Closer to full strength, UNC offense ready to show off weapons against Notre Dame
North Carolina’s upcoming faceoff against Notre Dame got the official big game endorsement when the university issued a warning to fans about counterfeit tickets being sold in the secondary market.
Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game at Kenan Stadium is officially sold out. Fans can still search for tickets through the re-sales, but are advised to do so only through StubHub, which is an official authorized dealer.
The buzz surrounding the game has been building, despite Notre Dame (1-2) entering unranked for the first time in the series since 2008. Carolina won that game 29-24 in Chapel Hill.
There’s plenty of reasons for the Tar Heels (3-0) to be excited with Josh Downs’ announcement that he will be back in the lineup. The junior receiver, who set the school’s single-season records for receptions and receiving yards last season, hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in the season opener against Florida A&M.
That’s not the only good news for the Heels. Starting right tackle Spencer Rolland was back practicing this week after missing their win at Georgia State with a lower body injury. Senior receiver Antoine Green could also make his season debut on Saturday. Green suffered a shoulder injury in pre-season camp and is still waiting to play his first snap. Running back Caleb Hood will also be a game-time decision.
“We keep losing guys, and guys keep stepping up, and it’s allowed us to maintain the things that we want to do on the offensive end,” UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo said. “We haven’t had to make any schematic changes because we do have more depth this year. And that’s a credit to some of these guys that have stepped up and filled the role.”
Their receivers were largely unproven, but when forced into new roles, they all delivered. Redshirt freshman Kobe Paysour leads the team with 14 receptions and 172 yards. Gavin Blackwell has eight catches for 109 yards. Sophomore J.J. Jones, who is the only one of the trio who caught a pass in a game before this season, has seven catches for 100 yards.
Carolina is ranked fifth nationally in total offense, averaging 547 yards per game, thanks in large part to role players. Adding Downs and Green, who was the team’s best deep threat last season, could make a big impact.
“It’d be huge,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “Two great players, and it goes to show what we have in the skill room. J.J. and Kobe — they still are gonna be some reps and they’ve proven themselves; they can make plays and make catches. It just adds more weapons for me to get the ball to and get out of my hands.”
Longo said he wasn’t sure that either Downs or Green would be ready to play 60 to 80 plays in the game since they’ve missed considerable time. But he doesn’t think they’ll need to play as much.
Longo cited an example of coaching A.J. Brown at Ole Miss. When they cut his reps from about 85 snaps down to 55, his production went up because he wasn’t as fatigued the longer he was in the game. With Carolina’s injured players back, Longo is hoping for similar results on Saturday.
“That’s what you hope for,” Longo said. “If we can spell these guys, and we can utilize the depth that we have, we’re gonna get higher production, even though we’re playing less plays.”
How to watch UNC’s football game
The game will be broadcast on ABC. It is also available on the ESPN App with an ESPN+ subscription, and through various subscription apps that carry ESPNU, such as Hulu and YouTube TV. The link to watch it is here.
Pregame reading
- UNC vs Notre Dame football first look: Odds, top story lines and players to watch
UNC offense vs Notre Dame defense will match familiar foes in Phil Longo, Al Golden
Battle of weaknesses: Key matchups when UNC defense is up against Notre Dame offense
Mack Brown on UNC QB Drake Maye’s comments and apology: ‘You can’t be cute anymore’
This story was originally published September 23, 2022 at 5:35 AM.