UNC Football Moments After – UNC vs. Richmond 41-6 Win

UNC Tar Heels Football Team Steamrolls the Richmond Spiders for Their Second Win of the Season

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The North Carolina football team faced off against Richmond on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels got off to an amazing start, scoring on their first four drives. These scoring drives were sparked by explosive plays from UNC running back Demon June and wide receiver Jordan Shipp, including a 50-yard run by Demon June and a 29-yard touchdown catch from Gio Lopez to Jordan Shipp. The UNC offense controlled the tempo and flow of the game from the very beginning. Meanwhile, the Carolina defense completely shut down Richmond’s offense, forcing four straight outs 3 and three outs to start the game. UNC was very disruptive in the run game and was making every throw difficult for Richmond quarterback Kyle Wickersham. The Heels’ defense didn’t allow a Richmond first down until the 8:47 mark in the second quarter, and were making the Richmond offense so uncomfortable that they had to switch quarterbacks. The North Carolina defense held Richmond to just 12 yards on 10 plays in the first quarter and 58 yards overall for the first half, including 0-5 on third downs. Carolina’s defense even had 2 sacks in the first half, which was more than they had in their first two games combined. UNC moved the ball efficiently and effectively up and down the field throughout the first, scoring 20 points, but could’ve put more points on the board if not for some inaccurate throws from Gio Lopez that kept them out of the endzone. 

In the second half, Richmond had a successful onside kick attempt and drove the ball down the field on their opening offensive drive after halftime, but North Carolina’s defense stepped up and kept them out of the endzone, forcing a turnover on downs. UNC continued to display its dominance against the Richmond offense throughout the second half, forcing two fumbles on back-to-back possessions, including one that was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Mikai Gbayor. North Carolina’s offense took advantage of the turnovers and short fields given by their defense. The Tar Heels found tremendous success on the ground with their rushing attack, rushing for 199 yards led by Demon June. Demon June has become the lead back for the Tar Heels and had 14 carries for 144 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown run, outrushing the entire Richmond offense by himself. Carolina’s run-pass option game was almost unstoppable against Richmond’s defense.

Whether UNC quarterback Gio Lopez kept the ball himself to run, handed the ball off to running back Demon June, or threw a pass to wide receiver Jordan Shipp or tight end Johnson, Richmond had no answers for it. North Carolina scored their most points of the season with 41 and scored more in this game than in the first two games combined. Carolina’s defense held Richmond to under 200 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers to help complete a utterly dominant performance by the Tar Heels. This was the second straight game the Tar Heels have held an opponent without a touchdown, which is the first time that has been done since 2012. The Tar Heels get their second win of the season and their first home win under Bill Belichick in impressive fashion. 

UNC Game Stats  

UNC Total Offense- 312 yards  

Rushing 193  Passing 119             

UNC Passing: Gio Lopez 10/18 119 yards 2TDs 

UNC Rushing: Demon June 14-148 yards 1TD, Gio Lopez 11-40 yards 1TD 

UNC Receiving: Jordan Shipp 4-52 yards 2TDs, Jake Johnson 3-30 yards 

Richmond Total Offense- 199 yards  

Richmond Passing: Kyle Wickersham 6/8 47 yards, Ashten Snelsire 3/7 1INT 

Richmond Rushing: Aziz Foster-Powell 12-38 yards, Ashten Snelsire 8-33 yards 

Richmond Receiving: Isaiah Dawson 2-37 yards 

UNC Bright Spots  

Quarterback Gio Lopez threw for 119 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 40 yards and one touchdown. 

Running Back Demon June had 14 carries for 148 yards and one touchdown. 

Wide Receiver Jordan Shipp had 4 catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns. 

Linebacker Mikai Gbayor had 6 tackles, one sack, 1 tackle for loss, and one fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. 

Cornerback Jaiden Patterson had one interception. 

 Needs Work  

Gio Lopez needs to be more accurate and consistent when throwing the football, especially in the red zone. 

Although the offensive play calling and game plan were better in this game, they still need to be more consistent. When the first down plays are good play calls and they stay ahead of the sticks, it helps the whole flow of the offense, giving them a more successful product on the field. 

 Final Observations  

North Carolina improves to 2-1 on the season, and they seem to be getting better with every game. It was the best performance from the Tar Heels’ offense thus far, and they can continue to build on it. Gio Lopez will need to be more accurate and have better ball placement to give his receivers a better chance to catch the ball more consistently. However, the offense has found its success on the ground led by Demon June, who has separated himself from the running backs in the unit. Demon June runs with tremendous burst, force, and has great patience and vision when finding the holes to explode through. The offense still has a lot of room to grow, and with improved play calling and more consistent quarterback play can become much more explosive than shown thus far.

Defensively, the Heels have gotten better each game. The defensive line has had more discipline with its alignment and has been placed in a better position to succeed by the coaching staff. The defensive backs and linebackers are tackling better and are in a better position to make more plays on the ball in the passing game. It’s hard to tell how good this team will ultimately be because these last two weeks have been against much inferior competition, but the one thing we do know is that they’re a much better team than they displayed in their opener against TCU. The Tar Heels run the ball well, and they stop the run on defense. That can be a recipe for success, and with improvement in their pass defense and better utilization of their pass catchers offensively, it will make them a much more improved unit on both sides of the ball. Next up is UCF on Saturday, September 20, at 3:30 on Fox.