By Doc Kennedy
There is a famous meme from the show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” where Larry David shrugs and gives a sort of part-grimace, part-headshake, as if to say, “meh, I don’t really know what to say.” That’s as good a summary as any of North Carolina’s 37–26 loss to Notre Dame in a rainy Kenan Stadium on Saturday.
At various points, the Tar Heels looked good. Really good. At other times, they looked really, really bad. But in the end, Carolina just wasn’t good enough, and their mistakes cost them dearly against a top-5 team.
UNC followed its Bill Belichick-era script with a brilliant opening drive (after forcing the Irish to punt on their first possession, their only punt of the day) and a 7-0 lead. Two turnovers later, the Tar Heels trailed 21-7, and the Irish were inside the 10.
Carolina responded with a fourth-down stop and a 97-yard touchdown drive; later, UNC headed into half trailing only 21–14, and after returning the second-half kickoff for a score to cut the lead to 21–20, it looked like a game. But Notre Dame was too strong and outscored the Heels 16–6 from that point for the final margin.
If you want to walk on the sunny side of the street, the Tar Heels never gave up after getting down 21-7 with the Irish knocking on the door of blowing the game wide open. Carolina scored 26 on ND, which had allowed only 33 points coming into the game. And remember, good teams win, and great teams cover. UNC easily covered the 21-point spread, going 2–1 against the spread for the season.
With that in mind, here is the moral victory edition of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:
Good
Good Billy Edwards
Billy Edwards Jr. is the ultimate hot-and-cold quarterback. On Carolina’s three touchdown drives, all of which ended with Edwards passing for the score, he went 15 of 19 for 196 yards and added 20 yards on the ground. When he was good, he was good, making good decisions and sharp passes.
Jelani Thurman
Five catches for 50 yards and a pair of scores made for a good day for the transfer tight end. Thurman (top photo) worked with power and with grace, dragging defenders but also making a diving reception in the corner of the end zone.
Jordan Shipp
Shipp continues to quietly put together a great season, with seven catches for a career-high 109 yards.
Bad
Bad Billy Edwards
On UNC’s five non-scoring drives, Edwards was 2 of 9 for 12 yards and two interceptions, both of which led to Irish scores. In the first half in particular, UNC fans screamed to Miles O’Neill, “You should be out there,” but Belichick and Bobby Petrino stuck with Edwards through good and bad.
Defensive pressure
Though Melkart Abou-Jaoude returned to the lineup, Carolina’s front seven got zero pressure on Irish QB C.J. Carr, and it showed with an easy 234 yards passing and 4 touchdowns.
Kicking game
Carolina celebrated the return of kicker Rece Verhoff by missing two extra-point attempts, one on a bad snap and one blocked.
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Ugly
Rushing offense
Notre Dame held the Tar Heel running backs in check, with Benjamin Hall, Demon June, and Jaylen McGill combining for a paltry 64 yards on the ground. That puts way too much pressure on your inconsistent quarterback.
Mistakes
The Irish capitalized on Carolina’s key mistakes and turned all of them into scores. ND scored on a short field on Edwards’ first interception, scored on the possession after his second interception, scored on the blown defensive coverage when Carolina pulled within a point, and scored after the Heels jumped offsides on fourth down. A top-3 team doesn’t need their work made easier.
If you’re looking at the team’s overall performance and the final score, and you’re fine with moral victories, then things sure could have been worse for UNC. Of course, the moral victory would have meant so much more if Carolina hadn’t gagged up the Clemson game two weeks ago. (The value of a $20 million investment for moral victories is an entirely different conversation).
Now the Heels head to undefeated Pitt and have to hope karma catches up with the Panthers after escaping Blacksburg this week by mere inches. Carolina finished a respectable 2–2 vs. its first four games, but three of its next four opponents are undefeated on the season, so the sledding will be a little harder.
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 Smith Hardy
