By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — On a day when Ludacris gave a pre-game concert at Polk Place, what transpired at Kenan Stadium was beyond ludicrous.
The only competition from North Carolina was whether the Tar Heels’ offense or defense was worse in an embarrassing 38–10 loss to Clemson in their ACC opener Saturday.
Unlike the game, that competition was close. It’s the worst offense for UNC (2–3, 0–1 ACC) since probably 1999 and the worst defense in years. Considering the continual defensive struggles over recent seasons, that’s saying something.
Clemson (2–3, 1–2) hadn’t scored 28 points in any of its first four games, but had that total by the end of the first quarter. Entering the game, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney declared that the Tigers’ slow start was because of a total coaching failure. That is a good description of what is happening in the Carolina program.
“A disappointing outcome for us today,” Coach Bill Belichick said. “I thought we had a a good week. I think we were ready to go and fortunately we get some big plays early in the game that really tilted the game and just never recovered.”
Coach Bill Belichick’s first UNC team has fallen into the category of Mack Brown’s back-to-back 1–10 seasons in 1988 and 1989 as one of the worst in program history.
“We just got to do a better job coaching, better job playing, and just eliminate the mistakes that are fixable,” Belichick said. “Honestly, not that many things that we can’t get right, but we’ve got to do a better job of it. We can’t play like that defensively at the beginning of the game. “Obviously, just tough to score. It’s too much.”
The relatively successful second half, compared to the first half showed some pride from Carolina’s players but didn’t cushion the blow much. The Tar Heels didn’t find the end zone until Benjamin Hall’s 11-yard touchdown run capped a 75-yard drive with 10:25 left in the game against nearly all second-teamers on the Clemson defense.
UNC continued to play man-to-man pass coverage, and Clemson continued to exploit it. By halftime, the Tigers had more touchdowns (five) than the Tar Heels had first downs (four).
Belichick refused to say whether this was a bigger rebuild than he expected.
“I’m just not going to make any evaluations like that,” he said. “We’re just going to keep working every day and every week. But the guys get better, the guys that play better will keep playing. The guys that don’t, maybe there’s other people that can compete and move ahead in the playing time.”
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik was 22 of 24 for 254 yards and four touchdowns and a 235.6 passer rating after throwing only six touchdown passes in the first four games. The Tigers rolled up 488 total yards.
Max Johnson got the start at quarterback for UNC with Gio Lopez out because of a leg injury and played the entire game. He got little time to throw and had a tough time finding much success as half of UNC’s drives were three-and-outs.
Johnson was 26 of 42 for 213 yards, the highest by a UNC quarterback this season, and a 104.5 passer rating but only took one sack.
The running game wasn’t good either, with Hall’s 24 yards leading the way as the Tar Heels rushed for 54 yards.
It only took Clemson 11 seconds to take the lead on a double pass as wide receiver Antonio Williams threw to D.J. Moore for a 75-yard touchdown pass, easily beating cornerback Thad Dixon for the first of three consecutive quick scoring drives.
Carolina responded with a 10-play, 58-yard drive to net a 35-yard Rece Verhoff field goal, but combined for -5 yards in its next four drives.
Clemson scored on the next three drives of four plays (a 35-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to Randal Adams), five plays (45-yard TD pass to Christian Bentancur, who beat Will Hardy) and seven plays (23-yard TD from Klubnik to Adam Randall).
Only when Clemson faced a first-and-40 on the next drive was UNC able to force a punt. The destruction of the Carolina defense resumed with an 8-yard pass from Klubnik to Bentancur.
UNC kept Clemson out of the end zone in the second half, sealed when Nicco Maggio recovered a Trent Pearman fumble at the Carolina 3 with 1:14 left.
NOTES — UNC gets its second open date next weekend before visiting California at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17 (ESPN). The Bears (4–1, 1–0) host Duke at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. … There was a Window World logo in two spots on the field. … With Lopez out and Johnson starting, UNC’s backup quarterback was freshman Au’Tori Newkirk. … In the pregame concert at Polk Place, Ludicris wore a Julius Peppers jersey. … Wide receiver Jordan Shipp wore No. 13 in honor of Tylee Craft, who died nearly a year ago. … Former great UNC running back Amos Lawrence got the crowd fired up before the game. … UNC has scored in its opening drive in four of five games. … Team chaplain Mitch Mason, battling cancer, was introduced during the first quarter time out. … It was the seventh consecutive victory in the series for Clemson, which leads the all-time series 41–19–1, including 17–11–1 in Chapel Hill. … UNC is 30–43 in ACC openers and 38–35 in ACC home openers. … The 28 first-quarter points Carolina allowed were the most since Oklahoma scored 31 on Aug. 25, 2001.
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Clemson 38, UNC 10
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| No. 4 Miami | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Clemson | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Duke | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| No. 21 SMU | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Wake Forest | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Florida State | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| N.C. State | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Virginia | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| California | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Louisville | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| Stanford | 1–3 | 2–3 |
| North Carolina | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Syracuse | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Boston College | 0–2 | 2–3 |
Friday’s result
Pittsburgh 35, Virginia Tech 33
Saturday’s games
No. 3 Notre Dame 37, North Carolina 26
Wake Forest 57, Stanford 3
No. 21 SMU 25, Boston College 16
Syracuse 42, UConn 41, OT
Florida State 38, Virginia 7
N.C. State 31, Louisville 28
UNLV 39, California 31
No. 4 Miami at Clemson, 7:30, ABC
Friday’s game
Florida State at Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Saturday’s games
North Carolina at Pittsburgh, noon, ESPN or ESPN2
Wake Forest at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Virginia Tech at California, 3:30, ESPN or ACCN
Duke at Georgia Tech, 3:30, ESPN2 or ACCN
Stanford at No. 3 Notre Dame, 3:30, NBC/Peacock
Syracuse at Virginia, 7:30, ACCN
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent (current ranking) | Record/TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||
| 29 | W, 15–10 | vs.TCU in Dublin | 1–0 |
| September | |||
| 12 | W, 35–3 | vs. ETSU | 2–0 |
| 19 | L, 28–20 | at Clemson | 2–1, 0–1 ACC |
| October | |||
| 3 | L, 37–26 | vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 2–2 |
| 10 | Noon | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | TBA | at Duke | TBA |
| 24 | TBA | vs. Syracuse | TBA |
| 31 | TBA | vs. No. 4 Miami | TBA |
| November | |||
| 7 | Noon | at UConn | CBSSN |
| 14 | TBA | vs. Louisville | TBA |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia | TBA |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State | TBA |
| December | |||
| 5 | noon, ABC | ACC championship game in Charlotte | ESPN |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
