UNC football report card: Second half raised most of the Tar Heels’ grades vs FSU
From trap game to nearly historic comeback to in-conference upset, No. 5 UNC football flirted with just about every potential outcome Saturday night in Tallahassee and left, ultimately, with a 31-28 loss.
The Tar Heels shut out Florida State in the second half but couldn’t overcome a 24-point first-half deficit, although quarterback Sam Howell’s heroics gave them more chances they could’ve asked for — down to the very last possession, when he had three on-target balls go through receivers’ hands on a potential game-winning drive. North Carolina fell to 3-1 overall and in the ACC with the prime-time loss.
Passing offense
B-plus Remember Sam Howell’s pick-six in the first half? It ended up a distant memory as the sophomore finished the game 20 of 36 for 374 yards and three touchdowns, with 283 of those yards and all three of the scores in an eye-popping second half.
Howell extended a number of other plays in the pocket despite a shaky offensive line — FSU had three sacks entering the game and sacked Howell four times — while Beau Corrales (four catches for 141 yards), Javonte Williams (three for 67) and Dyami Brown (four for 56) all scored.
This unit gets docked for Howell’s first-half interception, which put UNC down 24-0, and serious slip-ups on its final drive, when Corrales, Williams and Dazz Newsome all had catchable balls go through their hands on second, third and fourth down with UNC trailing 31-28 in the final minute.
Rushing offense
B The hot hand Saturday was Williams, who had 18 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown compared to Michael Carter’s 17 for 65. UNC understandably went away from the run in the second half, but Howell (28 rushing yards gained) provided some timely scrambles.
For as good as it’s been this season, the Tar Heel run game did have one serious error in the first half. UNC trailed 10-0 in the second quarter and faced a fourth and one from FSU’s 24-yard line. Howell handed off to Williams from under center, and he was gang-tackled for a loss of one. The Seminoles turned that stop into another touchdown to go up 17-0.
Passing defense
C-plus Defensive back Trey Morrison saved UNC against Boston College with his “pick-two,” and he all but did against FSU, too. After North Carolina ripped off consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter to get within 31-21, Morrison intercepted FSU quarterback Jordan Travis with one hand to end the quarter. It was all for naught, as the Tar Heels came up empty-handed on their next drive.
For the second week in a row, UNC’s defensive backs struggled with tackling and chunk plays. Travis was just 8 of 19 but racked up 191 yards, including 166 of them on just four completions. That hurt North Carolina enough to offset an excellent second half in which Travis was 2 of 6 for nine total yards.
Rushing defense
C Travis, a fluid runner at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, gave North Carolina nightmares on the ground. He had a team-high 16 carries for 107 yards and two first-half touchdowns, including a 23-yard tone-setting touchdown on FSU’s first offensive snap. On one fourth-quarter drive, he also converted consecutive third downs by scrambling and shaking off Chazz Surratt, then Jeremiah Gemmel.
La’Damian Webb added 12 carries for 109 yards, with almost half of them coming on a 54-yard carry. That pointed to a larger chunk play issue that plagued UNC’s defenders up front, too. The Seminoles rushed 36 times for 241 yards; 174 of those yards came on just nine carries. To its credit, UNC’s rush defense came up with some huge three-and-outs in the third quarter to give the offense a chance.
Special teams
F UNC has struggled with special teams all season, and it came to a head Saturday, especially in the first half against an FSU team that had already blocked three kicks entering the game. Ben Kiernan’s first punt was blocked and returned 18 yards to set up FSU’s opening touchdown. His third was partially blocked, too, and went just 17 yards.
Kicker Grayson Atkins, a Furman grad transfer, missed another backbreaking field goal when he kicked one wide left in the early fourth quarter — a make would’ve cut UNC’s deficit to 31-24. (His kick didn’t lose the game, as the Tar Heels still had a final drive and chance to win.) Atkins is now 2-for-5 on the year with a long of 35, and he may be on the hot seat with 2019 starter Noah Ruggles still on the roster.
Coaching
C-plus Losses like this prompt questions for head coach Mack Brown and his staff, primarily offensive coordinator Phil Longo. Why stay so run-heavy in the first half? Why go for a fourth-and-goal from three when down 31-7? Why burn two timeouts in the third quarter? Why run the ball on first-and-10 with under a minute left at FSU’s 42, trailing by three points and angling for a go-ahead touchdown?
For the record, UNC’s fourth-down decisions — the Tar Heels went for it down 10-0 and 31-7 — were logically and analytically sound. As were Brown’s ensuing two-point tries when UNC scored consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter; the Tar Heels converted one and failed another to pull within 31-21.
By the time North Carolina let Howell really sling it, though, it was playing a dangerous game of catch-up. Teams don’t often lose when they outgain an opponent 558-432 and outscore them 21-0 in the second half, but the Tar Heels’ first-half collapse made for a rare exception to the rule.