Analysis: Javonte Williams for Heisman? Maybe not, but UNC showed how good it can be
In the first quarter, the game belonged to Sam Howell. In the second quarter, it belonged to Javonte Williams. In the third and fourth quarter, UNC was up so many points it didn’t really matter.
Such is the luxury of North Carolina’s offense: multi-faceted, multi-talented and as potent as ever.
In a 56-24 rout of Duke on Saturday at Wade Wallace Stadium, the Tar Heels got another week’s worth of star performances from their star quarterback and running back, as sophomore Howell completed 18 of 27 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns, and junior Williams racked up 175 yards and four scores on just 16 touches.
And they did it in alternative fashion, riding a first quarter of chunk plays through the air (128 yards) and second quarter of chunk plays on the ground (109) to an unsurprisingly insurmountable 42-10 halftime lead.
“The defense didn’t know what they wanted to take away,” Howell said.
The individual efforts of those homegrown standouts — Howell from Indian Trail in the west; Williams from Wallace in the east — were key as the Tar Heels took care of business early and often against the rival Blue Devils.
A week after all but losing its ACC football championship hopes, this game was a confidence-boosting bounce-back of a blowout for North Carolina, which moved to 5-2 on the season and in conference. And it kept UNC in control of the rivalry’s Victory Bell.
“I’m really, really pleased with our team,” UNC coach Mack Brown said, adding he’s long preached that “you can’t let a loss beat you twice.”
This one was over almost from the start, as UNC scored more points (21) and touchdowns (three) in the first quarter than it did in all of last year’s win over the Blue Devils.
The Tar Heels also racked up 573 total yards — their fifth consecutive game with at least 536, the longest streak in school history per records dating back to 1971.
In a quirk emblematic of Duke’s gamelong struggles, UNC started its opening possession at the 50 after the Blue Devils (2-6, 1-6 ACC) booted the opening kickoff out of bounds and were then whistled for a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
Williams, a junior running back, scored his first of his four first-half touchdowns (two-yard catch, four-yard run, 32-yard run, 33-yard run) to cap off that drive.
Add in a rushing touchdown from Howell and receiving touchdown from running back Michael Carter, and North Carolina scored a touchdown on every first-half possession but its last, when it ran one play to send the game into halftime.
“It feels great,” Williams said. “When we’re clicking like that, the defense plays better also, because they don’t have to be on the field so long.”
He scored a combined 11 touchdowns in 24 games as a freshman and sophomore. But after Saturday, Williams left Durham with 17 total touchdowns to his name in seven games this season — the most in the country and three ahead of the previous leader, Alabama’s Najee Harris (14), whose team was off this week.
“I’m 100% behind the ‘Javonte for Heisman’ movement,” Howell said.
Only a performance like Williams’ could overshadow another stellar day from his backfield mate Carter, who had 131 total yards and two touchdowns himself, and Howell, whose only slip-up was a second-half interception he threw with UNC leading 49-17.
Outside of that, Howell added to a scorching five-game stretch in which he has completed 67.8% of his passes, set a career high in single-game passing yardage (443) while averaging 312.2 a game and tallied 14 touchdowns against two picks, plus two rushing touchdowns.
“We know how important this game is,” he said of the rivalry.
Despite all of this offense, UNC is a mere 3-2 in its last five games, with bad losses to unranked Florida State and Virginia teams on the road.
That’s more a nod to its oft-inconsistent defense, which allowed 41 points to the Cavaliers, and struggling special teams, which doomed UNC early against FSU. But the Tar Heels didn’t have as many of those issues Saturday.
Although Duke’s Chase Brice-quarterbacked offense broke off a few big plays — wide receiver Eli Pancol and running back Mataeo Durant both had long rushing touchdowns; the team had 411 total yards — the Tar Heels held strong when it mattered.
When Durant ripped off a 28-yard run in the first quarter, for example, UNC corner Dae Dae Hollins intercepted Brice three plays later and returned it 43 yards to set up a short touchdown.
And when Brice hit Deon Jackson out of the backfield for a 47-yard gain and into scoring range in the second quarter, UNC promptly forced Duke into a fourth-and-11 at the 29, which it failed to convert.
“Defensively, we were better,” Brown said. “We stopped the run outside of a few big runs.”
The Tar Heels, in total, impressed in their first week as an unranked team after rising as high as No. 5 last month, and remained in contention for December’s ACC championship game.
And they did it behind Howell and Williams, two continuously budding stars who, more often than not, make things look a little too easy on offense. Now, they just need the rest of their team to keep pace.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 3:29 PM.