UNC Football: Offensive keys to Saturday Night road battle with Georgia Tech
Just how much left does the UNC football team have to play for after Saturday night’s disappointing, 31-27 home loss to a lowly UVA team?
Quite a bit, actually, if the Tar Heels play their cards right. Believe it or not, an ACC Championship is still on the table.
Carolina has several winnable games left on its schedule, starting with this coming Saturday at Georgia Tech (8 p.m., ACC Network). The Yellow Jackets head into this matchup off a loss of their own – two weeks ago at home to Boston College.
Yet Georgia Tech is that one team, no matter its record, that always has Carolina’s number. The Yellow Jackets essentially ended UNC’s season last year, giving them the first of four consecutive losses, with a 21-17 victory.
Will Carolina be able to finally snag one against its historically most challenging football opponent, besides N.C. State? Let’s see what the boys in baby blue need to do – offensively – in hopes of rebounding.
Drake Maye HAS to be more accurate
Despite throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns, UNC quarterback Drake Maye largely struggled against a weak UVA defense.
Maye only completed half (24/48) of his passes. One of his many incompletions was a questionable, fourth-quarter fourth down call, when he threw a ball just out of star receiver Devontez Walker’s reach.
If Carolina wants to get back on track, Maye has to be more accurate. There’s no target completion percentage, but it’d be nice to see Maye complete at least 75 percent of his passes.
Make big plays in the second half
UNC tight end Bryson Nesbit provided one of Saturday’s greatest highlight plays against UVA, catching a 62-yard Maye pass in the second quarter and taking it 62 yards to the end zone, for the game-tying score.
Outside of that big catch, there weren’t any highlight scoring plays for the Tar Heels. Carolina’s become known for explosive offensive plays, headlned by none-other than the usually-effective, run-pass option.
UNC almost had a fourth-quarter explosive play, but Walker’s touchdown was wiped out by a penalty. The Tar Heels barely mustered anything in the final quarter, only scoring on a Noah Burnette field goal.
Carolina will need to find ways to generate explosive plays against Georgia Tech.
Don't abandon the run game
Saturday was an offensive oddity for the Tar Heels, as they were outgained 228-243 on the ground.
One of the reasons UVA ran so well was, besides UNC’s porous run defense, the fact UVA carried the ball 54 times.
Carolina barely generated over half that number, carrying the rock 29 times. Omarion Hampton took 19 of those carries for a game-high 112 yards.
With how much success the Tar Heels have enjoyed on the ground, why didn’t they run more against the Cavaliers? Carolina should get back to that recipe against Georgia Tech, as Hampton now has 100 rushing yards in consecutive contests.
Continue involving Devontez Walker in the passing game
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the classic saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Such is the case with UNC star wide receiver Devontez Walker, who has two consecutive 100-yard games. Walker led all players with 146 receiving yards in the UNC-UVA clash, also hauling in a touchdown. He would’ve had another, but a costly Carolina mistake wiped it out.
Walker leads the Tar Heels with four touchdowns through just three games. He also has 321 yards on the year, third-most.
Look for the Maye-Walker connection to continue flourishing in Atlanta.
Do NOT take your foot off the gas
When Drake Maye’s 3-yard run opened the second-half scoring against UVA, the Tar Heels had a 23-14 lead. Burnette converted on his extra point try, extending Carolina’s advantage to 10.
Did UNC take its foot off the gas after that?
It sure seems like it.
Carolina only scored once after its third quarter touchdown, a 27-yard Burnette field goal.
Yes, UNC was up by two scores late, but that’s when teams should power down and obliterate opponents. There was no excuse for the Tar Heels to give up their lead.
Georgia Tech will make Carolina pay if they ease up with a second-half lead. The same exact thing happened last year in Chapel Hill.
