The North Carolina Tar Heels are 4-2 as they head into Saturday’s Week 8 game against Syracuse, but the recent two-game winning streak hasn’t erased the biggest issue hanging over this team: they still haven’t put together a complete four-quarter performance.
That point has become a clear talking point inside the program. Earlier this week, defensive lineman Leroy Jackson said that’s been the message as UNC looks to keep building on its recent success.
On offense, the Tar Heels have generally gotten off to good starts. Through the first six games, quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and the unit have had little trouble putting together scoring drives early.
The problem shows up once defenses start adjusting. At that point, North Carolina has struggled to sustain long possessions and keep the pressure on.
Edwards Jr. is at the center of that trend. The veteran quarterback has drawn attention this season for fading as games wear on, even though he has looked sharp early - especially in the opening quarter and on the first 15 scripted plays.
That pattern showed up again against Duke, where Edwards Jr. turned in what was arguably his best outing of the year, but UNC still hit a lull after jumping out to 17 early points. The Tar Heels then went scoreless until under two minutes remained in the fourth quarter.
They still escaped with a win, but that kind of drought could become a problem in a tighter game later in the season.
The defense has dealt with a similar inconsistency. North Carolina has had stretches where it looks dominant, then stretches where it loses control of the game.
The run defense has been especially uneven. In the conference opener against Clemson, the front seven set the tone and took over in the trenches before things flipped in the second half and helped lead to a loss.
Against Pittsburgh, the first half was rough against the run, but the second half went the other way and helped UNC get the win.
That’s the standard the Tar Heels are still chasing. If they want to play to their ceiling and stay steady from week to week, their defense has to hold up over all four quarters, not just one half at a time.
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Duggins is already rated as the No. 8 prospect nationally in the Class of 2029 and the top player in North Carolina, which makes this the kind of recruiting battle that will be watched closely around Chapel Hill. For the Tar Heels, keeping a high-profile in-state target in the pipeline is always important, and this one has the feel of an early test of how much traction UNC can build before the competition really heats up. [Read more 🡒]