What we learned from UNC’s win over Pitt. Tar Heels inch closer to clinching Coastal
No. 21 North Carolina’s magic number is down to two games to clinch the ACC Coastal Division title after Saturday’s 42-24 win over Pitt.
The Tar Heels (7-1, 4-0 ACC) own head-to-head tiebreaker wins over both Miami and Duke, which are the only remaining two-loss teams in the division. Two more wins would secure Carolina’s second-ever appearance in the league’s title game and the first since 2015.
Just don’t let UNC coach Mack Brown hear you thinking that far ahead. He said in the past he would calculate remaining games and scenarios. Now he just wants to keep winning.
“Let’s get better and win every game we can win, that’s what we need to do,” Brown said. “So what I will tell them (Sunday) is I don’t want to hear Coastal mentioned, I don’t want to hear ACC championship mentioned and I don’t want to hear polls mentioned.”
The first College Football Playoff poll is set for release on Tuesday. But we won’t mention it.
Here’s what we learned from the Heels’ win over Pitt:
Trash talk does no good
Pitt linebacker Tylar Wiltz talked during the week on how the Panthers were, “going to hit (UNC quarterback Drake Maye) hard,” and how, “if he doesn’t get up, that’s not our problem.”
Brown just gave a Cheshire grin when asked after the game if the Heels used Wiltz’s words against him. Brown simply said, “They were aware of it.”
Well, the Panthers did get a few shots on Maye. He was sacked twice. They limited him to just five yards on six rushing attempts in the first half. And defensive tackle Calijah Kancey was ejected for targeting for a hit to the head on Maye in the second quarter.
Maye did have to leave the game after Kancey’s hit. But it was only to get his hand taped after he had what he equated to a popped blister that caused blood gushing from just beneath the pinky on his right hand. He missed one play. Then proceeded to rush for 56 yards in the second half and finished the game with 388 passing yards and five touchdowns.
“Drake’s up and walking, he threw some touchdowns over their heads, so I mean, there ain’t nothing else to it,” linebacker Kaimon Rucker said. “We got the dub (win) at the end of the day too. A little cherry on top.”
Short yardage specialty
UNC linebacker Cedric Gray’s forced fumble and recovery on third-and-1 in the fourth quarter wasn’t just a fluke. Carolina’s really improved on short yardage plays to the extent that it may be what the defense does best.
The Heels held Pitt 0-for-7 on attempts in power rushing, which is defined as rushes for 2 or fewer yards that result in a first down or touchdown. In those high stakes situations, Carolina came out unscathed.
“The key is just discipline,” UNC defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie said. “You just got to know your personnel and know your play call. You go out there and execute your play, we good. So you just got to be disciplined.”
Abandon the run
Carolina had just 18 rushing yards in the first half and 50 yards after three quarters. With starting running back Caleb Hood injured early in the game, the Heels found it tough on the ground all game.
Elijah Green had an impressive two-yard touchdown run, where he appeared stopped but kept churning his legs to get in the end zone. But aside from that, both Green and Omarion Hampton didn’t generate anything the Heels could build upon.
UNC running backs combined to gain just 28 yards on 13 carries. (Maye led the team in rushing with 61 yards.) That’s why Brown told offensive coordinator Phil Longo to abandon the run game.
“I told him at halftime, ‘Forget it man, go do what we need to do to win the game,’” Brown said. “Let’s don’t waste plays running the ball. If they’ve got too many in the box that just doesn’t make sense. That’s just being stubborn.”
Brown admitted that in his younger days as a coach, he would have been furious about only running for 86 yards. But now he says the only stats that matter are scoring offense and scoring defense. He’s no longer that stubborn to keep running against a defense that was stacked against it and blitizing often.
Carolina used flat passes and quick hits to act like a running game in the second half and it helped loosen their entire passing game up.
“The offensive staff has done a tremendous job of getting away from, ‘we have to be balanced,’ in the traditional way,” Brown said. “Throwing screens and flares gets the ball in the backs hands where they still make their yards. They’re just not traditional rushing yards.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2022 at 6:10 AM.