University of North Carolina Athletics
Javnote Williams
Photo by: Ken Lanese
Lucas: FSU Rapid Reactions
October 17, 2020 | Football, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's visit to Florida State.
By Adam Lucas
1. The shortsighted national view on that game will be that three Carolina drops on the final three plays cost the Tar Heels the game. That's not even close to accurate. Carolina put itself in position to lose the game by failing to compete in the first half, by being shredded defensively in the first 30 minutes, by failing twice on fourth down and missing a field goal, and being forced to burn timeouts, one of which led to an unproductive two-point play. Any of those factors going differently would have resulted in a Carolina win and would have negated the need for the final frantic two minutes.
"I'll take responsibility for the first half, and give the players the credit for fighting their way back in," Mack Brown told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "If we're going to be the program we want to be, and we are, we can't take off the first half. Give Florida State some of the credit for doing that. They had a lot of momentum and energy. We didn't play with confidence and we didn't make the plays we needed to."
2. You could perhaps see that one coming. Mack Brown has consistently said the public perception of his program is ahead of what the actual program can produce. Combine that with a Florida State team that lost two tough road games and had plenty of pieces but hadn't yet put it together, and you had the formula for an upset. The 'Noles got plenty of confidence in the opening minutes and rode it to an upset of a top-five Tar Heel team. Mack Brown is now 0-10 against his alma mater in his coaching career.
3. Expect clock management to be a point of emphasis in staff meetings this week. Carolina struggled at the end of the third quarter after a touchdown and had to burn a timeout before running a two-point play. The Tar Heels came out of the timeout and committed a false start penalty, then had their two-point play completely blown apart by the Florida State defense. The final drive, when it felt like Carolina had the FSU secondary on their heels, burned nearly a full minute on two unproductive running plays.
4. Mack Brown has been consistently aggressive on fourth down during his return to Carolina, and the majority of the time it has paid dividends. It didn't on Saturday, as the Tar Heels went for a fourth and one midway through the second quarter and saw Javonte Williams stuffed behind the line of scrimmage. Once Sam Howell went under center for one of the few times all day, the Seminoles appeared to have very little concern about a pass and sold out to stop Williams. The Tar Heels were also stopped on downs in the third quarter, but by then the score had largely made the decision for Carolina. Those two drives that ended in turnovers on downs chewed up ten minutes of clock time, but resulted in zero points.
5. As completely improbable as it sounds, if you consider those two drives that resulted in zero points, plus the missed field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels got zero points from three huge momentum-building situations--two long drives and Trey Morrison's remarkable interception. And yet, even with that fairly incredible set of circumstances--three drives that ended in FSU territory, chewed up nearly a full quarter of the game, and produced zero points--the Tar Heels still had the ball with a chance to win the game. This sounds completely crazy considering the halftime deficit was 31-7, but Carolina had plenty of chances to win that game.
"When Trey Morrison made his outstanding interception, we have to score," Brown said. "Not only did we not score a touchdown, we missed a field goal. That takes some of our time away and some of our momentum away."
6. In the first half, Carolina's secondary finally showed the effects of missing Myles Wolfolk and Storm Duck. The pass defense was torched in the first half by an FSU passing attack that was without leading receiver Tamorrion Terry, who missed the game with an injury. It didn't matter, as Florida State averaged 30.3 yards per completion in the first half, picking up 182 yards on six completions. As Brown explained after the game, some of Carolina's young secondary lost coverage when Travis started scrambling, which created opportunities for long passes.
7. The highlight from the secondary was Trey Morrison's leaping, one-handed interception that ended the third quarter. Coming on the heels of Carolina closing within 31-21, Morrison's big play sent the Tar Heels into the fourth quarter with huge momentum.
8. Special teams problems continue to be an issue. Carolina allowed two blocked punts in the first quarter. One of those turned directly into an FSU touchdown, as Jordan Travis took the very next snap after the first block and raced 23 yards for a score. The Tar Heels also missed a field goal, and Grayson Atkins is now 0-3 on kicks of 40+ yards this season.
9. Given those special teams struggles, perhaps it wasn't surprising that Carolina didn't consider an onside kick with a minute left in the first half--but it seemed like it might have been worth the risk. The Tar Heels had just scored to cut the deficit to 24-7, and an FSU penalty--their third 15-yard flag in the past five plays--meant the Tar Heels could kick off from the 50. It felt like it might have been worth taking a chance at a recovery, but Carolina kicked it deep instead. After the touchback, the 'Noles took over at their own 25, a difference of just 15 yards from a potential failed onside. The Seminoles immediately breezed through the UNC defense, going 75 yards in 45 seconds. FSU went 241 yards in 22 plays on their final three drives of the half, averaging 11 yards per snap and putting 17 offensive points on the board in the final 16 minutes of the half--plus a pick-six.Â
"Even when it was 24-7 I thought we were in good shape considering all the things we had not done," Brown said. "They drove the ball right down the field, and we continued to hurt ourselves time and time again."
10. A week after the offensive line was dominant against Virginia Tech, the line had some struggles against FSU. The 'Noles had managed just three sacks in the first four games of the year, but sacked Howell four times on Saturday night. The Carolina running game averaged 4.1 yards per carry. The Tar Heels couldn't prolong drives--they were just 2-for-11 on third down (and 0-for-3 on fourth down) against a defense that had allowed opponents to convert nearly 50 percent of third down conversions.
11. A reminder that it's not always easy to be a Carolina football fan. Saturday's loss continued two fairly remarkable streaks: the Tar Heels haven't been 4-0 overall since 1997 (before any players on the current team were born), and the program has started 3-0 in the ACC just once since 1997. Not coincidentally, 1997 was the year Brown departed for Texas. By that point, he'd been building the program for a decade. He's only two years in to this particular rebuilding job.
12. Brown on Williams' frustration after failing to corral Carolina's last pass of the game: "I can tell Javonte we had 81 opportunities on offense, and his was only one. There are a lot of other people who messed up. Javonte rushed for 119 yards, he fought, he competed, and I'll never, ever say anything to Javonte except good job." Williams also caught three passes for 67 yards and a score.
13. Two straight opponents have now rushed the ball successfully against Carolina. But the Tar Heels did pitch a second-half shutout. The only problem was that by that point, Florida State already had 31 points on the scoreboard. FSU put two players over 100 rushing yards, with one of them being the quarterback, as Jordan Travis managed 107 yards on the ground.
14. Two of Carolina's stars probably leave that game feeling they could have done more. Sam Howell was 20-for-36 for 374 yards and three touchdowns. But a poor--in both call and execution--screen pass turned into an FSU touchdown. And Chazz Surratt was limited to three tackles, and nearly wrapped up Travis for a big late sack but couldn't hold on. Tomari Fox led the Carolina defense with nine tackles.
15. How good is Carolina? Not good enough to survive a pick-six, two blocked punts, two failed fourth downs, multiple dropped passes and a missed field goal in a road ACC game. When you put it that way, the outcome isn't all that surprising. But clean up those issues--or just don't have all of them in the same game--and this is still a team with great potential for a very good season.
16. Brown wants to get Carolina to the point that a top-five ranking isn't a big deal. The way you get there is by developing a program and players who understand that being in the national top five means every single opponent wants to make their season by beating you. Sometimes, it takes finding out how to win those games the hard way, and that's the long program-style view of Saturday night. The hope is that a couple years from now, you reflect back on it and realize the Tar Heels weren't really ready for the top five just yet...but that the loss in Tallahassee helped them understand what it takes to be there consistently.
1. The shortsighted national view on that game will be that three Carolina drops on the final three plays cost the Tar Heels the game. That's not even close to accurate. Carolina put itself in position to lose the game by failing to compete in the first half, by being shredded defensively in the first 30 minutes, by failing twice on fourth down and missing a field goal, and being forced to burn timeouts, one of which led to an unproductive two-point play. Any of those factors going differently would have resulted in a Carolina win and would have negated the need for the final frantic two minutes.
"I'll take responsibility for the first half, and give the players the credit for fighting their way back in," Mack Brown told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "If we're going to be the program we want to be, and we are, we can't take off the first half. Give Florida State some of the credit for doing that. They had a lot of momentum and energy. We didn't play with confidence and we didn't make the plays we needed to."
2. You could perhaps see that one coming. Mack Brown has consistently said the public perception of his program is ahead of what the actual program can produce. Combine that with a Florida State team that lost two tough road games and had plenty of pieces but hadn't yet put it together, and you had the formula for an upset. The 'Noles got plenty of confidence in the opening minutes and rode it to an upset of a top-five Tar Heel team. Mack Brown is now 0-10 against his alma mater in his coaching career.
3. Expect clock management to be a point of emphasis in staff meetings this week. Carolina struggled at the end of the third quarter after a touchdown and had to burn a timeout before running a two-point play. The Tar Heels came out of the timeout and committed a false start penalty, then had their two-point play completely blown apart by the Florida State defense. The final drive, when it felt like Carolina had the FSU secondary on their heels, burned nearly a full minute on two unproductive running plays.
4. Mack Brown has been consistently aggressive on fourth down during his return to Carolina, and the majority of the time it has paid dividends. It didn't on Saturday, as the Tar Heels went for a fourth and one midway through the second quarter and saw Javonte Williams stuffed behind the line of scrimmage. Once Sam Howell went under center for one of the few times all day, the Seminoles appeared to have very little concern about a pass and sold out to stop Williams. The Tar Heels were also stopped on downs in the third quarter, but by then the score had largely made the decision for Carolina. Those two drives that ended in turnovers on downs chewed up ten minutes of clock time, but resulted in zero points.
5. As completely improbable as it sounds, if you consider those two drives that resulted in zero points, plus the missed field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels got zero points from three huge momentum-building situations--two long drives and Trey Morrison's remarkable interception. And yet, even with that fairly incredible set of circumstances--three drives that ended in FSU territory, chewed up nearly a full quarter of the game, and produced zero points--the Tar Heels still had the ball with a chance to win the game. This sounds completely crazy considering the halftime deficit was 31-7, but Carolina had plenty of chances to win that game.
"When Trey Morrison made his outstanding interception, we have to score," Brown said. "Not only did we not score a touchdown, we missed a field goal. That takes some of our time away and some of our momentum away."
6. In the first half, Carolina's secondary finally showed the effects of missing Myles Wolfolk and Storm Duck. The pass defense was torched in the first half by an FSU passing attack that was without leading receiver Tamorrion Terry, who missed the game with an injury. It didn't matter, as Florida State averaged 30.3 yards per completion in the first half, picking up 182 yards on six completions. As Brown explained after the game, some of Carolina's young secondary lost coverage when Travis started scrambling, which created opportunities for long passes.
7. The highlight from the secondary was Trey Morrison's leaping, one-handed interception that ended the third quarter. Coming on the heels of Carolina closing within 31-21, Morrison's big play sent the Tar Heels into the fourth quarter with huge momentum.
8. Special teams problems continue to be an issue. Carolina allowed two blocked punts in the first quarter. One of those turned directly into an FSU touchdown, as Jordan Travis took the very next snap after the first block and raced 23 yards for a score. The Tar Heels also missed a field goal, and Grayson Atkins is now 0-3 on kicks of 40+ yards this season.
9. Given those special teams struggles, perhaps it wasn't surprising that Carolina didn't consider an onside kick with a minute left in the first half--but it seemed like it might have been worth the risk. The Tar Heels had just scored to cut the deficit to 24-7, and an FSU penalty--their third 15-yard flag in the past five plays--meant the Tar Heels could kick off from the 50. It felt like it might have been worth taking a chance at a recovery, but Carolina kicked it deep instead. After the touchback, the 'Noles took over at their own 25, a difference of just 15 yards from a potential failed onside. The Seminoles immediately breezed through the UNC defense, going 75 yards in 45 seconds. FSU went 241 yards in 22 plays on their final three drives of the half, averaging 11 yards per snap and putting 17 offensive points on the board in the final 16 minutes of the half--plus a pick-six.Â
"Even when it was 24-7 I thought we were in good shape considering all the things we had not done," Brown said. "They drove the ball right down the field, and we continued to hurt ourselves time and time again."
10. A week after the offensive line was dominant against Virginia Tech, the line had some struggles against FSU. The 'Noles had managed just three sacks in the first four games of the year, but sacked Howell four times on Saturday night. The Carolina running game averaged 4.1 yards per carry. The Tar Heels couldn't prolong drives--they were just 2-for-11 on third down (and 0-for-3 on fourth down) against a defense that had allowed opponents to convert nearly 50 percent of third down conversions.
11. A reminder that it's not always easy to be a Carolina football fan. Saturday's loss continued two fairly remarkable streaks: the Tar Heels haven't been 4-0 overall since 1997 (before any players on the current team were born), and the program has started 3-0 in the ACC just once since 1997. Not coincidentally, 1997 was the year Brown departed for Texas. By that point, he'd been building the program for a decade. He's only two years in to this particular rebuilding job.
12. Brown on Williams' frustration after failing to corral Carolina's last pass of the game: "I can tell Javonte we had 81 opportunities on offense, and his was only one. There are a lot of other people who messed up. Javonte rushed for 119 yards, he fought, he competed, and I'll never, ever say anything to Javonte except good job." Williams also caught three passes for 67 yards and a score.
13. Two straight opponents have now rushed the ball successfully against Carolina. But the Tar Heels did pitch a second-half shutout. The only problem was that by that point, Florida State already had 31 points on the scoreboard. FSU put two players over 100 rushing yards, with one of them being the quarterback, as Jordan Travis managed 107 yards on the ground.
14. Two of Carolina's stars probably leave that game feeling they could have done more. Sam Howell was 20-for-36 for 374 yards and three touchdowns. But a poor--in both call and execution--screen pass turned into an FSU touchdown. And Chazz Surratt was limited to three tackles, and nearly wrapped up Travis for a big late sack but couldn't hold on. Tomari Fox led the Carolina defense with nine tackles.
15. How good is Carolina? Not good enough to survive a pick-six, two blocked punts, two failed fourth downs, multiple dropped passes and a missed field goal in a road ACC game. When you put it that way, the outcome isn't all that surprising. But clean up those issues--or just don't have all of them in the same game--and this is still a team with great potential for a very good season.
16. Brown wants to get Carolina to the point that a top-five ranking isn't a big deal. The way you get there is by developing a program and players who understand that being in the national top five means every single opponent wants to make their season by beating you. Sometimes, it takes finding out how to win those games the hard way, and that's the long program-style view of Saturday night. The hope is that a couple years from now, you reflect back on it and realize the Tar Heels weren't really ready for the top five just yet...but that the loss in Tallahassee helped them understand what it takes to be there consistently.
Players Mentioned
Place-Kicker
/ Football
Defensive Back
/ Football
Defensive Line
/ Football
Quarterback
/ Football
Defensive Back
/ Football
Linebacker
/ Football
Running Back
/ Football
Defensive Back
/ FootballFB: Belichick press conference post Virginia
Saturday, October 25
FB: Players Post-Virginia
Saturday, October 25
FB: Belichick Press Conference Post-Virginia
Saturday, October 25
UNC Men's Basketball: Tar Heels Edged by #8 BYU in Exhibition, 78-76
Saturday, October 25