UNC Tar Heels Football Team Now Bowl Eligible o Senior Day After Defeating the Terriers

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

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The North Carolina football team faced off against Wofford in their last home game of the season on Saturday afternoon. Without star quarterback Sam Howell, who was out for the game with a shoulder injury. We would get to see both backup quarterbacks Jacolby Criswell and Drake Maye get extended action on the field for the first time this season.

Both quarterbacks played fairly well and each played a half. Jacolby Criswell got the start and threw for 125 yards, rushed for 66 yards, and had a rushing touchdown. Criswell led the Tar Heels to four scoring drives including a two-minute drive right before halftime. Drake Maye threw for 89 yards and a touchdown and led two scoring drives of his own.

The Heels got good contributions from several players in a game that they were in control of from start to finish. North Carolina dominated on the ground with over 300 yards rushing and the defense played well throughout the game holding Wofford to 14 points for the game, which would lead to their 34-14 victory.

UNC Game Stats

UNC Total Offense– 519 yards

Rushing 214 Passing 305

UNC Passing: Jacolby Criswell 11-19-125 yds, Drake Maye 7-9-89 yds 1TD

UNC Rushing: Ty Chandler 10-78 yds, British Brooks 7-89 yds 2TDs, Jacolby Criswell 5-66 yds 1TD

UNC Receiving: Josh Downs 8-89 yds, J.J. Jones 3-61 yds

Wofford Total Offense– 302 yards

Wofford Passing: Peyton Derrick 8-10 93 yds 1INT

Wofford Rushing: Peyton Derrick 8-69 yds, Ryan Ingram 12-50 yds 1TD

Wofford Receiving: Jim Welsh 3-42 yards

UNC Bright Spots

Jacolby Criswell threw 125 yards, ran for 66 yards, and had a rushing touchdown.

Drake Maye threw for 89 yards and threw his first career touchdown.

British Brooks had 7 carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

Ty Chandler had 10 carries for 78 yards.

Josh Downs had 8 catches for 89 yards.

J.J. Jones had 3 catches for 61 yards.

Kyler McMichael had an interception.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels rush defense needs to be much better. They allowed Wofford to rush for 200 yards in this game. This has a lot to do with the 4-2-5 scheme Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman runs and the defense has struggled all season long to stop the run.

Final Observations

The Tar Heels move to 6-5 on the season and are now bowl eligible. We did get to see some of the young players get some much-needed playing time today and saw some flashes of things we can expect next season. The 2021 season has not been the season that anyone envisioned by any means.

However, if they finish the season with a winning record, it might not be exactly what they wanted coming into this season, but something that they can build going into next season. The Tar Heels goal now must be to finish the season on a high note and get their young players that will be there next season as much playing time as possible. They play NC State next Friday for their last game of the regular season.