By Doc Kennedy
It’s called complementary football.
It’s a simple concept: offense, defense, and special teams all work together to complement each other. Saturday night in Kenan Stadium, the Tar Heels failed to play complementary football and failed another test in a disappointing 16-14 loss to Louisville.
The Cardinals came into the game with a prolific offense, ranking in the top 10 in FBS in scoring at over 40 points per game and in rushing offense at over 228 yards per game. Carolina held them to 16 points and only 148 on the ground in likely the best defensive performance in Bill Belichick’s two seasons at UNC.
The unfortunate thing is it came coupled with arguably UNC’s worst offensive performance of the year. After an incredible opening drive for a touchdown, the Carolina offense was stuck in the mud, failing to get even a first down on five straight possessions after the opening score. Along the way, sixth-year quarterback Billy Edwards went down with an injury, forcing the Tar Heels to turn to freshman Travis Burgess in his first action of the season. Burgess played gamely, leading UNC to a score, but ultimately couldn’t get it done.
In the end, once more the Tar Heels were not ready for prime time. Again. In front of a paltry crowd in a night game with bowl eligibility on the line, Carolina came up short. UNC’s five losses are by a combined 23 points, but their four FBS wins are by a combined 30 points, so the scoring differential is probably accurate for a 5-5 team.
With that in mind, here is the Bobby Petrino Bowl edition of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:
Good
UNC defense
You simply cannot ask any more of the Carolina defense. Louisville came into the game in the top 10 in FBS in scoring at over 40 points per game and the Tar Heels held the Cardinals to 16 points, with their lone touchdown coming on a short field after a Billy Edwards fumble.
Travis Burgess
The injury to Edwards gave some UNC fans their wish to see the freshman QB, and he showed some flashes in his first appearance of the season. Burgess went 6-of-11 for 59 yards (with a couple of drops) and more importantly added 35 yards on the ground as the offense had a different dimension with his legs. You could see why the Tar Heels had stuck with Edwards for his experience and passing ability, especially as evidenced on the final UNC drive, but Burgess acquitted himself relatively well.
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Bad
Special teams
Rece Verhoff hasn’t made a kick beyond 40 yards this season, and missed his only attempt on Saturday from 39 yards. This is not what UNC was hoping for when the courts approved his extra year of eligibility. Meanwhile, Aeron Burrell only averaged 36.8 yards per punt, which was a problem when the offense was stagnant and needed good kicks to help flip the field.
Offensive line
The line surrendered a season-high six sacks, including the one that injured Edwards. The Cardinals just pinned their ears back and overwhelmed the Carolina line time and again.
Ugly
UNC at Kenan under Belichick
Carolina fell to 3–8 at home during the Belichick era, with the lone FBS win coming last season against Stanford. In all fairness, two of UNC’s losses this season were against the then No. 1 and No. 3-ranked teams in the country, and in those cases the Tar Heels represented well, but losses like this one and the Syracuse loss come back to hurt a team on the rise.
End-of-game brawl
Regardless of how it started, whether it was Louisville lineman Johnnie Brown III sticking his hand in Xavier Lewis’ facemask on the Cardinals’ final kneel-down or the Carolina retaliation, what ensued was unbecoming and may end up with suspensions from the league office. Losing a very winnable game was bad enough; the Tar Heels didn’t need to lose players for next week as well.
Lucy has once again yanked the football from UNC in a meaningful game in prime time, as the Tar Heels continue to struggle to beat teams better than they are, the Duke game notwithstanding. We have seen this season that pretty much every FBS game is a 50-50 proposition for UNC, and with bowl eligibility still on the line, Carolina needs to win one of its final two games.
Next week it’s Virginia in Charlottesville, a place where a number of UNC football dreams have gone to die, and ending with N.C. State at home in likely the Wolfpack’s last game before the Philip Rivers era begins. And Carolina will face those games with questions at quarterback and the season’s general unpredictability. Buckle up, because the last two weeks will be anything but a smooth ride.
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 Smith Hardy
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