By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina faces a two-part challenge Saturday against Duke: contain one of the nation’s most productive playmakers and find a way to get its running game going against the Blue Devils’ stout defense.
Duke’s Nate Sheppard has been difficult for every opponent to stop, while the Blue Devils rank No. 10 nationally in run defense. The Tar Heels must solve both problems to have a chance to control the game on the ground.
Sheppard’s production speaks for itself, UNC coach Bill Belichick said, and the 5-foot-10, 205-pound sophomore can hurt defenses in multiple ways. He leads the nation in all-purpose yards (180.8 per game), ranks third in rushing yards (743) and is tied for seventh in rushing touchdowns (eight). He also has 17 catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s a good receiver. He’s very good at breaking tackles, making yards after contact,” Belichick said Monday at his weekly press conference at the Kenan Football Center, pointing to a play in Duke’s 28–25 loss Saturday at Georgia Tech.
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A checkout pass call put the Blue Devils in position to attempt a tying field goal because Sheppard turned a short pass into a 42-yard gain.
Tackling will matter more than usual. The bigger issue is how much attention Sheppard demands. Belichick said opponents have thrown bodies at him all season, and it has not worked.
“It starts with him. I think you’ve got to commit,” Belichick said. “And teams have committed a lot of people to try to stop him. He still has been hard to stop.”
The problem, Belichick explained, is what happens everywhere else on the field once a defense loads up on one player. Duke’s staff has noticed, and the he said they have adjusted their play-calling to take advantage of it.
“When you collapse everybody in there to deal with [Sheppard], that softens in some other spots. So, they’ve taken advantage of that,” Belichick said. “If you let Sheppard out, you’re going to pay for it.”
He added that no one has found a clean answer. Sheppard is no secret anymore, Belichick said, and “nobody’s been able to do a very good job of it through the first five games.”
On the other side of the ball, UNC’s run game is likely to face another tough test after Pittsburgh, which has the No. 2 rushing defense in the country, held UNC to 20 yards on 25 carries.
The Tar Heels won 21–17 on the road, but the ground game did not click, and Duke’s defense, which Belichick said creates plenty of negative plays with its defensive front and pressure, is unlikely to be any more forgiving. UNC’s Pro Football Focus run grade Saturday was 57.2, the lowest since producing a 50.0 in last season’s 32–25 home loss to Duke.
“They’re a good defense. We know that they’re one of the top run defenses in the country,” Belichick said. He said Duke’s scheme differs from Pitt’s, though the Blue Devils may try to do some of the same things.
The first fix, in his view, comes at the line of scrimmage. Belichick said the team’s running backs need space and momentum to be effective, and he described what went wrong against the Panthers.
“First thing is we’ve got to get the runners started and eliminate penetration on the line of scrimmage and let the runners get going into the line so they have a chance to cut and get their pads down and run through tackles or move the pile,” Belichick said. “But we had too many plays where we just couldn’t really get the run started, and then the backs just don’t have anywhere to go.”
He said Pitt used linebacker stunts that the Tar Heels could have handled better, and he did not spare himself or his staff in assessing why.
“Some of those things we could have done better, maybe coached them better, played better,” Belichick said. “So, controlling the line of scrimmage and getting the backs into the line of scrimmage with some momentum is our number one goal.”
Christo Kelly, the Tar Heels’ center and a two-time captain, said the video from the Pitt game showed a unit that was close. He described the problem as one of small details rather than scheme, and said the cost of missing them adds up quickly.
“It all comes down to just execution,” said Kelly, whose season-low run-blocking grade of 53.8 was second-worst on the offensive line against Pitt behind right tackle Shaq McRoy’s 43.3. “There are a lot of plays in there where it’s one block away from really getting things going, and when you’re not able to get into good rhythm, especially in a run game, that hurts your ability to do that.”
Kelly said he has confidence in the plan itself. He credited the offensive coaches for dialing up the calls and said the answers to the run game’s problems are already in the building with the expertise of Offensive Coordinator Bobby Petrino and Offensive Line Coach Will Friend.
“When you have a guys like [them] who are dialing things up, you feel confident going into each and every game,” Kelly said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to us. It comes down to executing on fundamentals, and that’s what we’re looking forward to getting back to on Tuesday.”
If UNC does that, it may help answer both questions on Saturday. A run game that controls the line and keeps drives going would limit how often Sheppard gets the ball in the first place.
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Miami | 3–0 | 5–0 |
| No. 21 Wake Forest | 3–1 | 5–1 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–1 | 5–1 |
| No. 24 SMU | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Virginia | 2–1 | 4–2 |
| Clemson | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| California | 2–1 | 3–3 |
| Louisville | 2–2 | 3–3 |
| Duke | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| North Carolina | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| N.C. State | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| Florida State | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| Stanford | 1–3 | 2–4 |
| Boston College | 0–2 | 2–3 |
| Syracuse | 0–3 | 2–3 |
Friday’s result
Louisville 44, Florida State 20
Saturday’s results
North Carolina 21, Pittsburgh 17
No. 21 Wake Forest 38, N.C. State 14
California 25, Virginia Tech 20
Georgia Tech 28, Duke 25
No. 3 Notre Dame 58, Stanford 7
Virginia 28, Syracuse 25
Saturday’s games
Virginia at No. 24 SMU, noon, The CW
Pittsburgh at Boston College, noon, ESPN2
Charleston Southern at Clemson, noon, ACCN
North Carolina at Duke, 3:30, ESPN2
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech, 3:30, ACCN
Florida State at No. 3 Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
Louisville at Syracuse, 7:30, ACCN
No. 21 Wake Forest at California, 10:30, ESPN2
Elon at Stanford, 7:30, ACCNE
Friday, Oct. 23, games
Duke at Virginia, 7 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at Stanford, 10:30, ESPN
Saturday, Oct. 24, games
Pittsburgh at No. 3 Miami, noon, ABC or ESPN
California at No. 24 SMU, noon, The CW
Virginia Tech at Clemson, 7 or 7:30, ESPN or ESPN2
Syracuse at North Carolina, 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 | W, 21–18 | at No. 25 Pittsburgh | 3–2, 1–1 |
| 17 | 3:30 | at Duke | ESPN2 |
| 24 | 7:30 | vs. Syracuse | ACCN |
| 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 via goduke.com
