By Doc Kennedy

As noted last week, the jokes and cliches were all set up. UNC had a pair of scary road games sandwiched around Halloween, and the Tar Heels were haunted by a four-game losing streak. In an amazing bit of sorcery, Carolina broke its losing string with a 41–14 win in Charlottesville against Virginia and followed that up on Saturday with a 35–11 victory that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.

To be clear, Florida State is not a good football team. The Seminoles came into the game with a 1–7 record and were ranked 14th in the conference in total defense and dead last in total offense. UNC dominated the first half but because of a dropped would-be interception that would likely have been a pick-six and a failure to get into the end zone from the one-yard line, the Heels only led 14–3. After trading touchdowns in the third quarter, Carolina clamped down on the Noles with a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions to seal the victory. With the loss, Florida State sealed their worst conference record ever in ACC play, while the Heels moved a step closer to bowl eligibility.

With that in mind, here is the Florida State version of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:

Good

Omarion Hampton

Hampton continued to make his case as one of the best backs in America with a career-high 265 all-purpose yards and a career-high five touchdowns, four rushing and one receiving. With his 172 yards on the ground, Hampton surpassed the 3,000-yard mark for his career. His five touchdowns were the most since Kelvin Bryant scored six in 1981.

Defense

Granted FSU was last in the ACC in total offense, but Carolina exerted its will as should happen against a last-place team. The Heels had five sacks and 10 tackles for losses to go with a pair of interceptions while holding the Seminoles to just 42 yards rushing. Beau Atkinson in particular had a day, with 3½ sacks and four and a half tackles for losses. For the second straight game, the defense looked entirely different with a fully healthy Kaimon Rucker back in the lineup.

Jacolby Criswell

Criswell is really coming into his own as the Tar Heel signal caller as the season has progressed. After starting 1 of 3, Criswell went 12 of 14 for the remainder of the game and finished with 211 yards and a touchdown. UNC so dominated the game on the ground in the second half that Criswell only threw three passes, completing two of them, including a 49-yard shovel pass to Hampton for a score. His four misses were downfield shots; he was nearly perfect in short-to-medium throws.

Bad

Pass defense

As great as the defense played, when FSU did complete passes, they were big ones. The Noles only completed eight passes but averaged 20 yards per completion. The pass defense gave up three completions over 30 yards and another for 28.

Ugly

Goal-line offense

UNC had 13 snaps inside the FSU 10 and only gained 20 yards, for an average of a little over a yard and a half per play. Carolina did not convert a 4th-and-goal from the one and barely converted a 4th and less than one in another instance. The play-calling inside the 10 also seemed a little suspect. Fortunately, the Heels were able to overcome it today.

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With his first win over his alma mater following a win in Charlottesville wearing the 1996 throwbacks, the Mack-sorcism is now complete and the Heels head into the second open date with a season outlook that is much different than it was heading into the first open date. UNC only needs to win one of its last three to become bowl-eligible, and two of those games will be in Chapel Hill. If the defense continues its resurgence while Criswell continues to improve, all three games are certainly winnable. The vibes are much improved over three weeks ago and it will be interesting to see if this team can do what the Sam Howell and Drake Maye teams could not do: finish strong in November.

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 via @UNCFootball