University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Go Go Gadget Play
October 23, 2016 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
It wasn't about one-upping Virginia's trick play, Larry Fedora said. It wasn't about playing poker in a football game, seeing what the Cavaliers did and raising the bet, the Tar Heel head coach said. "We didn't call the trick play because they called the trick play," Fedora swore. But when Virginia scored on a fake field goal, when tight end Evan Butts snapped the ball to holder (and backup quarterback) Matt Johns, then caught the ball wide-open in the end zone, the Tar Heel sideline perked up.
"First of all, that was the first time I've ever seen a snapper score, so that was a new one for me," said Tar Heel receiver Bug Howard. "We might put that in, so hold on. But with that trick play, it was like, 'Oh, it's going to be that type of game.' So we came right back at 'em and got our own trick play going." Virginia's gadget tied the score at seven midway through the second quarter. And Carolina came right back.
Last week at Miami, the Tar Heels debuted a wildcat look, with senior tailback T.J. Logan taking a direct snap and running. No pass plays, nothing particularly fancy about it. The Tar Heels and their coaches reckoned that the Virginia staff had seen that Miami film, expected Logan simply to run. "We didn't feel like we had to do anything else to set it up in this game, and we were just waiting for the right situation," Fedora said.
And so when Logan lined up behind center on 1st and 10 at the Virginia 40, on the drive after the Cavaliers had tied the score, they probably expected more of the same. They were wrong.
"They probably watched out film last week at Miami and said, 'It's wildcat, so we are going to bring that safety down and try to stop the run with T.J.," Tar Heel quarterback Mitch Trubisky said.
Howard knew when he saw Virginia safety Quin Blanding creep forward that the play was going to work. Logan took the snap and handed the ball to Ryan Switzer. The safety had sniffed something out, or so he thought, and he'd have guessed right if Switzer hadn't pitched back to Trubisky. Howard was lined up wide left and streaking toward the end zone. "As soon as [T.J.] handed the ball off to Switz and number three (Blanding) just shot the gap," Howard said, "I was like, 'Yep, there it is.'"
And there it was. Howard was behind two Cavalier defenders. Trubisky got set and threw –the scorebook will say a 40-yard pass, but Trubisky's front foot was just on the 50– and Howard secured the ball, with his back foot on the goal line. Touchdown.
"You want to fool the defense so bad," Howard said. "It's so funny when you do actually fool them on a trick play."
"It's a trick play," Fedora said. "It's a gadget play that we've had in the offense. We've been carrying it for about three or four weeks. We were trying to set it up against Miami and just didn't get the right situation." But they got it Saturday. It punctuated a sleepy half and just may have helped the Tar Heel offense find a rhythm that would lead to three more scores and a 35-14 win.
"I think it gives us some momentum and definitely brings some energy," Trubisky said. "It shouldn't have to take a trick play for us to get pumped up and juiced up on the sidelines. I'd like to see more intensity and passion out of the team as a whole but sometimes you need something like a trick play to get us going and I think it helped."
Carolina didn't play a perfect game by any means Saturday in dismantling the Cavaliers and asserting themselves again on the road in the ACC's Coastal Division, but they did appear more balanced, closer on both sides of the ball to that complete game that the team strives for.
It's much more clear now how blessed by comparison the Tar Heels were in 2015, injury-wise. This season, the offensive line has been stricken. John Ferranto was lost for the year in the preseason and Caleb Peterson was lost for the season after undergoing surgery Friday. Right tackle Jon Heck did not play Saturday for the second straight week. Senior wideout Mack Hollins broke his collarbone last week at Miami and is gone for the year, as is freshman linebacker Jonathan Smith. And up front defensively, junior defensive end Dajaun Drennon has seen action in a single game while Tomon Fox hasn't played since mid-September.
And yet, the Tar Heels have moved forward. The next man, at whatever position, has stepped forward. Saturday, the mishmash offensive line struggled at times, false starting and missing blocks on occasion, but they found balance and confidence as the game moved on. Howard and Austin Proehl are accustomed to big plays, but they both scored on deep routes that Hollins might have run had he been healthy. And sophomore transfer Jordan Cunningham had a big catch to extend a drive. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Ayden Bonilla played confidently and effectively at middle linebacker, particularly early as Andre Smith missed the first half due to a targeting penalty. First-year starter junior linebacker Cole Holcomb led the Tar Heels with 10 tackles, and Bonilla was right behind with eight of his own.
Next week, the Tar Heels will rest and recover, try to get healthy as much as possible and attempt to get younger players more comfortable. But they go into the bye-week break with a 6-2 record, bowl-eligible and with confidence. And if Pitt wins at home against Virginia Tech on Thursday, Carolina will be back in the driver's seat in the division. "I think this team, we're getting hot," senior cornerback Des Lawrence said. "We're not there yet, by any means, but we're learning how to build and learn how to play week to week."
On Saturday, the Tar Heels took the hand they were dealt and put together a winning game plan. "We're a beat-up football team, and we were doing what we had to do to try to get a win," Fedora said. That meant a gadget play to find an offensive rhythm, and contributions from less-experienced players on both sides of the ball. Whatever it takes.
