A Bright Future

If the past 5 games, all Tarheel victories, have proven anything it is that the Tarheels have a bright future. The majority of the big plays on Offense, Defense with the exception of Defensive End Kareem Martin), and Special Teams in this five game winning streak are Freshmen and Sophomores. Marquise Williams took over at QB, T.J. Logan and Khris Francis have gotten the majority of the carries at Running Back, Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis is only a Sophomore even though it seems like he has been there forever, and Mr. Excitement, Ryan Switzer, has been passing, receiving, and returning his way into the national spotlight. On Defense, Brian Walker and Dominique Green have been batting away or intercepting most everything thrown their way, and if it moves with a ball in its hands, Jeff Schoettmer tackles it.

Bowl Eligible

North Carolina won their sixth game of the season against Old Dominion by a final score of 80-20 and became bowl eligible in the process. It was also their fifth win in a row. Old Dominion was not a bad team. They were 8-3 coming into the game, they played the same up tempo style that the Tarheels do, and their Quarterback had thrown for almost 4,000 yards. There were too many stars and outstanding plays in this game to mention all of them. QB Marquise Williams passed for over 400 yards and 5 TD's, Freshman RB T.J. Logan ran for 137 yards on only 14 carries and scored 3 TD's as well as returning a kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Freshman Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer had a career day receiving with 5 receptions for 118 yards and 2 TD's and he returned another punt for a TD giving him 4 in three games tying an ACC record, Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis had over 100 yards receiving and a TD, and Freshman Running Back Khris Francis scored his first rushing TD on the season. On defense, Senior Defensive End Kareem Martin continued his stellar play adding two more sacks giving him 11 on the season. The Old Dominion Head Coach asked Coach Larry Fedora to cut the 4th Quarter to 10 minutes and Fedora readily agreed. It was a class move by both coaches and nothing was going to be gained by playing 5 more minutes. The Tarheels were driving for another score towards the end of the game when Larry Fedora called off the dogs and had Caleb Pressley take a knee on 4th down at the 10 yard line after taking a delay of game from the three on the play before. As a UNC fan, it would have been nice to see the 'Heels set the ACC record for points in a game (the record is 82 by Clemson in 1981 against Wake Forest) although the 'Heels did set a school record for points in a game but I applaud the sportmanship shown by both coaches. That is rare to see at any level of football any more.

A Tribute To Renner

Marquise Williams changed his jersey number from his customary #12 in yesterday's 45-14 win over Virginia to Bryn Renner's #2 as a tribute to Renner. Yesterday's game also served as Marquise Williams taking over the reigns as the starter and he proved himself quite capable. Marquise Williams threw 2 TD passes, ran for another, and he also caught a 29 yard TD pass from Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis. According to the statisticians that might be the first time in Tarheel history that type of trifecta has ever been pulled off. He was 15 for 28 for 185 yards with 2 TD's and an Int and he ran for another 46 yards on 16 carries and caught a 29 yard TD pass. He totalled 260 yards of total offense. He also helped lead the Tarheels to their first 200 + yards rushing performance of the season. Romar Morris led the 'Heels with 48 yards rushing. Tight End Eric Ebron was relatively quiet with only 2 catches for 21 yards but Virginia was focused on not letting him run free across the middle and that allowed the Wide Receivers to run loose along the sidelines. Quinshad Davis had 5 catches for 65 yards and a TD. A total of 8 Tarheels caught passes. The screen game was more in play against Virginia asd Khris Francis caught a 15 yard screen that resulted in a TD and T.J. Logan ran one for 30 yards.

A Complete Game

The Tarheels played the most complete game they have played all season in their 34-10 win over the Boston College Eagles yesterday. The Defense played an impressive game with the exception of the 56 yard TD run by Andre Williams in the First Quarter. Take away that run and Boston College only averaged about 4 yards a carry. They held BC QB Chase Rettig to 57 yards passing on 10 completions and applied constant pressure on him all day long, tallying 4 sacks, 2 by Senior Defensive End Kareem Martin. Freshman Mikey Bart, getting his first career start, got his first career sack on a Fourth Down in the Fourth Quarter. The Offense used a true two Quarterback System for the first time with Bryn Renner and Marquise Williams sharing the playing time. Marquise Williams provides a change of pace as he is more of a threat to run as he led the team in rushing yards with 55 on 7 carries and a TD. He also threw a 17 yard TD pass to Johnathan "Bug" Howard. Howard had 2 TD catches in the game. Bryn Renner went 18 for 21 for 227 yards and 2 TD's and he passed 8,000 yards for his career. The UNC run game was still anemic with 110 total yards and only about 2.5 yards per carry. 7 Tarheels ran the ball, including Tight End Eric Ebron. None of the Tarheels four Running Backs- AJ Blue, Romar Morris, Khris Francis, or TJ Logan- have really stepped up to take charge and become the "go to" back. Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer caught his first career TD pass from Bryn Renner, a 13 yard catch in the First Quarter. Eric Ebron only had 4 catches for 68 yards but he was impressive with his blocking and his running after the catch. The 'Heels have the slimmest of chances at a bowl game but they have to win out in order to do so. Yesterday was a good start.

Beating Miami

Beating the University of Miami is part of UNC's more recent football history. The last time they beat a Top Ten team was when they beat the University of Miami in Chapel Hill. Some would call this a "trap" game for Al Golden's team. Al Golden's team is moving up the rankings and has an oustanding chance of moving on to the ACC title game and Larry Fedora's team is desperate for a win. It's also being played in front of a national TV audience. North Carolina has to find a running game and be able to stay out of third and long. It doesn't matter if it is A.J. Blue, Romar Morris, Khris Francis, or newcomer T.J. Logan. The offensive line has to open some holes and the running backs has to take advantage of the slimmest of openings. UNC also needs their Wide Receivers to make some plays. There have been far too many drops this season. They need to step up, UNC has labeled this "Zero Dark Thursday". It will get alot brighter if a few key players can step up and make some plays. The defense cannot give up the big play. They give up tons of yards on the ground and that makes them susceptible to the play action pass. Miami has a strong running game and a good QB. UNC can, and needs to, pull off this upset.

First And Last Impressions Versus Georgia Tech

The 28-20 loss to Georgia Tech was tough to take. The defense played well enough but couldn't hold down a 20-7 lead but that was primarily because the offense could not sustain any drives in the second half and the defense eventually wore down. The defense has been the big focus but they have shown improvement over the first three games. Larry Fedora's high powered offense has not lived up to its potential and the running game has been a big problem. They have been trying to use the three running backs of Romar Morris, A.J. Blue, and True Freshman Khris Francis. I believe they need to settle on one and give him as many reps as possible so they can develop some consistency and get a feel for what the Offensive line is doing. Tight End Eric Ebron had a career game against Georgia Tech with over 100 yards receiving and a highlight reel one handed catch in the end zone. He has really stepped up his game and now the rest of the receiving corps needs to do the same. There have been far too many drops in the seasons first three games to develop any consistency in the passing game. One thing that has been missing from the passing game is the screen pass thrown to the running backs. This is was where they are really missing Gio Bernard. Romar Morris and A.J. Blue only have a combined total of 72 yards receiving on 10 catches in the first three games. Coach Larry Fedora and his staff have their work cut out for them on the offensive side of the ball. On the defensive side of the ball, the play has been much better but they are still giving up 25 points a game. Big plays and interior depth have been a problem. I am still not a big fan of the 4-2-5 but hybrid Linebackers Jeff Schoettmer, Norkeithus Otis, and Darius Lipford have developed a better feel for the system and are able to react to plays rather than think about what they are doing. Norkeithus Otis leads the team with 4 1/2 tacles for loss and 3 sacks and Darius Lipford after missing a full year and then some due to injury, is not far behind with 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Jeff Schoettmer leads the team with 23 tackles.

Middle Tennessee State: The Good And The Bad

There were several good things that happened against Middle Tennessee State. One of the stats I was most impressed with was that 12 different receivers caught passes, including backup Quarterback Marquise Williams, who caught a 23 yard pass from Running Back A.J. Blue. They do have a lot of options at the Wide Receiver position. The 'Heels also had three running backs- Romar Morris, A.J. Blue, and true Freshman Khris Francis- that had ten carries in the game. The top rusher was Morris with 46 yards and none of the three broke any run longer than about 10 yards. Bryn Renner also had a strong game running the offense and as a fifth year Senior and in his second year in this offense, he has shown the ability to take charge of the many options in this offense. The defense came up with three turnovers in the Red Zone including Tre Boston's interception in the end zone. The play of Norkeithus Otis and Darius Lipford deserve special mention as well. I was also impressed with the play of true Freshman Dominic Green from the defensive backfield. The bad had to be the running game on both sides of the ball. The 'Heels only averaged a little over 3 yards a carry while giving up 5 yards a carry. The play of both lines left a lot of room for improvement. Luckily they have a week off before they take on ACC nemesis Georgia Tech.

2013 Football Preview- Running Backs

The Tarheels lost Gio Bernard to the pros (2nd Round, Cincinnati Bengals) after last season. He was their their most versatile running back since Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice. Their are four running backs that are the prime candidates to replace him and two of those are Freshmen. Redshirt Sophomore Romar Morris probably has a skill set the most similar to Bernard and had several good games last season and Senior A.J. Blue is more of a power back and got several starts in Bernard's absence. They are listed as co-starters by Inside Carolina. The two Freshmen are the "x-factors" in this running back equation. Khris Francis was an early enrollee and had over 100 yards in the spring game but displayed a bit of a ball control problem during Spring practice. That will keep him on the bench more than anything. T.J. Logan will not arrive until the Fall Semester but he posted video-game like stats in high school, including over 500 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns in the state championship game. Both Francis and Logan were accomplished receivers out of the backfield in high school and should fit right into the UNC system. Francis may have a leg up since he got a lot of reps in Spring Practice and the Spring Game. T.J. Logan was also an accomplished punt returner in high school so it should be a good battle for depth chart position barring injury.