University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Tougher Than The Rest
November 3, 2016 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
by Turner Walston
Opposing fans hate Georgia Tech's offense. They just do. Paul Johnson employs what he calls the flex-bone, a run-heavy scheme with multiple ball-carriers. The Yellow Jackets show the same formation nearly every time, but the rush options are myriad (triple, even). The dive, the pitch, the keep. Sometimes, the drop back and pass. The triple-option chews up the clock and puts a premium on possessions. Comebacks are rare, because Johnson's team holds the ball so long, wears out defenses and keeps opposing offenses off the field. And so heading into Saturday's game, the homestanding Tar Heels know that they're going to have to make the most of their possessions.
"We went through and looked at the last four years, and I think we average right around just about ten possessions (in games against Georgia Tech)," said Tar Heel offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic. "Most of the time, we're somewhere between 13 and 14, sometimes 15 or 16. So we know that. You have to be efficient with the ball."
Carolina wants to play smart, fast and physical, wants to score quickly –the Tar Heels are averaging 32.5 points per game while having the second-lowest time of possession in all of FBS football– but they may not be able to take the chances they normally would, may not take as many risks against the Yellow Jackets. "You want to go out and score every series, so that's not different, but I think we've got to be smart about, maybe there's some times you would do something early in a series that would put you behind the chains that you might not do against them," Kapilovic said. So maybe the Tar Heels don't try a double-reverse pass on the first play of the series that might get them off schedule. It will be vitally important to set themselves up with 3rd and short or medium as opposed to 3rd and 10. "You've got to move the chains and establish a rhythm," Kapilovic said, "and when we have opportunities to score, we have to score."
Speaking of third down, the Tar Heels are converting nearly 48 percent of the time, good for 20th-best nationally. Head coach Larry Fedora wants to get that number up to 50, but he'd love to see the Tar Heels do better than that against Georgia Tech, not only to extend possessions, but to keep his defense rested. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has become more comfortable in his skin, more confident running the offense, and that increased confidence has begotten good results. "Our quarterback understands what we're tying to do in every situation," Fedora said. "Our offensive line is doing a good job in protection; those guys are making plays. We're shooting for 50 percent, so we're still not where we want to be. We feel like if we'll be at 50 percent, we'll be one of the best teams in the country. That will keep us on the field quite a bit, so we've got a chance to do that."
Third-down conversions will be of utmost importance on Saturday, but so too will be simply taking care of the football. An untimely turnover (or any turnover, really), will put the Tar Heel behind the eight ball. "Above all else, we cannot turn the ball over," Kapilovic said. "You can't lose a possession and give them the ball. That's a recipe for disaster, so that's really important."
When Carolina rallied from a 21-point deficit last year in Atlanta, the Tar Heels did not turn the ball over and scored on four straight possessions and six in a stretch of seven. They forced two turnovers themselves, including a key forced fumble by Cayson Collins. Efficient offensive execution like that will be crucial on Saturday.
Aiding that cause will be a healthy Elijah Hood, who said Wednesday that he finally feels like himself again. "I feel good," Hood said. "That bye week definitely was much-needed, in terms of getting recovered and doing things to help get my body right (from) tweaks and aches and all kinds of, just banged-up muscle damage and things that go on with playing eight games before a bye week, so I feel good definitely coming out of this bye week stretch. Definitely feel a lot better."
A healthy Hood will go along way toward maintaining possession and putting the ball in the end zone, the formula for beating Georgia Tech. Against Virginia, Kapilovic said, "it was really nice to have the ball at the four-yard line and go in untouched twice instead of living and dying for four snaps." More of that, please. Take care of the ball, move the chains and score. Keep the Georgia Tech offense off the field and stay on schedule. Do that on Saturday, and the Tar Heels will stay on schedule for the 2016 season.
