UNC's Biggest Concern Heading Into Week 2

Throughout the fall camp, Belichick and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens preached about its new offensive identity around a physical rushing attack that would spearhead a physical presence as a team. 

While that may be the plan, it certainly wasn’t the outcome it had wanted. 

The Tar Heels ran for 50 yards, nearly 200 yards less than what the Horned Frogs ran for. Even more embarrassing, they didn't even rush for over two yards per carry,  averaging 1.8 yards to be exact. Carolina's best ball carrier tonight was Caleb Hood, who scored the first touchdown of the game. However, he ran for 31 yards on 10 carries. 

As a group, UNC’s running backs carried for an average of just 2.8 yards per attempt and a 23-percent success rate.  Carolina’s offensive line allowed TCU to bring down a runner behind the line of scrimmage five times, leading to a quarter of the Tar Heels’ rushes being dropped for no gain or a tackle for loss.

The lack of run production on early downs Monday night made passing difficult for the Tar Heels, who posted three straight three-and-outs and totaled -10 yards in the first half.

“If you don’t make yards on first down, then you’re in second- and third-and-long,” Belichick said. “We ended up with too many three-and-outs there in that second quarter. First down really helps you a lot on second and third down, and we just didn’t do a good enough job on first down.”

True freshman left tackle Eidan Buchanan and left guard Aidan Banfield had two of the lowest offensive grades according to Pro Football Focus. Buchanan had the worst one of them all with a 43.7 offensive grade and a 52.8 run blocking grade. Banfield had the fifth-worst offensive grade with a 49.7 and a 48.9 run block grade, the worst on North Carolina’s offensive line. 

The Defensive Line Had Zero Push

The defensive line was just as bad as the offensive line. 

TCU ran for 258 yards and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. It was the first time in two years that the Horned Frogs rushed for over 200 yards. The Horned Frogs ran for two touchdowns of 20 or more yards. Moreover, TCU quarterback completed 75% of his passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns. 

That's because there was zero pressure up front from UNC's defensive line. The defensive line did not pick up a single tackle for loss and it only had eight hurries and one hit on Hoover. According to PFF, Hoover was only pressured six times throughout the game.

The defense as a unit had an average PFF pass rush grade of 59.6, which is considered below average. On true pass sets (pass plays excluding play-action, RPOs and screens), only three UNC defensive linemen picked up a PFF pass rush grade of 60 or more: Xavier Lewis (74.9), Smith Vilbert (66.3), and Isaiah Johnson (60.0).

Can It Be Corrected?

Believe it or not, it can be corrected. Teams tend to play their sloppiest at the beginning of the season, and for Carolina, it had to field 70 new layers, 40 of which came after the spring.

The good news, and the Tar Heels need a decent bit of it around this time, is that they will have a chance to correct their mistakes against a middling Charlotte. The 49ers are coming off a 35-11 season-opening loss to Appalachian State.

This is a great opportunity for UNC to bounce back after an embarrassing loss.