UNC vs. Virginia Tech - Player of the Game: Dazz Newsome

Well that was a dumb football game, wasn’t it?

Let’s leave all the annoyances, nitpicks, anger, and disappointment out of this post, because there will be plenty of that in several different posts here over the next couple days. Yes, we’re all sad and/or frustrated, but let’s just ignore that for a couple minutes and focus on one good thing to come out of yesterday’s game.

Dazz Newsome gets our player of the game after his nice performance in UNC’s loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. The junior receiver led the team with nine catches and 112 yards. Two of those catches were touchdowns, both of which came in the first half. He also received one rushing attempt, which went for three yards.

Newsome was also part of the buildup of multi-pitch flea flicker-ish trick play that led to Antoine Green’s 68-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. He obviously didn’t throw or catch it, but it was cool.

Other nominees include Sam Howell, who threw for some gaudy counting stats at 348 yards and five touchdowns. However, he didn’t complete passes at a great percentage at just 53.1%. While a lot of this wasn’t his fault after a less than stellar game from the offensive line, he also made some not great decisions. Howell took five sacks and in general occasionally ran himself into some trouble, eventually having to throw the ball away several times.

There was also Michael Carter, who ran for 91 yards at an average of seven yards per carry.

No one on the defense can really be considered for Player of the Game.

There will be plenty to argue and consternate over about this game in the coming days. I’m sure we will. However, Dazz Newsome played well, so let’s just talk about that for a second.