UNC Football Moments After – UNC vs. Pittsburgh 21-17 Win 

UNC Tar Heels Football Team Slugs It Out With the Panthers and Walks With Their First ACC Road Victory

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The North Carolina football team faced off against #25 Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels didn’t get off to a good start, allowing an opening-drive touchdown to Pittsburgh and punting on their first two offensive possessions for a combined 30 yards. The Heels struggled against Pittsburgh’s rushing attack, with poor tackling, little disruption, and penetration up front from the defensive line, which helped fuel much of the Panthers’ early offensive success, along with multiple easy catches Carolina allowed due to the soft zone coverage they played. After falling behind 10-0 midway through the second quarter, UNC finally put together a good offensive drive. That drive started with a 49-yard pass to Wide receiver Jordan Shipp, which got Billy Edwards Jr. into a rhythm, and it ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Tight End Jelanie Thurman. Carolina’s lack of pass rush was concerning, and they let Pittsburgh’s backup quarterback get comfortable and lead his team into the red zone on 3 of 4 offensive possessions. But the Tar Heels caught a break going into halftime when Pittsburgh’s kicker missed a field goal that would’ve put them up 13-7, leaving them down 3 heading into the break.  

The second half started poorly for North Carolina, with Billy Edwards Jr. throwing an interception right out of halftime and the Heels punting the next two drives. However, for the first time all game, the UNC defense finally got pressure and disrupted Pittsburgh quarterback Holden Geringer, forcing two interceptions. With the game in the balance at 10-7, one team needed to take control. Late in the third quarter, heading into the 4th, the Tar Heels offense caught fire and scored on two straight drives, including a 75-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to tight end Shamar Easter. Carolina’s aggression in throwing the ball downfield changed the game, forcing Pittsburgh to defend differently and allowing them to attack in multiple ways to put points on the board, especially with only 20 rushing yards in the game. North Carolina’s defense did surrender one touchdown in the second half, but they were much more aggressive defensively; getting to the quarterback, flying to the ball on run plays, and switching to man coverage allowed them to make plays when the ball was thrown downfield. UNC’s defense closed out this game and led the Heels to their first win over a ranked opponent this season, forcing three consecutive turnovers on downs and completely shutting down what Pittsburgh did well in the first half.  

UNC Game Stats  

UNC Total Offense: 269 

Rushing 20 Passing 249 

UNC Passing: Billy Edwards Jr. 18/26, 249 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs 

UNC Rushing: Benjamin Hall 12 carries, 25 yards 

UNC Receiving: Jordan Shipp 6 catches, 93 yards; Shamar Easter 1 catch, 75 yards, 1 TD; Jelani Thurman 6 catches, 29 yards, 1 TD 

Pittsburgh Total Offense: 369 yards 

Pittsburgh Passing: Holden Geriner 27/44, 219 yards, 2 INTs 

Pittsburgh Rushing: Damon Ferguson Jr. 15 carries, 49 yards 

Pittsburgh Receiving: Malik Knight 3 catches, 62 yards; Carson Kent 7 catches, 61 yards; Cataurus Hicks 6 catches, 50 yards 

UNC Bright Spots  

Wide Receiver Jordan Shipp had 6 catches for 93 yards. 

Shamar Easton had 1 catch for a 75-yard touchdown. 

Linebacker Derek McDonald led the team with 12 tackles, including 1 tackle for loss. 

Defensive Lineman Xavier Lewis also had 12 tackles, a half-sack, and 1 tackle for loss. 

Defensive backs Greg Smith III and Tre Miller both had one interception. 

Needs Work  

Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. needs to be a better decision-maker as the offense’s leader. His turnovers and play under duress have kept the offense from being as productive and explosive as it could be. Offensive Coordinator Bobby Petrino’s playcalling hasn’t helped; his conservative calls, running the ball at the wrong times, and lack of aggression in downfield passing have made the offense easy to defend and kept it from finding a rhythm. In the first halves of these games thus far, it just seems like they spend too much time trying to establish the run, and the rushing attack just isn’t effective enough to run this offense through 

The UNC defense needs to tackle better. There are too many missed tackles out there on the field, and that’s at all three levels of defense. The defense must be more disruptive at the line of scrimmage to help the linebackers out. The starting linebackers don’t look fast or athletic enough to play significant snaps at the FBS level. They are slow to get to the football, struggle in coverage, don’t tackle well, 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. It also doesn’t help that the secondary plays zone coverage for most of the game and allows so much cushion that easy catches are being made up and down the field. They adjusted to play more man coverage in the second half against Pittsburgh, but they needed to do that from the start because it would have helped this defense tremendously.  

Final Observations 

The Tar Heels improved to 3-2. They got their first win over a ranked opponent in the Bill Belichick era. It was a hard-fought, gritty, ugly win because they didn’t play well for most of the game but still pulled it out. Pittsburgh outgained them by 100 yards and had 10 first downs and still won. This team shows fight, so you have to give credit to Coach Belichick and his staff for that. They still have areas to improve, including their run defense, poor tackling, pass protection, Billy Edward’s play under duress, offensive playcalling, and more. Still, they’ve found ways to win, and that matters. If they want to be consistent, they must address their weaknesses and make fewer mistakes. They make it too hard sometimes. 

I do believe it is a good thing they won this game without getting anything from the running game. Hopefully that’s a sign to be more aggressive and throw the football downfield more. Don’t abandon the run game, but don’t spend so much time trying to establish it that you waste offensive possessions. That is a better recipe for this team’s offense. Defensively, they need to be more disciplined in their gaps and fits to stop the run consistently and make a concerted effort to pressure the quarterback in whatever way they can. This team still has its best football ahead of them, and at some point, hopefully, it will fully unlock their potential, but the coaching staff must prepare them and put them in a better position to get there each week, allowing the players to execute. Next up is Duke on Saturday, October 10, at 3:30 on ESPN 2.