North Carolina Vs. Old Dominion Preview

The North Carolina Tarheels go into their third game of the season looking for their first win of the year against an undefeated Old Dominion Monarchs team. The Tarheels enter the game as a 10 1/2 point favorite.

Games like this make me nervous because the Tarheels are primed for an upset. This is the Tarheels first road game and some in the media have described this game as Old Dominion's "Super Bowl". It's an ACC opponent and the last time the two teams played in 2013, the Tarheels broke just about every offensive record in the book in an 80-20 victory. That game was played to long ago for revenge to be a factor and this game would not be an upset on the scale of Appalachian State-Michigan, but it would be a huge program win for Old Dominion.

The Tarheels come into the game unsettled on offense with no clear cut starting quarterback so I would expect Brandon Harris and Chaz Surratt to split snaps again, the Tarheels have not really established a running game and all but abandoned the run in the second half last week against Louisville and need to get freshman Michael Carter some more carries. The Tarheels have also been slow to develop a vertical passing game. Some of the young wide receivers-Dazz Newsome, Roscoe Johnson, Anthony Ratliff-Williams, Juval Mollette-for North Carolina. The Tarheels are also banged up on the offensive line and depth has already become an issue three games into the season. The Old Dominion defense leads the nation in sacks and already has 21 tackles for loss in their first two games.

Old Dominion has lost some of their top playmakers on offense so this is an opportunity for the Tarheels defense to get things right. Old Dominion features a balanced offense with a fairly even run/pass ratio but Old Dominion will be without one of their top wide receivers Jonathan Duhart and running back Ray Lawry has been hobbled by a hamstring injury.

The phrase "defensive struggle" and the North Carolina Tarheels have never been associated with each other but this may be a rare game in which the defenses will take over and control the outcome of the game. Turnovers will be a factor and whichever team plays mistake free football will win. The Tarheels need to use offensive tempo to keep the Old Dominion pass rushers at bay and I believe North Carolina will pull it out 24-17 to get their first win of the year.

Tarheels Football Going Forward Part One

The North Carolina Tarheels football team had their best season in 2015 since the Mack Brown era in the late 1990's. The Tarheels finished 11-3, they won the Coastal Division for the first time and made their first appearance in the ACC Championship game and they made an appearance in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Baylor. The Tarheels offense set numerous team records with Offensive Coordinator Seth Littrell calling the plays and the defense made great strides under Defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik.

Keeping continuity in the coaching staff is important in maintaining the excellence of a program and the Tarheels were able to keep most of their coaching staff intact for 2016. They did lose offensive coordinator Seth Littrell who went to the University of North Texas to be their head coach but managed to hold on to Chizik. I believed Chizik would be gone because of his previous head coaching experience and because of the improvement in the Tarheels defense.

The biggest question for the Tarheels on offense is who the backup quarterback is going to be. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has not been anointed as the starting quarterback yet but barring injury or he forgets what a football looks like between now and next September 3rd when they take on Georgia. Sophomore Caleb Henderson got some reps last season as the third string quarterback but only had one pass attempt. The Tarheels also have redshirt Nathan Elliot and incoming freshman and North Carolina State Player of the Year Chaz Surratt waiting in the wings.

National Signing Day

I love National Signing Day. The new prospects sign on to come to play for the North Carolina Tarheels and it is a day full of possibilities. The Tarheels went after defense on National Signing Day as 16 of the 26 players that signed were defensive players, 7 of those 16 were defensive backs. The defensive side of the ball is where a Freshman could step in and play immediately next year. Defensive End Tomon Fox has been mentioned as being able to step in and play immediately as has defensive back Myles Dorn, son of former Tarheel and NFL player Torin Dorn, and defensive back Patrice Rene.

There will also be a battle to see who backs up quarterback Mitch Trubisky. The Tarheels have two quarterbacks in this class, Logan Byrd, who enrolled at North Carolina in January, and National Player of the Year Chazz Surratt. They will compete for the backup job with four other quarterbacks on the Tarheels spring roster. Caleb Henderson got into three games last season as the third on the depth chart. He attempted two passes. No other quarterback on the roster has seen game action.