North Carolina looked like it might be ready to turn heads on Saturday. For one half, the Tar Heels were doing exactly that.
UNC jumped out to a 17-3 lead on the road against Clemson and had every reason to think a 3-0 start was within reach. Then the game flipped. The second half belonged to Clemson, and North Carolina walked away with a collapse that left plenty of questions hanging over Bill Belichick’s team.
The turning point came in the fourth quarter after a lightning delay, when North Carolina reached the red zone and came away with almost nothing. The Tar Heels called two running plays that went nowhere, settled for a field goal, and nudged ahead by five. Clemson answered with a touchdown on the next drive and never gave the lead back.
That finish dropped UNC to 2-1 entering its Week 4 bye, with Belichick now facing the task of getting his team reset before Notre Dame comes to town on Oct. 3.
Jordan Mendoza of USA Today wasn’t buying the early hype after the loss, putting North Carolina on "fraud alert" and suggesting the road ahead could get rough fast. As Mendoza wrote: "The sweet start for North Carolina was good while it lasted," He added, "It really was a tale of two halves, only amassing 149 yards in the final two quarters as Bobby Petrino’s play-calling sputtered.
"Still, the offense hasn’t been impressive at all and there aren’t many indications it’ll get better with bowl eligibility now a tougher task than it was a few days ago."
That concern gets even louder with Notre Dame next on the schedule. The Fighting Irish bring one of the top defenses in college football, and while their offense hasn’t been especially explosive through three weeks, it may not need to be to create problems for a North Carolina team that showed real cracks against Clemson.
In Other News...
Belichicks Comments Just Turned Up The Heat On UNCs Quarterback
North Carolinas Week 3 loss to Clemson had the familiar feel of a game that slipped away after a solid start, and Bill Belichicks postgame assessment only sharpened the focus on what went wrong. The Tar Heels led in the first half but couldnt hold it, and the head coachs takeaway suggested the issue was less about Clemson springing surprises and more about North Carolina failing to capitalize when it mattered.
Billy Edwards Jr. ended up at the center of that conversation after completing 13 of 30 passes for 135 yards with one touchdown and one interception. With Belichick saying Clemsons defense did not make major changes beyond blitz looks the Tar Heels were ready for, the questions around quarterback execution and how much of the loss can be traced back to the offense are now front and center. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Suddenly Has A Problem Fans Didn't Want To See
North Carolinas Week 3 conference opener against Clemson served as a sharp reminder that the Tar Heels still have a lot to sort out before the heart of league play. Drake Maye got the offense moving early, but his night settled into inconsistency, as he finished 13-of-30 for 135 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Against a higher-end opponent, the margin for error shrank quickly, and UNC paid for it.
The bigger concern for the Tar Heels may be on the other side of the ball, where the absence of pass rusher Abou Jaoude because of injury left a hole that was hard to ignore. With more important games ahead, his availability becomes a real question for a defense that could use all the disruption it can get. UNC has already taken its first conference loss, and now it has to manage both the pressure of the schedule and the uncertainty around a key defender. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Malone Opens Practice With No Time For UNC To Gel
Michael Malone opened his first preseason practice with a roster that looks very different from the one North Carolina finished last season with, and that is part of the challenge now facing the Tar Heels. Only three of the teams top scorers are back, while a wave of transfers has arrived to fill out the rotation, giving the new coach plenty of talent to work with and plenty of unfamiliarity to sort through.
North Carolina enters the season ranked No. 25 in the preseason polls, which says as much about the uncertainty around the group as it does about the promise. There is time to build, but not much of it, and practice now has to serve as both an introduction and a crash course for a team trying to become more than the sum of its new parts. [Read more 🡒]