by Derrick Clyburn

The Tar Heels are already short handed due to injuries. The coaches have to put this young inexperienced team in better position to win.  The defense held its own again for most of the game. The offense didn’t help the defense out at all. UNC had too many three and outs with no points to show for it. Kapilovic, the offensive coordinator has called a great game all year. Teams have no fear of this UNC offense or defense. That is a sad state to be in. But here we are.

Game Stats

UNC Total Offense – 265 Yards

Rushing 86, Passing 179

UNC Passing: Chazz Surratt 19-42-179yds 1 TD,  1 Int, 1 Fumble

UNC Rushing: Chazz Surratt 12-32yds

UNC Receiving: Anthony Ratliff-Williams 5-55 yds 1 TD

Notre Dame Total Offense – 487 Yards

ND Passing: Ian Book 17-31-146yds 1TD, 2 Ints

ND Rushing: Deon McIntosh 12-124yds 2 TD’s, Josh Adams 13-118yds 1TD

Bright Spots

Anthony Ratliff-Williams 5-55 yds 1 TD. He is the only explosive threat on offense right now.

Myles Dorn had his first 2 Ints of the year.

Needs Work

The offensive coordinator is having a hard time calling the right plays to get this Tar Heels offense in a rhythm to get first downs consistently or score points. At one point during the game, UNC went three and out, 10 out of 13 drives. That’s horrible for any football team. North Carolina hasn’t scored more than 17 points since their win over Old Dominion.

Final Observations

There may need to be some coaching changes for Fedora to survive long term. This is a young inexperienced team that needs coaches that will help them succeed and not put them in tough positions. Two plays come to mind that exemplifies the poor coaching that we have seen all year.

Number One: You don’t run a zone read play out of your own end zone! Which led to a safety.

Number Two: When you have 3rd and Inches on your own 30, you don’t throw to a smoke route with the defense already in coverage to stop it.

Those were just two examples of momentum ending plays that have to be cleaned up. The UNC defense fought hard but received no help from the offense.