By Doc Kennedy

For over 40 years, weird things have happened when Clemson and North Carolina play football.

During Clemson’s 1981 national championship season, it was the Scott Stankavage incomplete pass that was ruled a lateral that Clemson recovered on what would have been the game-winning drive for the Tar Heels, but instead UNC endured a 10–8 loss. In 1987, receiver Randy Marriott dropped a wide-open pass from Mark Maye in the fourth quarter that would have given Carolina the lead, but instead the game ended in a 13–10 loss under the lights in Kenan Stadium for only the second time in UNC football history. In the 2015 ACC championship game, a phantom offside call on a successful onside kick cost the Heels a chance to tie the score late in the game. And in 2019, Clemson stopped a Carolina two-point conversion when UNC was going for the lead with less than two minutes to go in Mack Brown’s first year back in Chapel Hill.

The first half on Saturday in Death Valley took the weirdness and bad karma up a notch.

Omarion Hampton, the ACC’s best running back, had not fumbled all season long in over 200 carries, but fumbled inside the 5-yard line and cost UNC points. Then, after a defensive stop, Drake Maye found J.J. Jones for a score and a 7–0 lead. Again, after a defensive stop, Hampton broke free for a 64-yard scamper but had the ball poked out just short of the goal line, and the ball went out of the side of the end zone, giving Clemson the ball on a touchback. The Tigers then marched 80 yards for a score, so instead of UNC leading 17–0 or 21–0, the game was tied at 7.

Then, late in the second quarter, a series of unfortunate events befell the seemingly cursed Tar Heels. Carolina brought pressure against Clemson QB Cade Klubnik, who threw an interception in the end zone, which appeared to snuff out a Tiger scoring threat. But Cedric Gray was called for roughing the passer on what could charitably be described as a soft penalty (though it may have met the letter of the law) and the drive stayed alive. Then, after a questionable spot was ruled a first down and goal, Klubnik dove for the end zone on a QB keeper that was ruled a touchdown on the field and with surprisingly few good angles for a main ESPN network broadcast, the call stood, and the Tigers went to the locker room up 14–7 in a half where UNC certainly felt like they missed opportunities and had about a thousand things go against them.

In the second half, Hampton came alive, which was good because the Clemson defense put Maye in a chokehold, while many of the demons that have haunted Mack Brown 2.0 in Chapel Hill — missed tackles, bad decisions and poor clock management — made their appearance on the way to a 31–20 loss. It’s not *that* the Heels lost in Death Valley to a Tigers team that has played much better of late, it’s *how* they lost that really has UNC fans scratching their heads.

And with that in mind, here is the missed opportunity edition of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:

Good

Omarion Hampton

If anyone deserves a pass for the two unfortunate fumbles, it’s Hampton, who collected 178 yards and two scores on just 19 carries, for a whopping 9.4 average per carry. Hampton did everything he could do to will his team to victory.

Special teams

After a couple of weeks of looking like hot garbage, the UNC special teams looked surprisingly competent on Saturday. Punter Tom Maginnes punted four times for a 42-yard average and placed three kicks inside the 20. There was some nifty punt coverage as well. Nice to see this was one area that didn’t beat the Tar Heels this week.

Bad

Penalties

Just one week after seeming to clean up the penalty bug, the Tar Heels were flagged 10 times for 75 yards, many of which were just crushing, like the roughing-the-passer call that wiped out a turnover, or the horse collar that kept Clemson on the field when it looked like UNC had a stop. The false starts that put Carolina behind the chains didn’t help either.

Clock management

The concerns over UNC’s clock management literally started in the first game of the Mack Brown 2.0 era, botching the end of the South Carolina game (that UNC fortunately won), and have continued into year five. There was much debate online about UNC’s timeout after Maye was sacked on first down during UNC’s last possession of the first half (though I can understand that one), as well as Carolina having to burn a timeout to decide to go for two, down 11 points in the fourth quarter. This is not an area in which the Hall of Fame coach nor his staff have distinguished themselves.

Ugly

Pass blocking

How can the offensive line look so good in run blocking, so as to produce the top running back in the ACC, and yet be so bad in pass blocking? Maye had a miserable day, only going 16 of 36 for 209 yards and a score. He also rushed for 67 more yards as he found himself running for his life a good part of the day. The O-line surrendered four sacks and rarely gave Maye a clean pocket. Clemson is one of the best defenses UNC will play all year, but this is far from the first time they have found themselves on the wrong end of being bullied around in the passing game.

Defensive regression

After the season opener against South Carolina, the premise of this season was that UNC’s defense might be more than serviceable, it might actually be good. And for the first half of the season, that seemed it might be the case. As former Tar Heel Blog publisher Brian Barbour pointed out, during UNC’s first five games against FBS opponents, they gave up 19 points per game and allowed over 30 just once. In their last five against FBS opponents, they have given up 37 points per game, and all five have scored over 30. Yes, the schedule got harder but not twice as many points per game allowed harder. What started with such promise has turned into a simple inability for UNC to get stops when they need them.

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What a difference five weeks makes. Just 35 days ago, UNC was 6–0 and ranked No. 10 in the country. N.C. State was 4–3 after a three-touchdown drubbing by Duke and wondering if there were two more wins left on the schedule for bowl eligibility. Since then, Carolina has lost three of its next five, while State has won four in a row despite their quarterback quitting in mid-season. Now both teams head into the season finale in Raleigh at 8-3 but on decidedly different trajectories. The last time the Tar Heels played in Carter-Finley, the Pack scored two touchdowns in 26 seconds in the fourth quarter to stun Carolina, while last year, the game went to two overtimes. There is no telling what chaos awaits, given the nature of this series, but it sure feels like UNC needs to win to salvage any positive vibes about its season. There are still 10 wins for Carolina on the table with a win in Raleigh and a bowl win, but given the four straight losses to end last season, losing four of six headed into a bowl this year would be another Lucy yanking the football situation. Again.

Doc Kennedy is an alum and longtime UNC fan, and a former high school and college basketball coach who wrote this report for years on Tar Heel Blog.

Photo via @UNCFootball