UNC Tar Heels Football Team Falls Short After a Slow Start

by Derrick Clyburn

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The North Carolina football team fell short after a sluggish start on the road in Lane Stadium. This Tar Heels team is very young at all of the skilled positions, and it showed. The Tar Heels didn’t have the intensity needed in the first half to beat a hungry Hokies team at home. The defense missed 6 tackles in the first possession of the game that led to the first touchdown by Va. Tech.

The poor play of the North Carolina defense seemed to rub off on the Tar Heels offense, which didn’t fare much better. The play on both sides of the ball was flat and uninspiring. UNC went into half-time down 14-0. The Tarheels had a total of 118 yards of offense.

In the second half, the Tar Heels played more aggressively and had a chance to tie the game in the 4th quarter, but Sam Howell threw an interception with 37 seconds left that sealed the game for Va. Tech.

UNC Game Stats

UNC Total Offense- 354 yards

Rushing 146 Passing 208

UNC Passing: Sam Howell 17-32-208yds 1TD 3 Int

UNC Rushing: Ty Chandler 10-66yds

UNC Receiving: Josh Downs 8-123yds 1TD, Emery Simmons 3-46yds

Va. Tech Total Offense- 296 yards

Va. Tech  Passing: Braxton Burmeister 12-19-169yds 1TD

Va. Tech  Rushing: Jalen Holston 13-49yds

Va. Tech  Receiving: James Mitchell 3-36yds 1TD, Raheem Blackshear 3-66 yds

UNC Bright Spots

Josh Downs had 8 receptions for 123 yards and 1 touchdown.

Ja’Qurious Conley had 1 interception and 7 tackles.

Needs Work

The defensive play calling was too passive to be the first game on the road in Blacksburg. The coaches have to allow these young talented players to be more in the attack mode.

The defense needs to get better at tackling in space and finishing the play when they are in a position to sack the quarterback.

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.

The Tar Heels need to get Kafre Brown and Beau Corrales back in the receivers rotation. They were sorely missed in the hostile environment in Blacksburg. The young receiving core couldn’t get consistent separation from their defenders.

Final Observations

The Tar Heels didn’t look prepared for the intensity that they would face on the road at Va. Tech. I blame that on the coaches. This young North Carolina football team seemed to have been reading the preseason hype, but the game is won on the field. Va. tech seems hungrier for most of the game.

UNC needs to find some more playmakers to go along with Josh Downs. The coaches need to put their players in a better position to win with more creative play calling. This is a disappointing performance by the Tar Heels, but the season isn’t over. They need to go back to the drawing board and they need to find their identity for this year.