UNC Tar Heels Football Team Holds Off Miami for the Victory
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina football team looked to get their fourth straight win over Miami on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels got off to a quick start with an early defensive stop and an opening touchdown drive. For the second consecutive game, the North Carolina defense held their opponent scoreless in the first quarter. The Heels’ defense even stopped Miami’s twice on fourth down in the red zone.
Meanwhile, the UNC offense was rolling as 3 out of their first four drives resulted in touchdowns. Drake Maye was once again playing exceptionally with over 250 yards passing and two touchdowns in the first half alone. With 1:31 seconds remaining in the second quarter, UNC led 21-7 and was in total control of the game. This was before the Miami Hurricanes had a quick scoring drive of their own and then forced an interception on the next Carolina offensive drive. This turnover gave Miami back the ball with great field position, and the Hurricanes would get a field goal right before halftime cutting the lead to 21-17.
In the second half, both offenses struggled to get anything going as the only points scored in the third quarter was a North Carolina field goal. Both defenses stepped up and made it difficult for either team’s offense to score any points. Even though UNC’s defense was not allowing scores, the Miami Hurricanes’ passing attack was excelling as they had over 400 yards passing in the game.
The Tar Heels meanwhile were working hard for everything they got offensively and even had an 18-play 8-minute drive that only resulted in the field goal, which pushed the lead to 27-17 early in the fourth quarter. However, Miami would not go away and put together the first touchdown drive of the second half from either team to cut the lead to 3 with 2 minutes and 17 seconds left remaining in the game.
On the next kickoff, Miami tried an onside kick, but the Tar Heels recovered before going three and out. The Hurricanes would now have one last opportunity to tie the game or take the lead on their next drive with just over a minute left in the game. The Tar Heels defense would indeed step up to the challenge and made the biggest play of the game with a Deandre Boykins interception to seal their fifth victory of the season.
UNC Game Stats
UNC Total Offense– 470 yards
Rushing 161 Passing 309
UNC Passing: Drake Maye 19-29 309 yards 2TDs 2 Ints
UNC Rushing: Caleb Hood 13-74 yards, Omarion Hampton 15-36 yards 1TD
UNC Receiving: JJ Jones 2-80 yards 1TD, Josh Downs 6-69 yards 1TD, Antoine Green 2-63 yards, Caleb Hood 5-50 yards
Miami Total Offense– 540 yards
Miami Passing: Tyler Van Dyke 41-56 497 yards 3TDs 1INT
Miami Rushing: Henry Parrish Jr. 11-19 yards
Miami Receiving: Will Mallory 8-119 yards, Henry Parrish 7-55 yards 1TD
UNC Bright Spots
Drake Maye threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns.
JJ Jones had 2 catches for 80 yards and one touchdown.
Josh Downs had 6 catches for 69 yards and one touchdown.
Antoine Green had 2 catches for 63 yards.
Caleb Hood had 13 carries for 74 yards and 5 catches for 50 yards.
Cedric Gray had a forced fumble
Deandre Boykins had one interception
Needs Work
The defense needs to do a better job of tackling. They are missing entirely too many tackles and offenses are flourishing out there on the field as a result.
The secondary continues to struggle and is responsible for most of the defensive struggles at this point. They are not breaking on enough balls and are out of position. This includes blown assignments and coverages and opponents are taking full advantage.
The defensive line needs to do a better job of getting penetration in the backfield and getting more pressure on the quarterback which results in sacks.
Offensively when mistakes are made in the passing game or when Drake Maye throws an interception, offensive coordinator Phil Longo needs to learn not to go away from the passing attack. The passing game is the strength of UNC’s offense and when they go away from it, the offense gets stagnant and struggles.
Final Observations
The North Carolina football team moves to 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in ACC play. The win today puts them in first place in the ACC Coastal division. For the first time all season, the defense had a slightly better performance than the offense. It was good to see because it means the defense is improving.
However, the secondary is still a huge problem on defense. They allowed over 400 yards passing today and are still making the same mistakes as earlier in the season. Blown coverages, assignments, and missed tackles are still big issues for them, which is totally unacceptable. The difference now is the front seven is stepping up and covering up for the bad secondary. They are getting more pressure on the quarterback and being much better against the run.
The offense did struggle today but will be fine. With a redshirt freshman starting quarterback you can expect some mistakes that result in bad offensive performances by the team. Drake Maye is very talented and a good quarterback so they will not be too many more performances like the one today. This is the second straight week that the defense has played much better. If they can continue to improve, the Tar Heels will have a great shot to keep the first-place position in the ACC Coastal division standings. Next up is Duke on Saturday, October 15th.