University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
November 10, 2018 | Football
Quick takeaways from the loss to Duke.
By Adam Lucas
1. A long, frustrating day for the Carolina defense in Durham. Duke quarterback Daniel Jones basically did whatever he wanted, throwing for 361 yards and adding another 185 on the ground. Jones is now 3-0 against Carolina as Duke's quarterback. The last time Duke won three games in a row in this series was 1987-89, the only three games of the series in which Steve Spurrier was Duke's head coach. The Devils have also now won five of the last seven battles for the Victory Bell.
2. The Blue Devils finished with a stunning 626 yards of total offense. That was the highest offensive output against Carolina since Louisville put up 705 yards last season.
3. Credit the Duke coaching staff for making halftime adjustments that completely stymied the Carolina offense in the second half. For most of the first 30 minutes, it looked like we were headed for a last team that has the ball-type game. But until the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels found zero offensive consistency in the third and fourth quarters. Much of those struggles were because Duke took away Carolina's ground game in the second half. "They made a few adjustments," Larry Fedora told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "We didn't adjust to it very well. By the time we recognized what they were doing, we were out of a situation where we could be more patient and continue to run the ball."
4. The highlight of the Tar Heel offense was another strong performance from tailback Michael Carter, who rushed 18 times for 148 yards (but just 26 of those yards and seven of those carries came in the second half, as Duke appeared to elect to force Nathan Elliott to beat them). That was responsible for approximately half of Carolina's 315-yard rushing attack, including an 84-yard touchdown burst by the increasingly electric Dazz Newsome. That run was the longest play of 2018 so far for the Tar Heels, which means Newsome is now responsible for two of the top three--Saturday's run and a 75-yard punt return against Syracuse. Carl Tucker's 80-yard catch against Virginia Tech is the other in that group. Newsome now has four touchdowns in the past three games.
5. Cade Fortin's appearance for the final play of the game--a pass from the Duke 39 that was knocked down in the end zone--will likely spark some discussion of Carolina's starting quarterback for next weekend's Military Appreciation Day game against Western Carolina. But it also marked his third game of participation this season. He can play in four games and still preserve his redshirt. That means if he indeed is progressing towards being ready for game action, he can only play in one of the two remaining games (home against Western Carolina, home against NC State) while maintaining freshman eligibility for 2019.
6. The Tar Heel coaches appeared to try and generate some additional offensive spark by occasionally using Anthony Ratliff-Williams at quarterback. The receiver rushed six times for 26 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards.
7. The failure to get off the field on third down was a key part of the defensive struggles. Duke finished the day 13-for-20 on third down, but started the afternoon by converting nine of 11 opportunities on third down on the way to building a lead. The Tar Heels also got zero points off three Blue Devil turnovers. Even discounting the final turnover, a relatively meaningless pick in the end zone late in the fourth quarter, Carolina needed to capitalize on a +2 turnover advantage.
8. After some early-season struggles, Larry Fedora's team had improved significantly in the penalty category in recent weeks. But penalties were again a big issue in the second half. The Tar Heels were flagged ten times for 115 yards. One of the most harmful was an unnecessary roughness call late in the first half that reversed a big UNC gain; Carolina then watched Jones race 61 yards for a score on a momentum-turning play just before halftime. "We had way too many critical penalties," Fedora said. "That came back to bite us."
1. A long, frustrating day for the Carolina defense in Durham. Duke quarterback Daniel Jones basically did whatever he wanted, throwing for 361 yards and adding another 185 on the ground. Jones is now 3-0 against Carolina as Duke's quarterback. The last time Duke won three games in a row in this series was 1987-89, the only three games of the series in which Steve Spurrier was Duke's head coach. The Devils have also now won five of the last seven battles for the Victory Bell.
2. The Blue Devils finished with a stunning 626 yards of total offense. That was the highest offensive output against Carolina since Louisville put up 705 yards last season.
3. Credit the Duke coaching staff for making halftime adjustments that completely stymied the Carolina offense in the second half. For most of the first 30 minutes, it looked like we were headed for a last team that has the ball-type game. But until the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels found zero offensive consistency in the third and fourth quarters. Much of those struggles were because Duke took away Carolina's ground game in the second half. "They made a few adjustments," Larry Fedora told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "We didn't adjust to it very well. By the time we recognized what they were doing, we were out of a situation where we could be more patient and continue to run the ball."
4. The highlight of the Tar Heel offense was another strong performance from tailback Michael Carter, who rushed 18 times for 148 yards (but just 26 of those yards and seven of those carries came in the second half, as Duke appeared to elect to force Nathan Elliott to beat them). That was responsible for approximately half of Carolina's 315-yard rushing attack, including an 84-yard touchdown burst by the increasingly electric Dazz Newsome. That run was the longest play of 2018 so far for the Tar Heels, which means Newsome is now responsible for two of the top three--Saturday's run and a 75-yard punt return against Syracuse. Carl Tucker's 80-yard catch against Virginia Tech is the other in that group. Newsome now has four touchdowns in the past three games.
5. Cade Fortin's appearance for the final play of the game--a pass from the Duke 39 that was knocked down in the end zone--will likely spark some discussion of Carolina's starting quarterback for next weekend's Military Appreciation Day game against Western Carolina. But it also marked his third game of participation this season. He can play in four games and still preserve his redshirt. That means if he indeed is progressing towards being ready for game action, he can only play in one of the two remaining games (home against Western Carolina, home against NC State) while maintaining freshman eligibility for 2019.
6. The Tar Heel coaches appeared to try and generate some additional offensive spark by occasionally using Anthony Ratliff-Williams at quarterback. The receiver rushed six times for 26 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards.
7. The failure to get off the field on third down was a key part of the defensive struggles. Duke finished the day 13-for-20 on third down, but started the afternoon by converting nine of 11 opportunities on third down on the way to building a lead. The Tar Heels also got zero points off three Blue Devil turnovers. Even discounting the final turnover, a relatively meaningless pick in the end zone late in the fourth quarter, Carolina needed to capitalize on a +2 turnover advantage.
8. After some early-season struggles, Larry Fedora's team had improved significantly in the penalty category in recent weeks. But penalties were again a big issue in the second half. The Tar Heels were flagged ten times for 115 yards. One of the most harmful was an unnecessary roughness call late in the first half that reversed a big UNC gain; Carolina then watched Jones race 61 yards for a score on a momentum-turning play just before halftime. "We had way too many critical penalties," Fedora said. "That came back to bite us."
Players Mentioned
Tailback
/ Football
Quarterback
/ Football
Wide Receiver
/ Football
Wide Receiver
/ Football
Tight End
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