Matchups: By the stats, he’s the top tight end in the country. Can UNC slow him down?
How do you stop one the country’s most productive tight ends?
No. 12 North Carolina needs to answer that question Saturday against Boston College if it wants to leave Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with its second win of a wacky 2020 season.
BC’s Hunter Long, a junior who’s quickly become Notre Dame transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec’s favorite target, ranks first among the nation’s tight ends with 16 catches through two games.
His 174 receiving yards are second on the team behind only wide receiver Zay Flowers (more on him later), and he’s coming off a huge game against Texas State: nine catches, 81 yards and a clutch fourth-quarter touchdown grab in the Eagles’ comeback win against Texas State.
As the Tar Heels finally take the field after a three-week layoff, neutralizing Long will one of their defense’s main focuses. UNC didn’t allow a tight end reception against Syracuse in its opener, but Long is quite the contrast to the Orange’s seldom-used group (which only got two targets in the UNC game).
He’ll be a major test for Chazz Surratt and Jeremiah Gemmel, UNC’s star linebacker duo, in coverage. Ja’Qurious Conley, North Carolina’s new true freshman starter at nickel, may also defend Long. Those players’ performances will be crucial for the Tar Heel defense in their first road game.
This season
Records: UNC 1-0 (1-0 ACC); Boston College 2-0 (1-0 ACC)
UNC offense: 31 ppg | 463 ypg | 303 passing ypg | 160 rushing ypg
Boston College defense (allowed): 13.5 ppg | 354 ypg | 223 passing ypg | 131 rushing ypg
Boston College offense: 25 ppg | 340.5 ypg | 255 passing ypg | 85.5 rushing ypg
UNC defense (allowed): 6 ppg | 202 ypg | 134 passing ypg | 68 rushing ypg
UNC run game vs. Boston College run defense
When the Tar Heels run the ball well, they win. UNC was 4-1 last season when going over 150 yards on the ground and 5-0 when going over 200. That continued in the season opener, as Michael Carter (78 yards plus 60 receiving) and Javonte Williams (57, three touchdowns) led a 160-yard attack.
Boston College’s defense has been generally excellent through two games under former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. But it did allow a good chunk of rushing yards to Duke (134) and Texas State (128), with most of that production coming from the teams’ running backs.
UNC pass game vs. Boston College pass defense
Howell was efficient against Syracuse (25 of 34, 295 yards), but he’ll want to clean up on his two interceptions, even if one was off a tipped ball. Along with steady contributions from its top three receivers, North Carolina got its running backs and tight end Garrett Walston more involved.
Neutralizing quarterbacks has been Boston College’s specialty so far. A week after forcing five turnovers (two picks) to beat Duke, its defense sacked Texas State’s quarterback five times. The Eagles have allowed 217 and 229 passing yards in their first two games and only one catch over 24 yards.
Boston College run game vs. UNC run defense
The Tar Heels shut down Syracuse’s inexperienced running backs in their opener; the top two had a combined 19 carries for 38 yards. Although sacks negated most of his yardage, Orange quarterback Tommy DeVito did find some rushing lanes. He had 68 yards on nine scrambles.
Interestingly enough, Boston College fits a similar profile. Running backs David Bailey (26 carries for 84 yards) and Travis Levy (14 for 22) haven’t done much, but Jurkovec — a big runner at 6-foot-5 and 226 pounds — has a team-high 97 rushing yards excluding negative yardage from sacks. He scored twice on the ground last week from two and three yards out.
Boston College pass game vs. UNC pass defense
Jurkovec has been about everything Boston College could want from a transfer quarterback. After debuting with 300 yards and two touchdowns against Duke, he led a 14-point comeback and completed five straight passes in the final minute to set up BC for a game-winning field goal against Texas State.
UNC’s secondary, meanwhile, limited Syracuse to 134 passing yards, aided by a relentless pass rush, and held its top receiver, Taj Harris, to five catches for 64. Flowers, Boston College’s speedy wide receiver who has 182 receiving yards on just seven catches, is another legit threat alongside tight end Long.
UNC special teams vs. Boston College special teams
The Tar Heels had some bad special teams play in their opener. They roughed the punter on fourth down to give Syracuse a first, and they allowed a long punt return touchdown only nullified by a Syracuse penalty. After muffing an early punt, Dazz Newsome had 93 return yards and a score of his own called back, while new kicker Grayson Atkins, a grad transfer from Furman, was 1 of 2.
After missing the Duke game as he recovered from surgery, BC kicker Aaron Boumerhi sank a game-winning 36-yarder with three seconds left to beat Texas State. Another field goal was blocked, though. The Eagles have allowed just one punt return for eight yards this season.
UNC intangibles vs. Boston College intangibles
For the Tar Heels, this one’s obvious: they just took an unintended three-week sabbatical because of the Charlotte game cancellation and a previously scheduled open week. Head coach Mack Brown said UNC is treating this game like another season opener. Two other notes: this is North Carolina’s first road trip under coronavirus protocols, and the team struggled with penalties against Syracuse (nine for 91 yards).
Boston College has been an absolute second-half team this year. The Eagles are outscoring opponents 36-7 in the third and fourth quarters, and Jurkovec has completed 77.8 percent of his passes in the second half for 368 yards (second most in the country). But can that hold against a ranked opponent in the same way it did against Duke (0-3) and Texas State (1-3)?