GoHeels Exclusive: Mistakes Costly In Opening Loss

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

Throughout this offseason, one in which the North Carolina football team faced a great deal of scrutiny following multiple offensive departures, its defense embraced the opportunity of being more relied on.

Both units made errors in Saturday's 35-30 loss against California at Kenan Stadium. But it was the defense's blunders that stood out in a third consecutive season-opening defeat.

"A couple of plays cost us," Donnie Miles said. "I think the coaches did a great job of preparing us. I just think we didn't execute and there were some mistakes that hurt us. That's all it was. You take out the mistakes and we might blow them out."

For at times, the UNC defense showed flashes of its considerable potential.

The Tar Heels' offense committed three turnovers Saturday. But the defense prevented the Golden Bears from converting those into any points. And a season removed from registering just one interception, UNC doubled that total with one by Miles and another by Andre Smith.

Myles Dorn also made several quality plays in the secondary. But it was that part of the defense that appeared to struggle the most down the stretch.

On a 3rd-and-6 late in the third quarter, Cal capitalized on a missed assignment, turning a short pass into a 54-yard, catch-and-run touchdown that featured multiple missed tackles. Later on, the Golden Bears opened the fourth quarter with a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Then, on what proved to be the game's decisive drive, Cal converted on a 3rd-and-16 and a 3rd-and-8 en route to seizing a 35-24 lead with less than two minutes left.

"That's not who we're going to be," Larry Fedora said. "We're not going to give up big plays. Unfortunately, that's what happened, and we've got to find out why, get it corrected and see what the problems were.

"But it was promising that we created a couple of takeaways and we were able to convert off those and score."

Entering Saturday, most UNC fans acknowledged the offense wouldn't quite look like the up-tempo, high-scoring unit of past seasons. Still, it had its moments against Cal.

Michael Carter rushed for two touchdowns and 94 yards. Jordon Brown also added 56 yards on the ground and 53 receiving. And after much offseason discussion about the quarterback position, Chazz Surratt found some success, completing 18-of-28 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown.

But mistakes, specifically those by the defense, led to a loss. Now, with an 0-1 record, the Tar Heels will face the task of fixing those miscues before facing 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and Louisville next Saturday.

"The opportunity to play against a competitor like him excites me," said Smith of Jackson. "We obviously have a lot to learn from when we go to watch film."

This isn't unchartered territory for UNC.

In 2015, the Tar Heels dropped the season opener against South Carolina before winning 11 straight games, appearing in the ACC Championship game and then playing in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Last year, they lost to Georgia, but rebounded with seven victories over the next eight games – which included memorable wins over Pittsburgh and Florida State.

Miles was one of the seniors who spoke to the team after Saturday's loss. He preached the importance of paying attention to details, likely a common theme in practice and player meetings over the next week.

And by doing so, he says this Tar Heel team can rebound like those recent ones.

"We made mistakes and beat ourselves," Miles said. "But we're going to bounce back, I believe that. Our goal is to be 11-1 from now on. If nobody else is going to believe it, that's fine. But we believe it."

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Players Mentioned

Jordon Brown

Michael Carter

Myles Dorn

Donnie Miles

Andre Smith

Chazz Surratt

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