University of North Carolina Athletics
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Lucas: Rapid Reactions
November 14, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the visit to Pittsburgh.
By Adam Lucas
1. There's simply never been a Carolina football season like this one. Every game, every fourth quarter, every final minute has some sort of drama. Thursday it was Pittsburgh that got the better of it, 34-27 in overtime, and the Tar Heels have now lost four straight overtime games. "We played a great second half but we still missed opportunities," Mack Brown told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "We missed some deep throws and didn't play as well on defense as we needed to. I'm proud of their effort, but we as coaches have to figure out a way to win these overtime games."
2. Uncharacteristically, Sam Howell was off-target on a couple of tosses down the field in the middle part of the game. But he returned to his marksman-like ways in the fourth quarter, dropping in a beautiful scoring pass to Dazz Newsome to knot the game at 24. Howell now has 29 touchdown passes this season and will tie Mitch Trubisky's school record of 30 with his next one. Howell's 322-yard passing output was his fifth 300+ yard game of his freshman season.
3. The Pitt lines controlled the game. For most of the evening, quarterback Kenny Pickett had a clean, well-formed pocket with plenty of time to pick apart the injury-depleted Carolina secondary. On the rare occasions when Pickett couldn't find an open receiver, he used his legs to make a play, as the quarterback was Pitt's leading rusher on a yards per carry basis. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers piled up five sacks, including a big third down sack in overtime. It also looked like Pitt might have gotten a piece of Howell on the final pass of the game, when it appeared just for a second that Dazz Newsome might have broken open in the end zone.
4. Big momentum play by senior Antonio Williams midway through the second quarter. Pitt had taken a 17-7 lead and was breaking off big chunks of yardage against the Carolina defense. But on the Tar Heels' very first play after falling behind by ten, Antonio Williams took off on a 59-yard run that put Carolina right back into scoring position. That play turned into a Noah Ruggles field goal that brought the visitors back within 17-10.
5. The senior Williams was part of a running back rotation that appeared designed to limit the carries of Javonte Williams, who left the Virginia game with an apparent injury. Javonte had just five carries at Pitt after averaging roughly 17 carries per game in his last four contest. But Antonio was more than capable on Thursday. The senior entered the game with 20 carries for 137 yards for the entire season, and then had 12 carries for 107 yards in this one game.
6. Pitt left some points on the scoreboard in special teams. The Panthers decided to go for it rather than attempt a short field goal in the first quarter (the defense held) and then missed a short field goal late in the second quarter. Those two missed opportunities helped turn what easily could've been a 31-10 game at halftime into just a 17-10 Panther advantage. Failing to build the big lead allowed Carolina to hang around and eventually push the game into overtime. No one should have been surprised that the game was close; every meeting between these two teams since Pitt joined the league has been a one-score game.
7. Carolina caught a break in facing the Panthers without wide receiver Maurice Ffrench, who leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in catches. Pitt also played without second-leading rusher Todd Sibley. Pitt very nearly also almost lost defensive tackle Amir Watts to an early targeting call, but the verdict was reversed after a lengthy review.
8. A week after Dyami Brown caught 202 yards worth of passes, Dazz Newsome was almost as good, catching 11 passes for 170 yards and a score.Â
9. Mack Brown and Pat Narduzzi were like a couple of kids playing Madden early in the game, as both teams went for it on fourth down during the first quarter--and both failed. Carolina couldn't pick up a fourth down near the Pitt 30, and then the Panthers failed on fourth and two inside the Tar Heel ten.
10. For the second straight game, the Carolina defense was unable to force any sort of turnover. The biggest defensive play of the game was Pitt's third and 14 conversion in overtime, when the Tar Heels had pushed the Panthers into third and long but allowed a 15-yard pass while Tar Heel pass rushers were receiving some unusual blocking while chasing Pickett.
11. Pitt's previous futility against UNC (this was their first win against Carolina since joining the conference) seemed to provide a little extra motivation. Things were chippy even before the game kicked off, and there continued to be a little extra pushing and shoving throughout the course of the game. The Panthers caught a bad scheduling break when they were handed a home game on the same Thursday night as the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were at Cleveland. So while the crowd was down in numbers, Pitt created its own intensity on the field. At least once per drive, one side or the other was doing a little extra chatting or demonstrating. Narduzzi didn't seem to mind that mood, and said after the game, "We got two good wins today. We beat everybody on the field today." He then doubled back on the comment, saying, "We had a couple victories out there today. One against UNC and I'll leave it at that." His implication was pretty clear.
12. The season now becomes very simple. Carolina must defeat Mercer and NCSUÂ in the next two weeks to qualify for a bowl game. "We have to win next week and get our fifth win," Brown said. "And then we'll have a big game against State."
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1. There's simply never been a Carolina football season like this one. Every game, every fourth quarter, every final minute has some sort of drama. Thursday it was Pittsburgh that got the better of it, 34-27 in overtime, and the Tar Heels have now lost four straight overtime games. "We played a great second half but we still missed opportunities," Mack Brown told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "We missed some deep throws and didn't play as well on defense as we needed to. I'm proud of their effort, but we as coaches have to figure out a way to win these overtime games."
2. Uncharacteristically, Sam Howell was off-target on a couple of tosses down the field in the middle part of the game. But he returned to his marksman-like ways in the fourth quarter, dropping in a beautiful scoring pass to Dazz Newsome to knot the game at 24. Howell now has 29 touchdown passes this season and will tie Mitch Trubisky's school record of 30 with his next one. Howell's 322-yard passing output was his fifth 300+ yard game of his freshman season.
3. The Pitt lines controlled the game. For most of the evening, quarterback Kenny Pickett had a clean, well-formed pocket with plenty of time to pick apart the injury-depleted Carolina secondary. On the rare occasions when Pickett couldn't find an open receiver, he used his legs to make a play, as the quarterback was Pitt's leading rusher on a yards per carry basis. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers piled up five sacks, including a big third down sack in overtime. It also looked like Pitt might have gotten a piece of Howell on the final pass of the game, when it appeared just for a second that Dazz Newsome might have broken open in the end zone.
4. Big momentum play by senior Antonio Williams midway through the second quarter. Pitt had taken a 17-7 lead and was breaking off big chunks of yardage against the Carolina defense. But on the Tar Heels' very first play after falling behind by ten, Antonio Williams took off on a 59-yard run that put Carolina right back into scoring position. That play turned into a Noah Ruggles field goal that brought the visitors back within 17-10.
5. The senior Williams was part of a running back rotation that appeared designed to limit the carries of Javonte Williams, who left the Virginia game with an apparent injury. Javonte had just five carries at Pitt after averaging roughly 17 carries per game in his last four contest. But Antonio was more than capable on Thursday. The senior entered the game with 20 carries for 137 yards for the entire season, and then had 12 carries for 107 yards in this one game.
6. Pitt left some points on the scoreboard in special teams. The Panthers decided to go for it rather than attempt a short field goal in the first quarter (the defense held) and then missed a short field goal late in the second quarter. Those two missed opportunities helped turn what easily could've been a 31-10 game at halftime into just a 17-10 Panther advantage. Failing to build the big lead allowed Carolina to hang around and eventually push the game into overtime. No one should have been surprised that the game was close; every meeting between these two teams since Pitt joined the league has been a one-score game.
7. Carolina caught a break in facing the Panthers without wide receiver Maurice Ffrench, who leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in catches. Pitt also played without second-leading rusher Todd Sibley. Pitt very nearly also almost lost defensive tackle Amir Watts to an early targeting call, but the verdict was reversed after a lengthy review.
8. A week after Dyami Brown caught 202 yards worth of passes, Dazz Newsome was almost as good, catching 11 passes for 170 yards and a score.Â
9. Mack Brown and Pat Narduzzi were like a couple of kids playing Madden early in the game, as both teams went for it on fourth down during the first quarter--and both failed. Carolina couldn't pick up a fourth down near the Pitt 30, and then the Panthers failed on fourth and two inside the Tar Heel ten.
10. For the second straight game, the Carolina defense was unable to force any sort of turnover. The biggest defensive play of the game was Pitt's third and 14 conversion in overtime, when the Tar Heels had pushed the Panthers into third and long but allowed a 15-yard pass while Tar Heel pass rushers were receiving some unusual blocking while chasing Pickett.
11. Pitt's previous futility against UNC (this was their first win against Carolina since joining the conference) seemed to provide a little extra motivation. Things were chippy even before the game kicked off, and there continued to be a little extra pushing and shoving throughout the course of the game. The Panthers caught a bad scheduling break when they were handed a home game on the same Thursday night as the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were at Cleveland. So while the crowd was down in numbers, Pitt created its own intensity on the field. At least once per drive, one side or the other was doing a little extra chatting or demonstrating. Narduzzi didn't seem to mind that mood, and said after the game, "We got two good wins today. We beat everybody on the field today." He then doubled back on the comment, saying, "We had a couple victories out there today. One against UNC and I'll leave it at that." His implication was pretty clear.
12. The season now becomes very simple. Carolina must defeat Mercer and NCSUÂ in the next two weeks to qualify for a bowl game. "We have to win next week and get our fifth win," Brown said. "And then we'll have a big game against State."
Â
Players Mentioned
Wide Receiver
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Quarterback
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Wide Receiver
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Place-Kicker
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Running Back
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Running Back
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