By Doc Kennedy

When a Power Three team plays an overmatched Group of Five or FCS team, especially early in the season, there are a couple of things the P4 team hopes to accomplish. Among these are usually practicing execution and polishing some of the rough edges, while at the same time avoiding injury and ideally having a big enough lead late in the game to rest starters and get some snaps down the depth chart. And, in Carolina’s case, with the season-ending injury to Max Johnson last week, the Tar Heels hoped to get Conner Harrell more comfortable leading the offense.

UNC was able to accomplish a good part of what it wanted to do against an injury-riddled Charlotte team on Saturday, finally putting away the pesky 49ers over the last 20 minutes on the way to a 38–20 win. It wasn’t always a thing of beauty and there were some spotty sequences of execution but overall the Tar Heels survived the day and moved to 2–0 on the season.

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

Good

UNC running backs

Omarion Hampton rushed for 77 yards on 11 attempts before exiting the game in the second quarter. Freshman Davion Gause (top photo) ran for 109 yards and a touchdown on just 16 attempts, and Carolina rolled up almost 270 yards on the ground.

Conner Harrell

After a shaky start in relief of Johnson last week and a rough opening possession vs. Charlotte, Harrell started to settle in and makd some throws as well as run the ball a little better. Credit to offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey for finding ways to loosen up Harrell, as it seemed like Harrell reading defenses was akin to reading hieroglyphics last week. Harrell finished with 219 yards passing and another 39 yards and a touchdown rushing as the Tar Heels rolled up nearly 500 yards of total offense.

UNC rushing defense

The Tar Heels followed up a stellar effort against Minnesota by holding Charlotte to 49 yards on 25 attempts. The improvement in the front seven has been impressive when it comes to stopping the run.

Bad

Penalties

After a relatively clean effort against Minnesota, where the Heels were only whistled for three penalties, UNC was flagged eight times for 67 yards against the 49ers. Of those eight, four gave Charlotte a first down, and two more wiped out first downs for Carolina. 

Ugly

UNC passing defense

As great as UNC was against the run, they were equally as bad against the pass. Carolina gave up 309 yards through the air, including 134 yards and two touchdowns to backup Deshawn Purdie. Even worse, the Heels gave up 10 plays of 15 or more yards, and seven plays of 20 or more yards. Woof.

Injuries

Charlotte’s injury situation was well-known coming into the game, but the injury bug visited both teams in Kenan Stadium. Carolina came into the game without Kaimon Rucker, who was apparently injured lifting weights earlier in the week and is expected to miss multiple games. Hampton left the game in the first half with a lower-body issue and did not return (but reportedly could have), and center Austin Blaske and tight end Bryson Nesbit both left the game with injuries.

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Again, in the end, UNC mostly got what they wanted out of this game, which was to polish up the offense, get some snaps for guys down the bench, and find out what else they need to work on. This is the kind of game that will generate some good video for coaches to work with players on while cruising through a win, for the most part. The first installment of this three-game get-right stretch of P5 and FCS opponents was a good first step, but there is a lot of work to be done before Carolina embarks on that second third of the season.

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

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletic Communications