University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points: The Eyes Have It
November 7, 2016 | Football, Featured Writers
By Lee Pace
Two snippets from the sidelines late in the first quarter Saturday provide a salient and crystal-clear window into the challenges and mindset of the Carolina coaches on both sides of the football. The Tar Heels pounded old nemesis Georgia Tech 48-20 on a sparkling homecoming afternoon behind a balanced effort that included magisterial offense, opportunistic defense and, as always, those extra dollops from the kicking game like a 50-yard field goal converted and a Tech field goal thwarted.
Tidbit one, from the defense.
Just under two minutes remain with the Tar Heels having surrendered an 83-yard touchdown pass from Georgia Tech QB Justin Thomas down the left boundary to A-Back Clayton Lynch. Thomas feigned a pitch to B-back Dedrick Mills on the left side, momentarily freezing Tar Heel cornerback M.J. Stewart and allowing Lynch to slip behind him and catch the ball on a sprint. Stewart caught Mills just past midfield but made the error of trying to swipe the ball from behind rather than diving for Mills' legs and a relatively sure tackle.
“My bad,” Stewart admitted as he came to the sidelines.
Secondary coach Charlton Warren spent the entire media timeout talking via headset with coordinator Gene Chizik, who was watching from high above the field in Kenan Stadium. They agreed they needed to make an adjustment for a new formation they were seeing from Tech, “to get another hat on that side of the ball,” as Warren later explained. Then Warren kneeled in front of his guys and told them, “We're good, no problem,” and efficiently drew some Xs-and-Os on the grease board.
Calmness, precision, business-like demeanor. Not a whippet of volume above normal. Allowing that Chizik admitted going into the game that “it will take one full quarter to get used to how fast it's going,” from that point the Tar Heel defense coughed up only 13 points to a flexbone triple-option attack that has sent Carolina fans into the adult beverages and a rubber room often since Paul Johnson took over in 2008.
“We didn't adjust one thing,” head coach Larry Fedora said. “We told them to go out there and play pissed off.”
Chizik and his coaches have smoldered for one year after having allowed 21 quick points to the Yellow Jackets last year in Atlanta. From the day in August training camp when the defense did nothing but face the scout team running the Tech option to the bye week after the Virginia victory two weeks ago, Chizik & Associates vowed to have a better handle on the nuances of stopping Tech and that their players would fully understand the concept of “eye discipline—put your eyes on your people and forget about the ball,” as Chizik said. He had a test ready for his squad meeting on Friday, showing 12 plays from last year's game and how lazy eyes turned into scads of Yellow Jacket yards and TDs.
“Generally you dread this game because it's so out of the realm of the norm, but I'm excited to see how it unfolds,” Chizik said.
From 12 plays on a “lowlight” reel from 2015, the Carolina defense surrendered a mere four on Saturday—that 83-yard pass and another of 40 yards and runs of 28 and 39 yards. And that last run was actually diagnosed and executed well, presumably for a short gain, but linebacker Cayson Collins didn't finish the runner off and he scampered away downfield. Tech scored only three points after intermission, and the Tar Heels forced two fumbles.
“Take those four plays away, and I'm pleased,” Chizik said.
“Every one of those was an eye-discipline problem,” Warren added. “Each guy, as soon as it happened, knew what the issue was. We're happy with the 'W,' that's what matters. Twenty-points is a good day. But take those four lapses away, it could have three or 10. That would have been special.”
Tidbit two, from the offense.
As soon as Tech kicked off following Lynch's titanic touchdown, the Tar Heel offense set off on its fourth possession of the opening quarter, having scored a touchdown, a field goal and having to punt once. The major blemish: false start penalties on Lucas Crowley, Jon Heck and Tommy Hatton. On fourth-and-one from the Yellow Jacket 36, tailback Elijah Hood rode precise blocking up front into the wild green yonder and a touchdown to give the Heels a 20-7 lead.
Line coach and offensive coordinator Chris Kapilovic took a moment during the ensuing timeout to watch the replay on the video board, gave a knowing nod to his unit's superiority over a middling Yellow Jacket defense (averages of 23 points and 376 yards a game allowed through eight games) and turned to address his five starters. He gave each a hand slap and then said, “They can't stop us. They have no answers. But we've got to quit shooting ourselves in the foot. No more false starts!”
From there the offense hummed like the precision instrument it's become the last two seasons—Hood running with authority now that some lingering injury issues have subsided, QB Mitch Trubisky smart and accurate, Howard stepping up on a day when Tech was concentrating its coverage on Ryan Switzer. Carolina piled up 636 yards on an average of 9.1 yards a snap; converted eight-of-13 third-down conversions; and controlled the ball more than 27 minutes (a huge number against the normally ball-hogging Yellow Jackets). Carolina had 10 possessions: Six touchdowns, two field goals, one punt.
“Everyone thinks we're a passing, passing team, but we're really a balanced team,” said Howard, who scored on a 68-yard pass after Trubisky and Hood faked Tech into thinking a pitch and a run were in the offing. “Today you saw the balance of the running game and passing game. When we're running the ball, the defense comes up and fills the gaps and leaves the outside guys one-on-one on receivers. That's what you dream of as a receiver—being one-on-one and making them pay.”
And pay the Yellow Jackets did. Don't look now, but Carolina has nicked Tech three years running—with that late-game rally in 2014, that Quinshad Davis-to-Marquise Williams throwback last fall, and with an authoritative win on Saturday. That first decade in the ACC Coastal Division—with the Heels the poster children for mediocrity with six 4-4 ACC records—slips further and further into our collective memory bank.
Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace has covered Tar Heel football for 26 years through “Extra Points” and a dozen as the Tar Heel Sports Network's sideline reporter. He has just published a book on Kenan Stadium, “Football in a Forest.” Follow him at @LeePaceTweet and contact him at leepace7@gmail.com.
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