UNC Tar Heels Football Team Struggles on Halloween

by Derrick Clyburn

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UNC Tar Heels Football Team stunk up the first half with miscues. The defense couldn’t stop the run or pass and was sloppy with missed tackles and blown coverages. Sam Howell held the ball too long and took 4 sacks. North Carolina had the ball with 12 seconds left in the first half on the two-yard line with no timeouts and they threw a lateral behind the line of scrimmage rather than taking a shot in the end zone which ended up being an incomplete pass. Ultimately leading to the clock expiring without them having a chance to put points on the board.

The second half wasn’t much better for the defense. They couldn’t get a stop and the offense and special teams added to the misery with a scramble and fumble by Sam Howell, and a muffed fair catch by Toe Groves which was recovered by Virginia. Those miscues led to scores and put UNC down 41-27.

The Tar Heels have an offense that will always give them a chance to be in the game at the end, but they fell short on a faked punt call by Virginia that was converted into a first down. North Carolina should’ve had their regular defensive players in the game rather than their special team’s players. Virginia was taking chances and gambling on play calls all night and caught UNC flat-footed on the 4th and 4 which ended the game.

UNC Game Stats

UNC Total Offense – 536 yards

Rushing 93 Passing 443

UNC Passing: Sam Howell 23-28-443yds 4 TD’s

UNC Rushing: Javonte Williams 13-54yds 1TD, Michael Carter 9-64yds

UNC Receiving: Dyami Brown 11-240yds 3 TD’s, Khafre Brown 1-76yds 1TD

UVA Total Offense- 418 yards

UVA Passing: Brennan Armstrong 12-22-208yds 3TD’s 1 Int

UVA Rushing: Brennan Armstrong 20-66yds 1TD, Keytaon Thompson 10-43yds 1TD

UVA Receiving: Shane Simpson 1-71yds 1TD, Tony Poljan 2-33yds 1TD

UNC Bright Spots

Sam Howell threw for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Dyami Brown had a career-high 11 catches for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Javonte Williams rushed 13 times for 54 yards 1 touchdown.

Needs Work

The whole team needs to be more focused, disciplined, and play with intensity on the road.

The defense has to do a better job of tackling in space. They have had double digit missed tackles that have 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.

Special Teams needs to continue to improve and cut down on mistakes. They had a fumbled catch on a punt return and were not ready for the faked punt and run which iced the game.

Sam Howell needs to stop taking sacks and throw the ball away.

Final Observations

Mack Brown’s past has haunted him this season. He has never had teams perform well against Virginia on the road or Florida State whether it was his first stint or now. North Carolina didn’t look prepared for the Virginia gadget attacking offense.

I’m concerned about the lack of consistency on defense and all of the poor tackling. Also, clock management and poor play calling at the worst times.

The offense is the strength of this team and Mack Brown has to allow it to carry the team to victory every week until the defense can catch up. No more depending on the defense.