By Doc Kennedy

Year 1 A.D. (After Drake) for Carolina football began on a stormy night in Minneapolis, as the Tar Heels and Golden Gophers engaged in a rainy slog-fest worthy of the Big Ten West before UNC emerged with a 19–17 win.

For a game between two offensively challenged teams, there was plenty to keep your eyes glued to the screen. There were key turnovers, big defensive plays, a circus-style fumble recovery, a potentially devastating injury and, in the end, Carolina survived because Minnesota’s All-Big Ten kicker Dragan Kesich doinked a chip-shot field goal in the first half and missed what would have been a game-winning 45-yard kick as time expired.

With that in mind, here is the Minnesota edition of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:

Good

Noah Burnette

Carolina’s senior kicker picked up where he left off at the
end of last season, going 4-4 on field goals and providing pretty much all of
UNC’s scoring. He nailed a career-best 52-yarder in the 3rd quarter and a
45-yarder to give the Heels the lead with 1:45 remaining.

Omarion Hampton

Hampton showed why he receives the accolades that he does, amassing 129 yards on the ground (with very little passing support) and adding 5 catches out of the backfield. In other words, Omarion Hampton doing Omarion Hampton things.

Defense

Grading on a curve somewhat here because Minnesota is as offensively challenged as UNC is, but new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins’ unit generally availed themselves well, particularly against the run. Carolina only allowed 78 yards on the ground, while generating 5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. Missed tackles in particular remain an issue, and UNC gave up 109 yards on the last two drives in the 4th quarter after only allowing 135 yards for the rest of the game, but there is certainly something to build on here. 

Bad

Quarterback play

Max Johnson stumbled and bumbled his way through a first half with only 4 completions for 28 yards, although he did have a rushing touchdown, Carolina’s only touchdown of the game. His interception that gave Minnesota their first touchdown after UNC was dominating on defense and had great field position was potentially game-changing. Chip Lindsay made some solid halftime adjustments to get the offense out of neutral and Johnson went 8 of 9 for 43 yards before his injury. Conner Harrell completed only two passes (though one was a key pickup to J.J. Jones) for 34 yards, and had three poor QB runs for minus one yard. Blech.

Receivers

While UNC’s quarterbacks were struggling, the Tar Heel receivers didn’t exactly distinguish themselves either. There were a number of key drops, missed blocks on run plays, and a crucial drive-killing penalty on offensive pass interference. Of all Carolina’s weaknesses, receivers and tight ends shouldn’t be among them.

Ugly

Max Johnson’s injury

The Texas A&M transfer has had some issues staying healthy over his career, and his leg injury in the second half after he was inadvertently hit in a high-low situation with a Minnesota defender coming down on his right leg resulted in Johnson being carted off the field. As of Thursday night, Mack Brown said Johnson was at the hospital and did not know the extent of his injury. This is the kind of thing that changes the trajectory of a season.

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To paraphrase Dean Smith after the 1993 national championship game, yes UNC was lucky. Yes UNC was fortunate. But they’re still 1–0 and won a true road opener for the first time since the George H.W. Bush administration. A Power Four road win, no matter how unsightly, goes a long way towards building a team’s confidence. Now Carolina has three straight games — at home — against non-P4 opponents to sort out the offensive woes and clean up the defensive miscues. Losing in Minneapolis would not have derailed the season, but winning there opens up opportunities for improvement and a chance to head into October at 5–0.

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