By Doc Kennedy
As expected, which is refreshing.
After a solid start two weeks ago in Ireland, North Carolina returned to Kenan Stadium for its home opener and jumped out to a five-touchdown lead before cruising to a 35–3 win over East Tennessee State on Saturday.
Refreshing, because last season, Carolina followed up the debacle against TCU with a stinker against Charlotte that foretold many of the struggles the Tar Heels would show the rest of the season. This time, UNC throttled an overmatched opponent as one would expect in this type of situation.
Perhaps more important, the large working margin allowed Bill Belichick to play a number of backups, including getting our first look at backup quarterback Miles O’Neill. That is certainly a goal of playing games against FCS competition, giving starters a break and getting snaps for second- and third-team guys.
Perhaps the most relevant discussion to come out of the game is fan reception of the 1980 throwback uniforms and field configuration. Many younger fans saw the stairstep UNC logo for the first time on helmets and at midfield, and the blue-painted end zones reminded me of Kenan during my first years in Chapel Hill in the late 1980s.
With that in mind, here is the ETSU version of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:
Good
Billy Edwards Jr.
Hard to ask any more of a veteran signal-caller. Edwards was an efficient 15-20 for 244 yards and two scores in just three quarters of work. He made good decisions and went through his progressions as a quarterback of his experience should. He is still somewhat inconsistent in his throws and is limited by the lack of a deep ball, but he is the kind of game manager that keeps an offense moving forward.
Offensive proficiency
Heavens to Murgatroyd, what a difference a competent offense makes. The usual disclaimer about opponent quality applies, but the Carolina offense under Bobby Petrino is a breath of fresh air. There is misdirection, solid offensive line play, and spreading the ball around, as Edwards completed passes to eight different receivers. Not having the offense be a liability is such a welcome change.
Defensive line
Playing without an injured Melkart Abou Jaoude, the defensive line got tougher as the game went on and eventually shut down the ETSU attack, racking up four sacks and the first unit holding the Bucs to less than 200 total yards before giving way to the backups.
Aeron Burrell punting
Carolina only punted twice against the Bucs, and Burrell, the transfer from LSU, blasted a pair of 52-yard punts.
Bad
Aeron Burrell field goals
Burrell missed his only attempt, from 48 yards, in the fourth quarter, dropping him to 2 of 4 on the season. Burrell has made both of his attempts inside 30 yards, but missed both attempts beyond 40 yards. At some point, the Tar Heels will need to get points when they get inside the 30 yard-line, and if the courts aren’t going to allow Rece Verhoff to play, UNC will need Burrell to step up.
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Ugly
Weather
It was a less-than-ideal weather day in Chapel Hill, unusually warm for mid-September with rain before the game and returning in the second quarter. The game was then suspended for lightning just before the beginning of the fourth quarter, delaying the game for over an hour and emptying the fans that had remained through the rain and the lopsided game.
It’s hard to read too much into a win over an FCS opponent beyond fans and coaches seeing a lot of what they hoped to see. Edwards continues to look solid, then running game looked solid, as did the defense. Lots of guys got snaps and the Tar Heels dominated. Now a 2-0 Carolina team gets another open date to polish things up and get healthy before a trip to Death Valley to play a Clemson team that may not be as formidable as thought before the season. This game is the progression UNC partisans hope to see between the first and second games, but the real tests start in two weeks.
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 by Daniel Walker
