed for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns.
UNC Game Stats
UNC Total Offense- 369 yards
Rushing 63 Passing 306
UNC Passing: Sam Howell 25-39-306yds 2TD 2 fumbles
UNC Rushing: Ty Chandler 17-48yds
UNC Receiving: Josh Downs 8-53yds 1TD, Emery Simmons 3-110yds, Kamari Morales 7-66yds 1 TD
Ga. Tech Total Offense- 396 yards
Ga. Tech Passing: Jeff Sims 10-13-112yds 1TD
Ga. Tech Rushing: Jeff Sims 10-128yds 3TDs
Ga. Tech Receiving: Malachi Carter 3-48yds 1TD
UNC Bright Spots
Josh Downs had 8 receptions for 53 yards and 1 touchdown.
Emery Simmons had 3 catches for 110 yards.
Kamari Morales had 7 catches for 66 yards and 1 touchdown.
Needs Work
The defensive play calling was too passive and they allowed Ga. Tech’s quarterback to do what he wanted whether running or passing.
The defense needs to get better at tackling in space and finishing the play when they are in a position to sack the quarterback. Bateman needs to learn how to defend running quarterbacks, He has struggled mightily for the last 3 years devising a plan as the Defensive Coordinator.
The offensive play calling needs to be better. There were too many missed blocks in crucial situations that had Sam Howell running for his life.
Both the offensive and defensive coordinators need to learn how to put their players in a better position to succeed.
Final Observations
This was a disappointing loss for North Carolina. They have completed their fourth game of the season and they still have problems with how to start out in the first half. Their opponents have dictated how all of the games would be played. Then the coordinators and coaching staff would make adjustments at half-time.
North Carolina needs to find a way to start dictating the games so that they don’t have to fight through so much adversity to get control of the games.
UNC has the talent to play against anyone in the country but it is up to the coaching staff to get them in a position to win. Next up Duke at home Saturday at 12 noon on ESPN2.