UNC Tar Heels Football Team Handles Va. Tech in a Shoot Out

by Derrick Clyburn

The Tar Heels football team allowed four plays to keep Va. Tech in the game. There were three 3rd down drops (2 by Dyami Brown and 1 by Michael Carter) that were sure 1st downs that led to three 3 and outs which kept the North Carolina defense on the field in addition to a Va. Tech onside kick that the Hokies recovered at midfield. Three of those miscues were during a frustrating stretch in the 3rd quarter where the Hokies cut the lead to five points.

The Tar Heels offense was humming from their first play. The Hokies had no answer for them through the air or on the ground. North Carolina had to beat themselves on offense to allow Va. Tech to stay in the game. It was a dominating day for the running backs. Michael Carter and Javonte Williams rushed for a total of 383 yards and four touchdowns to lead UNC to a 56-45 victory.

UNC Game Stats

UNC Total Offense – 656 yards

Rushing 399 Passing 257

UNC Passing: Sam Howell 18-23-257yds 3 TD’s

UNC Rushing: Michael Carter 17-214yds 2TDs, Javonte Williams 20-169yds 2TDs

UNC Receiving: Dyami Brown 3-86yds 2 TDs, Javonte Williams 3-55yds, Dazz Newsome 7-69 yds 1TD

VT Total Offense- 495 yards

VT Passing: Hendon Hooker 7-13-136yds 2TDs

VT Rushing: Khalil Herbert 18-138yds 2TDs

VT Receiving: James Mitchell 4-103yds 1TD, Tayvion Robinson 4-45yds 1 TD

UNC Bright Spots

Michael Carter rushed 17 times for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Javonte Williams rushed 20 times for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Dyami Brown had 3 catches for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Dazz Newsome caught 7 passes with 1 touchdown and 1 rush for 6 yards and 1 touchdown.

Sam Howell was efficient passing for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to be more disciplined on both sides of the ball. The team had 10 penalties for 87 yards.

The defense has to do a better job of tackling in space. They had at least ten missed tackles that led to big plays or scores. They also need to get more pressure up front on the defensive line to cause pressures and hurries or just disrupt more plays. UNC has played against three straight running quarterbacks which caused difficulties.

Special Teams needs to continue to improve and cut down on mistakes. They allowed an onside kick and recovery by Va. Tech which led to a touchdown.

Final Observations

This Tar Heels football team has an opportunity to be very special. If they can get both the offense and defense to play consistently in the same games. We know how potent the offense can be. We just need to see the defense cause more turnovers and tackle better in space to shore it up.

This was a great win for the Tar Heels against the #19 Va. Tech Hokies. It showed that they are making marked improvements with their depth of talent. North Carolina is now 3-0 and feeling like they can challenge for the ACC Title.