University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Unpredictable
September 22, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Looking at North Carolina's schedule before the season started, Mack Brown envisioned his team being where it is now, sitting at 2-2 entering next Saturday's showdown with No. 1 Clemson.
But not even he predicted UNC's route to .500.
Brown thought the Tar Heels might lose their first two games against South Carolina and Miami, but would have a chance to beat Wake Forest and Appalachian State, if they played well. Most fans agreed. After a surprising 2-0 start, though, the Carolina faithful were dreaming of being 4-0 and ESPN's College GameDay coming to Chapel Hill for the tussle with the Tigers.
Two weeks later, that momentum seems to have faded after back-to-back losses, the latest a 34-31 defeat against the Mountaineers on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.
"Once you get a taste of winning, you definitely don't want to go back to losing," Beau Corrales said. "If you would've told me we'd be 2-2 right after the Miami game, heading into Clemson week, I would've laughed at it."
Players admitted to being a bit shocked after losing to Wake Forest on Sept. 13. They were dejected after the loss against App State. And now, Brown and his coaching staff will be tasked with trying to keep things from spiraling, as they did in 2017 and 2018.
In those seasons, the Tar Heels constantly saw games slip away late. So far this season, the fourth quarter hasn't been an issue. Instead, it's been the three before it, and the players are unsure why.
"We just have to be better in the first half; that's what it boils down to," Aaron Crawford said. "I can't pinpoint it on one certain thing, you can't put it on one person or one side of the ball. We as a unit have to do better in the first half."
After not scoring until late in the third quarter against Wake Forest, Carolina seemed like it would avoid another slow start when Michael Carter returned Saturday's opening kickoff 75 yards and Sam Howell subsequently threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Dazz Newsome.
"We thought we had found it," Corrales said. "(Carter's) kickoff return really helped us out; it really got the energy going for us."
Meanwhile, Brown feared the worst.
"We've got a long kickoff return and a one-play touchdown," he said. "Sometimes, that goes against you because you go, 'Oh, this is going to be easy.' We call those 'imposters.' And I worried about it when it happened because it was too easy."
The rest of the first half was far from it.
UNC's offense managed just 23 yards over its next four drives. In that span, it committed two turnovers, leading to two touchdowns. The Tar Heels ultimately capped the half with a 61-yard drive for a field goal and a 75-yard drive that culminated in a Carter touchdown with one second left before the break. But even then, that only trimmed the Mountaineers' lead to 27-17.
Carolina has now been outscored 74-40 in the first half this season. Carter's touchdown marked the first scored by UNC in any second quarter.
"We've got to learn to play with the sense of urgency that we do whenever it comes down to a last-minute situation," Corrales said, "because when it comes down to crunch time, that's when we're really rolling, that's when our offense has produced the best."
The Tar Heels manufactured 98- and 80-yard touchdown drives in the second half and outgained App State 299-165. Howell played a significant role in that, completing 16 of 24 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown. The true freshman has now completed 45 of 69 second-half passes for 665 yards and six touchdowns.
But he also tossed an interception, Carolina drew some costly penalties and the defense just couldn't get off the field when it needed to most.Â
Still, UNC had a chance to send the game to overtime. But Noah Ruggles' 56-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time expired. And although they outscored the Mountaineers 7-0 in the final period, extending their fourth-quarter scoring margin to 45-9, the Tar Heels fell to 2-2.
Afterward, Crawford said the losses against Wake Forest and App State "definitely cancel out" the wins over South Carolina and Miami. For the most part, Brown disagrees.
"I love that we beat Miami and I love that we beat South Carolina …" the Hall of Fame coach said. "We've already won as many games as we won all last year. When you look at it, we just have to continue to play.Â
"We beat a team that's really, really good in the Coastal (Division) and we've got a pretty good one coming in next week. Now, you kind of start over with everything and start looking at the Coastal and take what you've done and build off it."
The victory over Miami certainly lessens the blow of the last two games. Because of it, Carolina remains firmly in the mix in the Coastal. That'll still be the case no matter what happens next Saturday, when Clemson becomes the first consensus reigning national champion to ever visit Kenan Stadium.
UNC knows it's time to buckle down, though.
"There's no finger-pointing going around at all in our locker room," Corrales said. "Everybody knows that when it comes down to it, everybody has to be able to win their one-on-one battles every single play throughout the game. Obviously, with the way we've been starting out, we just haven't been doing that.Â
"We've got to be able to pick it up at every single position group because at the end of the day, something is wrong and we've got to be able to figure out what it is quick."
Looking at North Carolina's schedule before the season started, Mack Brown envisioned his team being where it is now, sitting at 2-2 entering next Saturday's showdown with No. 1 Clemson.
But not even he predicted UNC's route to .500.
Brown thought the Tar Heels might lose their first two games against South Carolina and Miami, but would have a chance to beat Wake Forest and Appalachian State, if they played well. Most fans agreed. After a surprising 2-0 start, though, the Carolina faithful were dreaming of being 4-0 and ESPN's College GameDay coming to Chapel Hill for the tussle with the Tigers.
Two weeks later, that momentum seems to have faded after back-to-back losses, the latest a 34-31 defeat against the Mountaineers on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.
"Once you get a taste of winning, you definitely don't want to go back to losing," Beau Corrales said. "If you would've told me we'd be 2-2 right after the Miami game, heading into Clemson week, I would've laughed at it."
Players admitted to being a bit shocked after losing to Wake Forest on Sept. 13. They were dejected after the loss against App State. And now, Brown and his coaching staff will be tasked with trying to keep things from spiraling, as they did in 2017 and 2018.
In those seasons, the Tar Heels constantly saw games slip away late. So far this season, the fourth quarter hasn't been an issue. Instead, it's been the three before it, and the players are unsure why.
"We just have to be better in the first half; that's what it boils down to," Aaron Crawford said. "I can't pinpoint it on one certain thing, you can't put it on one person or one side of the ball. We as a unit have to do better in the first half."
After not scoring until late in the third quarter against Wake Forest, Carolina seemed like it would avoid another slow start when Michael Carter returned Saturday's opening kickoff 75 yards and Sam Howell subsequently threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Dazz Newsome.
"We thought we had found it," Corrales said. "(Carter's) kickoff return really helped us out; it really got the energy going for us."
Meanwhile, Brown feared the worst.
"We've got a long kickoff return and a one-play touchdown," he said. "Sometimes, that goes against you because you go, 'Oh, this is going to be easy.' We call those 'imposters.' And I worried about it when it happened because it was too easy."
The rest of the first half was far from it.
UNC's offense managed just 23 yards over its next four drives. In that span, it committed two turnovers, leading to two touchdowns. The Tar Heels ultimately capped the half with a 61-yard drive for a field goal and a 75-yard drive that culminated in a Carter touchdown with one second left before the break. But even then, that only trimmed the Mountaineers' lead to 27-17.
Carolina has now been outscored 74-40 in the first half this season. Carter's touchdown marked the first scored by UNC in any second quarter.
"We've got to learn to play with the sense of urgency that we do whenever it comes down to a last-minute situation," Corrales said, "because when it comes down to crunch time, that's when we're really rolling, that's when our offense has produced the best."
The Tar Heels manufactured 98- and 80-yard touchdown drives in the second half and outgained App State 299-165. Howell played a significant role in that, completing 16 of 24 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown. The true freshman has now completed 45 of 69 second-half passes for 665 yards and six touchdowns.
But he also tossed an interception, Carolina drew some costly penalties and the defense just couldn't get off the field when it needed to most.Â
Still, UNC had a chance to send the game to overtime. But Noah Ruggles' 56-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time expired. And although they outscored the Mountaineers 7-0 in the final period, extending their fourth-quarter scoring margin to 45-9, the Tar Heels fell to 2-2.
Afterward, Crawford said the losses against Wake Forest and App State "definitely cancel out" the wins over South Carolina and Miami. For the most part, Brown disagrees.
"I love that we beat Miami and I love that we beat South Carolina …" the Hall of Fame coach said. "We've already won as many games as we won all last year. When you look at it, we just have to continue to play.Â
"We beat a team that's really, really good in the Coastal (Division) and we've got a pretty good one coming in next week. Now, you kind of start over with everything and start looking at the Coastal and take what you've done and build off it."
The victory over Miami certainly lessens the blow of the last two games. Because of it, Carolina remains firmly in the mix in the Coastal. That'll still be the case no matter what happens next Saturday, when Clemson becomes the first consensus reigning national champion to ever visit Kenan Stadium.
UNC knows it's time to buckle down, though.
"There's no finger-pointing going around at all in our locker room," Corrales said. "Everybody knows that when it comes down to it, everybody has to be able to win their one-on-one battles every single play throughout the game. Obviously, with the way we've been starting out, we just haven't been doing that.Â
"We've got to be able to pick it up at every single position group because at the end of the day, something is wrong and we've got to be able to figure out what it is quick."
Players Mentioned
Running Back
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