By Doc Kennedy

You can forgive Carolina fans for feeling, as Yogi Berra famously described, déjà vu all over again, as the Tar Heels welcomed Stanford to Chapel Hill on Saturday.

New QB? Check.

Putrid offense in the first half versus one of the league’s worst defenses? Check.

Getting the offense on track and Gio Lopez looking much better in the second half? Check.

Putting the clamps on defensively? Check.

Getting a 17-point lead and cruising to a win? Well, about that one …

For the first three quarters, UNC’s game against the Cardinal set up almost exactly like the game eight days ago at Syracuse, save for the defensive touchdown. The Carolina offense struggled and only put up a single Rece Verhoff field goal as the half ended in a 3–3 rock fight.

The second half also opened up as it did against the Orange, with Lopez and the offense finally kicking into gear. The defense stood tall and, like last week, was keeping the opponent out of the end zone while the Tar Heels built a 17-point lead. Then it got spicy.

UNC took their foot off the gas while Stanford quarterback Elijah Brown got hot, at one point completing 11 of 12 passes and after a perfect touchdown pass with 1:48 left, the Cardinal cut the lead to just five. A fortunate poor decision by Stanford on the two-point try kept the margin greater than a field goal. After giving up just 165 yards through the first three quarters, Carolina allowed two touchdowns on 155 yards on the final two drives.

Ultimately, the stat sheet doesn’t reflect that Carolina dominated the game for most of three quarters plus, as Stanford outgained the Tar Heels, had more first downs, and won the time of possession. But the stat that matters, the final score, went UNC’s way as Carolina picked up their fourth win of the season.

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

Good

Melkart Abou Jaoude and Tyler Thompson

MAJ (top photo) and Thompson (below) are establishing themselves as two of the best defenders in the ACC. The pair each logged three sacks, the first time in UNC history that two players had three or more sacks in a game. Carolina tallied a season-high nine sacks.

Kicking game

Rece Verhoff continues to be a solid acquisition, nailing a pair of field goals and matching his season-long from 48 yards. And his final punt notwithstanding, Tom Maginness put two punts inside the 20 and had a long of 55 yards. Maginness has improved as much as Tar Heel this season.

Kobe Paysour and Jordan Shipp

Paysour and Shipp (below) have finally developed into the receiving threats Lopez needs to open up the offense. Paysour had a team-high six receptions, and Shipp had five for 83 yards and a 55-yard score.

Bad

Rushing offense

Carolina’s running backs were never able to establish themselves in this game, gaining only 50 yards on 27 attempts, and seven of those attempts were stopped for losses. UNC’s offensive line was mostly bullied up front by Stanford, which puts too much pressure on Lopez.

Penalties

The Tar Heels had been one of the league’s least-penalized teams, averaging just over five per game. Saturday, they were whistled 11 times for 73 yards, including a couple of drive-extending flags. Fortunately, the Cardinal obliged with eight of their own. Hoping this is a one-off and not the beginning of something.

Ugly

First-half offense

For the second straight game, the Carolina offense was dreadful in the first half. Stanford came into the game with one of the league’s worst defenses, and the Tar Heels could only manage three points on a pathetic 47 yards of total offense. And for the second straight game, the defense kept the game close. UNC can’t keep living like that.

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It’s a sign of progress when you can find plenty of things wrong with a win. The team has improved and begins the Mack Brown State Championship Series™ with consecutive games against Wake Forest, Duke, and N.C. State, needing two wins to become bowl eligible for a seventh-straight year. Seven isn’t eight, which is the program-record bowl streak set during Mack Brown 1.0, but it’s an accomplishment to talk about a bowl after two straight wins when, after Clemson, this team was trending as one of the worst Carolina football teams ever.

Today was a passed test, though certainly not an A. The next measure of progress comes next weekend in Winston-Salem against a vastly improved Demon Deacons team. 

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.

Photos by Joshua Lawton