Tar Heels, Blue Devils suffer first ACC losses
Posted October 23, 2023 5:56 p.m. EDT
Prior to the arrival of coaches Mack Brown and Mike Elko, losses by Carolina and Duke on the same weekend were quite commonplace.
But this season, with both ranked in the top 16 prior to Saturday, expectations are higher. So, who could have foreseen North Carolina's stunning loss at home to a one-win Virginia team, or even Duke’s fourth-quarter collapse at Florida State after leading at the end of the third quarter?
Like last year's Tar Heels
UNC changed offensive coordinators during the offseason with Chip Lindsey replacing Phil Longo.
Last week against Miami, Lindsey engineered a critical victory in large part by running more and passing less.
But against Virginia, Lindsey borrowed a page from the Longo playbook, as Drake Maye threw the football 48 times. Meanwhile, star running back Omarion Hampton carried just 19 times against the Cavaliers’ porous run defense. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry and gained 112 yards. Yet, the Tar Heels devoted many more snaps to passing plays, creating a run-pass imbalance that played directly into Virginia’s hands. The Cavaliers MONOPOLIZED the football.
Gene Chizik’s defense had played well in the Tar Heels’ first six wins, limiting opponents to 21 points and 359 yards total offense, both substantial improvements over 2022. Defenders were filling gaps, shedding blockers and making sure tackles. That all changed against Virginia, and poor tackling played a part in the Cavaliers’ possessing the ball a whopping 37 minutes.
Virginia enjoyed an open date after picking up its first win over William & Mary. Coach Tony Elliott and his staff used the extra week to put in lots of new wrinkles.
Brown noted: “When you’re 1-5 and you have an open date, you’re [going to] change things, and it’s our job to adjust.”
Chizik normally excels at halftime adjustments, but the Tar Heels defense actually played worse in the second half Saturday. Virginia mounted long scoring drives of 73 and 74 yards after intermission, and also added a field goal.
The Cavaliers matched the 31 points scored by Miami and actually wasted two more golden scoring opportunities. One trip to the red zone ended when Tony Muskett threw an interception in the end zone. Another ended when Mike Hollins fumbled at the 1-yard line and the ball rolled over the end line for a touchback. So, the Cavaliers actually generated enough offense to put up 45 on the Heels, and in general, exploited the Carolina defense as everyone did in 2022.
Penalties and punting were also problems. The Tar Heels were flagged for a blindside block on the opening kickoff. Starting the game on your own 8-yard line? Not ideal. Later a holding penalty erased a touchdown pass. In all, UNC was flagged six times for 58 yards, and yes, some of those were critical.
Punter Tom Maginness averaged just 32 yards on five kicks; one punt traveled just 16 yards. So, Virginia often enjoyed good field position, which the Cavaliers did not need as they were moving the football extremely well.
Maybe the evening’s most telling stat—Muskett and Hollins helped Virginia convert 8-18 third downs and 2-3 fourth downs. That’s a combined 10-21 if you’re scoring at home and a major reason Virginia kept the ball so much of the game. UNC, meanwhile, was just 4-13 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down; this despite the fact that the Tar Heels ranked among the nation’s leaders in third-down conversions, moving the chains 57% of the time.
In spite of all this, UNC still had a final drive to go win the game with 1:12 on the clock. But someone missed a block and Maye was hit as he threw his 48th pass, leading to an interception.
Brown put responsibility for the stunning loss on himself and his staff. After all the Tar Heels were a 23-point favorite and from that standpoint, this is one of the four worst losses in school history. In sum, Brown believes it’s the coaches’ job to prepare players for the game and to make adjustments during the game, neither of which happened. And now the Heels face a Georgia Tech team that also suffered a stunning loss at home against Boston College. The Yellow Jackets, of course, started UNC’s slide last season with another of those four worst losses in Tar Heel history.
Brown also said this: “We’re 6-1. It’s one of the best records we’ve ever had at this school at this point. And I’m not gonna let this ruin what we’ve got going, so we’ve got to get back to work and try to be 7-1 next week.”
Blue Devils led Seminoles for three quarters
Riley Leonard was directing a long Duke drive midway through the third quarter, his team leading Florida State 20-17. Though not 100%, Leonard moved around on his gimpy ankle well enough that Florida State couldn’t simply key on Duke’s running backs. The Blue Devils rushed for 144 yards in the first half and Jacquez Moore and Jordan Waters picked up most of those. Leonard only rushed one time for 13.
Leonard completed just four passes in the first half, but in this most consequential second-half march, Leonard was throwing. Short stuff, mostly, but effective. He passed to Jordan Moore for eight yards and Sahmir Hagans for six. Then, at the Florida State 35, Leonard hit Jeremiah Hasley for 12 yards and another Duke first down.
But that was Leonard’s final completion; indeed his final pass. The quarterback was sacked on the next play by FSU’s Braden Fiske. Leonard went down awkwardly, with Fiske grabbing Leonard’s face mask and ripping his helmet off.
The penalty gave Duke a first down at the Seminoles 11. But Leonard could not continue. His injured right ankle had absorbed most of the force of Fiske’s tackle.
Without Leonard, Duke was a very different team.
Three Blue Devil runs gained seven yards. Duke went to the air on fourth down from the 4-yard line. Jason Calhoun was open in the end zone, but backup Henry Belin, facing the FSU pass rush for the first time, overthrew his target.
Jordan Travis then took his team 96 yards the other way. That gave the ‘Noles their first lead of the night-47 minutes after kickoff.
Duke’s chances unraveled very quickly after that. The Blue Devil offense went three and out on one series, then four and out on the series after that.
Florida State drove for touchdowns against the worn-out Duke defense following both exchanges of possession, making the score 38-20.
Duke, after Leonard left the playing field, gained just 61 yards on 17 plays; more than half in the final four minutes after it became a three score game. Florida State by comparison, gained 223 yards in the second half.
The Blue Devils definitely needed more from their passing attack; 76 yards through the air won’t cut it against a team as great as Florida State.
Beyond that, Duke did just about everything within the team’s capabilities to score that first ever win against Florida State.
The Blue Devils stopped FSU on downs to start the game, not once but twice! In the meantime Duke scored on a 42-yard run by Jacquez Moore. The Devils scored a second time on a Todd Pelino field goal.
Before the half, Duke scored 10 more points-on a pick six by Chandler Rivers and another Pelino three-point kick.
Florida State scored just one offensive touchdown in the first half against the stout Duke defense. The Blue Devils limited the Seminoles to 197 yards of total offense in building that 20-17 lead.
Ultimately, Mike Norvell’s team cranked up the passing game. Travis completed 27-36 for 268 yards and two touchdowns.
But even in defeat, Duke held the Seminoles’ running backs to about 90 yards, as Duke outrushed FSU 197 to 152-Travis accounted for about 60 yards that the running backs didn’t get.
Outperforming FSU on the ground is probably a first for Duke in this long one-sided series.
Florida State was probably going to win even if Leonard didn’t suffer that re-injury; but it would have been a much different fourth quarter if Leonard had been able to continue.
ACC Championship Game still possible
Despite Saturday’s defeats, both North Carolina and Duke remain in contention for the ACC title tilt in Charlotte. With the ACC having abandoned its former Atlantic and Coastal Divisions, the league will send the teams with the two best conference records to Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 2.
North Carolina (6-1, 3-1 ACC) has a pivotal game on Saturday at Georgia Tech (the Yellow Jackets have won four of the last five games in this series) and then the Heels host Duke. Carolina finishes with road games at Clemson and NC State.
Duke (5-2, 2-1 ACC) faces Louisville (6-1, 3-1 ACC) Saturday. The Devils then have two at home and two on the road; Wake Forest and Pitt at Wade Stadium, with road trips to UNC and Virginia.
Florida State at 5-0 is definitely the front-runner for the top spot, but the ‘Noles must still play a very good Miami team. Louisville and surprisingly Virginia Tech, as one-loss teams, are still in contention too.
However, if UNC and Duke both win this weekend, their matchup Nov. 11 could decide which team has the inside track for the No. 2 slot in the ACC Championship Game.
