Holliday: Anatomy of UNC's worst loss yet
Posted October 13, 2021 12:25 p.m. EDT
Since Mack Brown’s return as coach, North Carolina has played quite well at home. The Tar Heels lost just four games at Kenan Stadium during 2019 and 2020, and two of those came in close contests with Clemson and Notre Dame. Both of those teams went on to the College Football Playoffs. UNC has won 11 home games during Mack Brown 2.0, and the Tar Heels were a 17-point favorite to make Florida State victim No. 12. Yet this team, of which so much was expected, keeps finding new ways to lose.
Prior to Saturday, North Carolina’s nemesis was the road game against the unranked team. Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia last season in Charlottesville and Florida State in Tallahassee all fell into a pattern of substandard play in foreign environments. But Florida State in Chapel Hill, especially after UNC players had vowed to atone for their poor performance against the Seminoles last year – that loss is much more difficult to reconcile.
To be sure, Florida State played extremely well. The Seminoles were expected to be much improved in Mike Norvell’s second season, and despite a rocky start to 2021, they showed that progress quite demonstrably. But FSU’s triumph, the 11th in 11 tries against a Mack Brown coached team, was abetted by a torrent of Tar Heel mistakes. Penalties, dropped passes, and missteps on defense prevented Carolina from fully competing in a game this team expected to win.
Let’s break it down, from the beginning.
UNC began the game driving very efficiently to the Florida State 34. There the drive stalled. Josh Downs, UNC’s most dynamic playmaker, dropped a pass. Downs dropped two passes last week, one of them a touchdown. On third and six, Downs, perhaps still thinking about his drop on first down, false started. Grayson Atkins kicked a 51-yard field goal, but UNC came away with three points instead of seven.
On the ensuing kickoff Power Echols drilled Corey Wrenn at the 17 yard line. Echols celebrated his hit, but he was ejected for targeting, and that left the Tar Heel defense a little less deep at linebacker. UNC forced a three and out on FSU’s opening drive and Ray Vohasek nearly forced a turnover, batting a Jordan Travis pass into the air and then diving in an attempt to catch it. Alas, it was an incomplete pass, one of just two Travis would throw during the entire game.
UNC then drove for a touchdown, in spite of some rough moments. The Tar Heels elected to gamble on a fourth and one at their own 39. They were able to get the Seminoles to jump offside. However, later at the FSU 23, the Heels got flagged for a chop block. 15 yards is a lot to overcome. Only Sam Howell’s brilliance, running effectively and then throwing a 33 yard strike to Downs deep in the end zone brought the Tar Heels their hard earned seven points.
So UNC’s beginning was less than perfect, but the Heels looked to be in control late in the first quarter, up 10-0 on the scoreboard and dominating time of possession eleven minutes to one. The Kenan Stadium crowd, such as it was, looked to be energized. I would note here that I’ve never understood why some fans buy tickets and then don’t go to games on an inclement day, but I digress.
And here’s where the game began to unravel. While FSU booted every kickoff into the end zone, Jonathan Kim’s first two kicks were returned. And the Seminoles’ Travis Jay took Kim’s second kick back 41 yards. On first down Ja’Quirious Conley jumped offside, more or less giving FSU its first 1st down. Florida State, which has been plagued by penalties in its four losses, got called for holding at the Carolina 49, seemingly putting the Seminoles off schedule for their second 1st down. But again the Tar Heels lent a helping hand to the visitors, as they were cited for a rare defensive delay of game infraction. What should have been a third and 13 became a third and 8 for Florida State. 220 pound Jashaun Corbin was able to move those chains that suddenly had become closer on third down.
FSU needed eight more plays to navigate the remaining 31 yards, but the ‘Noles found the end zone on Travis’ perfect pass to Malik McClain in the corner of the end zone. FSU’s seven minute drive quieted the Kenan crowd. As events unfolded in the second quarter, there wasn’t much noise at all; at least not that was apparent to those in the press box.
UNC went three and out on its next offensive series. Howell targeted Downs on two of the three plays. The star receiver got his hands on both balls but wasn’t able to make catches. In truth, Howell did not have his best day passing, missing on nearly half his 32 throws.
Florida State then took the lead. For good, as things turned out.
Travis, an outstanding runner, took advantage of apparent confusion among UNC’s defenders and raced 53 yards for a touchdown. The Tar Heels have yet to contain a running quarterback this season.
Travis wasn’t the only running quarterback, however. Howell rushed 11 times for 108 yards, influencing the game with his legs as well as his arm. But on the next series Howell, after scrambling 18 yards for a first down, threw his fifth interception of the season. It was his first in three games and this FSU pick was UNC’s only turnover all game. But it came at a really inopportune moment.
The energized FSU offense needed only eight plays to drive 80 yards. Ontario Wilson was wide open on his 32 yard touchdown catch. I would note that UNC was not credited with a single pass defended during 60 minutes of play. Florida State meanwhile, defended six UNC passes.
Now down 21-10, the Tar Heels tried to make something happen in the final 53 seconds of the first half, but again got in their own way. A first down pass to Downs was negated by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Brian Anderson. Somehow UNC reached the FSU 39. And the Tar Heels appeared to get a first down inside the Seminoles’ 30. Last second field goal? Nope. Atkins never got a chance to kick. Joshua Ezudu was called for holding. UNC ended the half throwing a Hail Mary from the 49.
It seemed to me every Tar Heel offensive lineman drew some kind of penalty Saturday, and that was a factor in the outcome.
The Tar Heels start to the second half looked quite promising. UNC forced FSU to punt for the first time since very early in the game. Then Howell drove the Heels 70 yards, scoring on a nifty play where offensive coordinator Phil Longo sent Downs in motion. Howell faked the end around to Downs, then hit Kamari Morales 21 yards away in the end zone. The crowd came to life. UNC was back in the game at 21-17.
But then came arguably the worst defensive moment of the game. Travis threw downfield to Keyshawn Helton, who was of course wide open for a 44 yard gain. Meanwhile Vohasek was cited for roughing the passer. FSU moved from its own 26 to the UNC 15 in a matter of seconds. Three plays and one more unsportsmanlike conduct flag later, the ‘Noles led 28-17.
Yet the Tar Heels still had time, given how dynamic their offense can be. And sure enough Howell hit Downs for 13 yards on the first play. Then on second and ten from the 38, Howell targeted Khafre Brown. Brown would have had a first down, probably would have had at least a 30 yard gain, and might have scored a touchdown. But he dropped the ball. On a day of drops by UNC receivers, this was the biggest. UNC punted two plays later, putting the harried Heels’ defensive unit back on the field.
After an assortment of missed tackles and blown coverages, Florida State again found the end zone-as Travis found Jordan Wilson, yet one more receiver without a single defender nearby.
Most of the day, the UNC offense offered rays of hope on a day of darkness. Into the void stepped Sam Howell and his teammates. The Tar Heels again drove deep into the red zone. Howell accounted for 28 of the final 33 yards of this drive making a brilliant throw while on the run, passing in between defenders to Bryson Nesbit. UNC had a first and goal at the FSU 5 and a golden opportunity to get within 11 points with a quarter to play.
But here the play calling turned somewhat curious. Howell was UNC’s leading rusher and many of the Heels’ best moments came when he was on the move, either scrambling out of the pocket, surging forward on a designed quarterback run, or interacting with a back on run-pass option plays. UNC on first and goal ran a straight handoff to Ty Chandler for no yards. Second down brought another inside run by Chandler, and he was again stacked for no gain. Howell passed on third down but airmailed the ball over the receiver’s extended hands. FSU applied pressure on fourth down. Howell had to get rid of the ball quickly and his receiver was well covered. Ballgame.
So, halfway through the season, what do we know about this North Carolina team? Clearly preseason expectations far outstripped the quality and depth of talent in year three of the Mack Brown rebuild, the hype exceeding the reality. Replacing the dynamic playmakers at wide receiver and running back from the 2020 team has proven to be a much taller task than it seemed to be in August. Both Downs and Chandler have made numerous big plays, but last season Howell had more options. The offensive line, said to be more experienced and deeper than last year, has struggled at times blocking for the run and failed on a regular basis in the area of pass protection. Stacy Searles’ unit did a much better job of keeping Howell upright Saturday, however, not allowing a single sack until late in the game. So there is that.
Defensively, where based on play against Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl, rapid improvement seemed possible, results have been mixed. This group has played more good halves than poor halves, but the poor halves have led directly to losses. UNC did beat Virginia despite porous defense in the first half, but defensive deficiencies in the first half at Virginia Tech and the second half at Georgia Tech were more than the high powered UNC offense could overcome. The Florida State fiasco marked the first time the Tar Heels defended poorly in both the first half and the second half.
Brown came into the season with high hopes for his special teams unit. UNC’s special teams have played OK, but have not been truly special.
In sum, UNC 2021 has proven to be quite inconsistent, something of a different team every single Saturday, and from Brown’s perspective, maddeningly so, I would think. If this pattern persists, the Tar Heels could have difficulty qualifying even for a lower tier bowl.
On the other hand, if this team can correct the myriad mistakes we have seen in the season’s first half, the second half presents opportunities. Three of UNC’s remaining opponents are nationally ranked, and a fourth, Pittsburgh, could become nationally ranked in future weeks.
First, however, comes Miami, another program of which much was expected this season. Partly because of D’Eriq King’s season ending injury, the Hurricanes have achieved even less than UNC. But no doubt Manny Diaz and his players remember last year’s thrashing in Coral Gables, and will come to Chapel Hill highly motivated.
UNC’s pattern this season is to play well after losses, but with this group who knows? The Miami game could be the bellwether for the backside of the 2021 season.
