Honestly, it was pretty much everything I thought it would be.
The defense played a tremendous game and performed as advertised for the most part forcing four turnovers and holding the Bulldogs in check most of the night with pressure in the backfield. The Citadel was able to get the only points they had from two fumbled punt returns which gave them the ball in UNC territory The Tar Heel defense actually held the Bulldogs right there but it was close enough for The Citadel to snag the six points. While we are talking about a game versus an overmatched opponent, this game can still answer some questions and one of those is whether the defensive linemen/linebackers would be cut loose to pressure the opposing backfield. The answer to that question is yes. Rick Steinbacher made the point that last season only Bruce Carter blitzed in most cases. In this game all of the linebacker as well as the defensive line did some blitzing. It is obvious that UNC has changed the defensive scheme to push the envelope where pressuring the opposing team is concerned.
The offense looked a little inconsistent taking at least one quarter to get itself going. It was clear, with the absence of Dwight Jones, that John Shoop was content to have T.J. Yates hit multiple receivers just to see what works. Yates ended up 9-20 for 114 yards, two TDs and one INT. Some of those incompletions were the fault of the receivers who dropped perfectly good passes. In other cases, passes that Hakeem Nicks or Brandon Tate may have caught last season were dropped. That sort of thing should improve in time. Overall the offense posted a respectable 375 yards of total offense. The bulk of that came from the running game which performed quite well. Shaun Draughan racked up 118 yards rushing to the tune of almost six yards per carry. Ryan Houston picked up 45 yards and was called on to punch the ball into the end zone when the Heels got close. Aside from the Yates INT and the meaningless one thrown by Braden Hansen on his first pass, the offense took care of the football. There are still issues to work on and getting Jones healthy is an important piece but the running game is a positive assuming the offensive line stays healthy. Speaking of which, Jonathan Cooper did sprain his ankle but is expected to be fine.
Special teams was a mixed bag. Casey Barth did mix an extra point but also nailed two FGs, one from 40 yards. The return game was passable. De’Norris Searcy broke one open for a 77-yard return for a touchdown off a punt however there were two major miscues that led directly to the Bulldog points. Kendric Burney had a blocker back into him causing the first fumble. Charles Brown simply muffed the punt he was set to return giving the ball back to The Citadel deep in UNC territory. Takes those two away and the Hansen INT, UNC should have had a +3 in the turnover margin department. However those mistakes ended up making it an even affair. Against The Citadel you can get away with those kinds of mistakes. Next week at UConn that kind of garbage will cost you the game.
Overall the Heels looked good especially on defense and in the running game. The passing game was not in rhythm and the return game was mistake prone. In other words the two areas we thought would be solid(defense and rushing offense) were exactly that. The area where UNC was breaking in new personnel(passing game and kick/punt returns) there is still work to do. The most important thing is UNC took care of business, ultimately dominated a clearly inferior opponent and appeared to be in a good position going into a four game stretch against quality opponents.
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that was exciting. that aggressive D was a sight to behold. loved how even mike mcadoo and donte moss were consistently in the backfield. i also enjoyed watching womble and boyd running the ball. also positive was no fumbles by running backs.
i thought charles brown’s punt return fumble was caused by the kicking team tackling him as he was catching the ball. i thought they needed to give him a chance to catch the ball? or is that an old rule?
also, maybe i missed the commentary but is paulus officially 3rd string now (behind hanson)? if so, i can just hear all the “little paulus to syracus” transfer rumors again…
Nothing was said on-air about it. Maybe Davis just wanted to give Hanson some snaps thinking it might be the only chance he gets to do it in a meaningless game until UNC plays Ga. Southern.
Not to be unsportsmanlike about it, but one couldn’t help noticing that Virginia lost to mighty William and Mary, Duke to Richmond, NCSU to South Carolina, and Wake to Baylor.
If our starting QB is going to go 9 for 20 against a team like the Citadel, looking for good news elsewhere is not entirely unreasonable.
the 9 and 20 stat is concerning because the passing attack for UNC is based on giving the QB 3 quick/easy reads in one area of the field
The 9-20 was a result of several dropped passes, at least that is what the radio guys said. I know they said one hit Greg Little right in the hands and he just did not catch it. Hopefully getting Dwight Jones back and some additional experience the passing game will improve.
Observations from the game:
Houston has become explosive in addition to being the human plow
Blue has some serious talent and is going to be huge for us
Marvin Austin made a play 20 yards off the line in the backfield at one point. He seems to be more active on the field
We dropped way to many passes
Special teams need work – punt, extra point, kick, return – get to it
We looked good and it was a nice day
It was odd that The Citadel basically wore our away uniforms for the game and the coaches wore the same gear on both sides of the field. Same helmets on both teams – it was odd
The radio crew said UNC and The Citadel have the same colors and both use Nike as the uniform provider so it all looked familiar.
I watched the game on ESPN 360. There were SEVERAL dropped passes that were right in the receivers hands, some where the receiver was WIDE OPEN…
The speed of Carolina’s defense is incredible. Quan Sturdivant is a STUD…Donte Moss also has tremendous speed on the rush. Carolina’s secondary is also solid too…
Watching the game on ESPN 360, it looked like a Blue-White game. The Citadel’s uniforms were identical to Carolina’s road uniforms, even down to the Navy pants with Carolina Blue trim.
The missed extra point was caused by a horrible snap. The holder almost had to stand up to catch it and by the time he got it down, it through off all the rhythm..
My only question was the play calling of the coaches at the end of the first half. Up 23-0 at your own 2-yard line with 39 seconds left and the Citadel only having two timeouts, why in the name of Charlie Justice was Carolina throwing the ball???
Our running game looks solid, both Draughn and Houston were tough…Greg Little looks good as well. I think the offense will be fine going forward, especially when Dwight Jones comes back. Overall I thought it was good first game and I think the Heels should be fine heading to UConn next week…
For the reconrd, I’ve already given my dad and brother (die hard UVa fans) so much grief about losing to William and Mary at home that I probably won’t be invited for any cookouts in the near future…..
Think Al Groh will walk into his offive and find his stuff packed up in a box today?
Andy — How did your dad and brother wind up as UVa fans? Sounds like you have some work to do! And no fair reminding me that my nephew just started at Dook.
Rath, I’ve tried. My parents were born in Virginia, I was born in North Carolina. I was always attracted to UNC, they just like Virginia. Looks like I was the smart one.
At least we root for each others teams as long as UNC and UVa aren’t playing; if it’s one thing we all share, it’s a deep hatred for Duke and NC State. You would think they were Heels fans if you heard some of things coming out of their mouths about them……..
“My only question was the play calling of the coaches at the end of the first half. Up 23-0 at your own 2-yard line with 39 seconds left and the Citadel only having two timeouts, why in the name of Charlie Justice was Carolina throwing the ball???”
The guys around me thought UNC was practicing a “two minute” drill. Otherwise, the Heels would have taken a knee 2 or 3 times in an ACC game.
Obviously, I was at the game but was able to hear part of the radio broadcast and I agree with this:
B+ (But the course was basic math). Next week the course will be algebra, then trig, then calculus after that…….
Yates looked good to me. A couple of the “drops” were so so passes. Josh Adams missed two early ones but when he finally snagged one, I got the feeling he’s going to be excellent. I was glad to see Johnny White in the mix as well. J Boyd was clearly the fastest guy on the field but AJ Blue was not far behind. The Heels have the weapons, and we saw very little of Pianalto (one catch) and Elzy (who will be a big contributor, wait and see!
Defensively the speed is very evident, even from the backup guys. D Williams, Searcy and M Williams give the Heels great speed and savvy at safety.
Hopefully the kicking game will get just a little better, but overall, much better than the old days of sweating out Furman……etc….
One last comment on the Citadel game, I didn’t realize that I was wearing my sunglasses until the end of the game. The new lights deliver a tremendous amount of light. I think you will be able to see a big difference in the broadcast when we host ECU.
Adams was another solid contributor on the field for two key plays. Also, it’s really worth watching the Greg Little reception as he loses one defender and shakes off another grabbing at his ankle. It was an impressive athletic display.
Go Heels!