University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
October 30, 2015 | Football
By Adam Lucas
1. There will be plenty of debate over where exactly Thursday night's 26-19 win at Pittsburgh ranks among significant Carolina football victories. Let's put it this way: the No. 23 Panthers are the highest-ranked team the Tar Heels have defeated on the road since a 2001 win at No. 13 Clemson. And Carolina is now 4-0 in the ACC for only the second time since 1981 (the other time was 1997).
The win also sets up a mammoth homecoming showdown against Duke next week, which might be the biggest Carolina home game since...well, there's still over a week to figure that one out. But Judgment Day in 1997 against Florida State is going to be in the discussion.
2. Elijah Hood appears to be getting stronger as his sophomore season progresses. Coming off a pair of 100+ yard games, Hood amassed 98 yards on 20 carries at Pitt. Hood was actually over 100 yards at one point in the game before a negative play took him back under the century mark. He gives the UNC offense the physical, pile-pushing presence that gives the attack another dimension. Hood now sits at 744 yards for the season.
3. It seems like a million years ago that every Carolina field goal was a tragicomedy. Nick Weiler nailed all four of his field goals on Thursday night, making what could've been a very tight game a little more breathable. Weiler's success combined with Gene Chizik's defense totally changes the way the Carolina offense can approach the game. For example, up 10-3 and facing fourth and three would've been a surefire go-for-it moment last season. This year, Larry Fedora was able to kick the field goal, get some points, and turn the game back over to the defense. Carolina's offense is rich with better-known weapons like Hood, Marquise Williams and Ryan Switzer, but Weiler is an important part of that arsenal.
"Nick was solid all the way through, not just on the field goals but on the kickoffs," Larry Fedora told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "I can't say enough good things about what Nick brings to this team."
4. Give Gene Chizik credit for figuring out a way to get some pressure on the Pitt passing game. The Tar Heels entered the game with just six sacks for the year, the fewest in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But they collected five against the Panthers alone, sending pressure from a variety of angles.
"The defense did a great job," Fedora said. "Offensively we kind of bogged down in the second half and the defense stayed strong."
5. Sneakily huge player of the game award goes to Brandon Fritts. The redshirt freshman didn't catch a pass, didn't make a tackle, but had two big plays when he jumped on fumbles by Hood. The recovery in the first half preserved a UNC drive in the Pitt red zone and turned into a field goal that staked Carolina to a 10-point early lead.
6. You think Ryan Switzer likes playing in Pittsburgh, which is less than two hours from his home in West Virginia? Switzer returned a pair of punts for touchdowns there in 2013, caught a first-half touchdown strike in 2015, and also won a regional Punt, Pass & Kick contest there as a 9-year-old in 2004.
"It's a magical place," Switzer said on the THSN. "I've grown up in this stadium. I have a genuine dislike for Pitt because of where I grew up. I'm pretty sure every West Virginian does. This one is for the folks back home."
7. The season opener against South Carolina was seen as an opportunity for the Tar Heels to make a dent on the national consciousness. They failed, and at the time, it wasn't for certain that they would get another opportunity. So give Carolina credit for doing what they had to do--win every single week--to put themselves back into a chance to make the college football public take notice. That's what they did on Thursday, and it seems nearly certain they will be back in the national top 25 for the first time since 2010.
