UNC report card: Running backs lead way with an A+, but not every unit dominated
North Carolina football got into another shootout with Virginia Tech on Saturday.
But unlike last season, the Tar Heels didn’t need six overtimes to put up major points — and they didn’t leave with a loss, either. No. 8 UNC moved to 3-0 this season with a wild 56-45 win over VT, holding off a third-quarter meltdown and racking up 656 total yards against a team that downed them 43-41 in 2019.
In its second straight week against another undefeated ACC opponent on national TV, North Carolina came through in crunch time with a timely fourth-quarter sack, onside kick recovery and final time-killing drive to officially curb the No. 19 Hokies, who went down 21-0 in the first quarter.
Passing offense
A- In UNC’s first two games, quarterback Sam Howell was 0 of 8 on throws more than 20 yards downfield. In Saturday’s first half? 2 of 2 for 80 yards and two touchdowns to burner Dyami Brown, according to Pro Football Focus. In a game dominated by UNC’s running backs, Howell was uber-efficient again: 18 of 23, 257 yards and three touchdowns. (It should have been four, but one of his passes to receiver Dazz Newsome was deemed backward and therefore a short rushing score.)
After VT roared back to within 42-37, Howell quarterbacked a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a screen pass touchdown to Newsome. It was a cushion North Carolina desperately needed. Up 56-45, Howell also led UNC on a final clock-burning drive to ice the win. The only thing to nitpick here: UNC’s offense tripping up in the third with just 81 total yards and keeping a tired defense on the field.
Rushing offense
A+ Junior Javonte Williams entered Saturday with five touchdowns to his name and left with two more. He was lights out for the third game in a row with 20 carries for 169 yards — and was somehow bested by senior Michael Carter, who had 17 carries for 214 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
They were aided in part by the return of versatile starting offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu and became the first UNC duo to each rush for 100-plus since Elijah Hood and T.J. Logan in 2015. The Tar Heels reached the 200-yard rushing mark in the third quarter and finished with 399. They would have finished with over 400, if not for Howell’s two quarterback kneels in the final minute.
Passing defense
B Down their top corner (Storm Duck) and top nickelback (Ja’Qurious Conley), the Tar Heels held their own against VT quarterbacks Braxton Burmeister and Hendon Hooker for a while. But fatigue set in, especially in the third quarter, and Hooker eventually got rolling; the Greensboro native, who came off the bench, finished with 136 yards and two touchdowns on just seven completions.
UNC allowed a few notable chunk plays, and corner Patrice Rene and safety Cam’Ron Kelly understandably needed some time to adjust in their first game back from injury. Fellow defensive backs Trey Morrison, Don Chapman and Kyler McMichael were more steady. UNC’s only sack of the game, by Tomari Fox, was huge: it gave the Tar Heels the ball back with a 49-37 lead early in the fourth.
Rushing defense
C- Again, it took a while, but Va. Tech broke through in the third quarter with the dominant run game that has defined its offense in 2020. Star back Khalil Herbert had touchdown runs of eight and 52 yards; he finished with 138 total. VT scored twice more on the ground, with quarterback Hooker and tight end James Mitchell, and had 48 total attempts for 260 yards.
As with UNC’s passing defense, there were missed tackles abound here. The Tar Heels looked gassed at times, especially once Hooker took over as starter in the second half — but a cold offense was partially to blame for that. And the group excelled in crunch time, as VT had just 31 rushing yards as it played catchup down multiple scores in the fourth quarter.
Special teams
B The one big slip-up here: VT recovered a surprise onside kick midway through the third quarter while trailing 42-24. That excellent play by kicker Brian Johnson (who recovered his own kick) gave the Hokies the ball right back in a dominant 15 minutes that put North Carolina’s 42-17 lead in serious jeopardy. UNC didn’t ask much of kicker Grayson Atkins or punter Ben Kiernan, and kickoff specialist Jonathan Kim limited all-purpose threat Herbert to two kickoff returns for 49 yards. Newsome didn’t log a punt return.
Coaching
B+ Head coach Mack Brown didn’t get the turnovers he wanted — the Tar Heels and Hokies combined for exactly zero — and he’ll remain frustrated with another game heavy on penalties (10 for 87). But for a top-10 team with legit postseason aspirations, simply winning takes precedence.
Brown stayed the course after a rough third quarter that put UNC’s once-25-point lead in jeopardy and kept his team from becoming the next Atlanta Falcons-esque punchline. Sticking to the run game late in the fourth quarter was a good call. Getting Newsome heavily involved was, too.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 4:38 PM.