Photo by: Andy Mead
Lucas: Miami Rapid Reactions
October 16, 2021 | Football, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's wild win.
By Adam Lucas
1. If you didn't see it, there's no way any words on this page are going to explain it. Carolina defeated Miami, 45-42, in a game that had almost everything—good and bad. But it ended with the good, which is all that mattered.
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2. That decisive play wasn't pretty, it wasn't perfect, but it was what Carolina needed to win. With Miami driving in a surprisingly leisurely fashion, Jeremiah Gemmel tipped a Hurricane pass, and Cedric Gray corralled it with six seconds left for his second interception of the game. He finished with six tackles, the two picks, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss.
"Cedric was not a guy who was highly recruited because he was a safety and a slot receiver and wide receiver," Mack Brown told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "We knew he could run and hoped he would gain weight. His ability to catch as a wide receiver in high school has really helped us. He can run and break on the ball. He has really good instincts."
3. It's worth noting that on the final Miami drive, with the defensive line having been relatively quiet, Jay Bateman began to send more blitzes to try and force Tyler Van Dyke to make quicker decisions. It was a high risk decision with what felt like the season in the balance, but it paid off.
4. The game reached that point because the Tar Heels could not put it away on offense. After the Canes drew within 45-42 with 3:08 left to cap a 97-yard drive, Carolina went three and out while Manny Diaz burned all his timeouts (which turned out to be key). They took just 14 seconds off the clock. On Carolina's final two drives, both were three-and-outs that managed just four yards apiece and consumed just 1:59 of clock time. That was largely because the Tar Heels at that point were limited to two productive offensive choices: throw it to Josh Downs, or let Sam Howell run it. Even on a day when Ty Chandler rushed 18 times for 104 yards, Miami wasn't particularly concerned with stopping the run other than Howell (51 of Chandler's yards came on one scoring play).
"We didn't do very well on the last two offensive series that we had it," Brown said on the THSN. "We need to move the ball. We were trying to kill the clock, but we weren't far enough ahead to do that."
Of course, the Tar Heels also could have put the game away in the first half once they took the 28-10 lead, but allowed Miami back into it with a quick Canes drive down the field to give them life at halftime. Another offensive weapon needs to seize the opportunity that is available to make the Carolina offense more diverse.
5. The offensive struggles were surprising considering that the Heels looked like they were clicking while building a 28-10 first half lead. Josh Downs caught ten passes in the first half on the way to an 11-catch day, but Miami covered him more effectively in the second half, and the other Carolina receivers weren't able to pick up the slack. After Downs' 11 catches, the next highest reception total belonged to Ty Chandler with two.
6. But Carolina still has Sam Howell, who has turned into a legitimate two-way threat. Howell threw for a pedestrian by his standards 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but also rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries. Keep in mind that sack yardage is taken out of his rushing yards, and he was sacked four times for 31 yards. Howell had one of the best runs of his career midway through the third quarter, as he ran through three Miami defenders on the way to a 30-yard scoring run. "Sam brings it every day, every time," Brown said. "His ability with quarterback draws, but also his ability running the option and scrambling was the difference in the ballgame."
7. That play included a highlight reel trucking of Miami defensive back James Williams, who had an eventful afternoon. Williams thought he had a free shot on Howell and tried to lay him out, but Howell simply ran through it. Williams was also called for a key roughing the passer penalty on third down that sustained a UNC drive, and was whistled for an unsportsmanlike penalty after he hit Howell after another touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
8. Those types of plays were indicative of a game that got much more chippy in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. Both teams will leave Kenan Stadium thinking they made too many mistakes. Carolina was flagged 10 times for 102 yards, the second straight week they've had double-digit penalties for 100+ yards. But Miami was whistled nine times for 81 yards, many of them at critical times, including a roughing the kicker penalty that took a Carolina field goal off the scoreboard and turned it into a touchdown (a four-point swing in a game that Carolina won by three points). It wasn't a game that will go on the ACC officiating highlight reel--among the perplexing decisions included not measuring to see if a late Miami third down conversion was a first down (they were simply granted the first down), a head-shaking targeting flag from behind the play on Trey Morrison that was overturned, and numerous adventurous pass interference decisions--but the teams didn't make it very easy to officiate, either. If this gives you any idea of what kind of mood was present in the fourth quarter, at one point Miami kicker Andrew Borregales was talking trash to Ja'Qurious Conley, which seemed like a particularly bad choice.
9. It was one of the weirdest weather days ever at Kenan Stadium. In the course of one football game, fans were treated to rain, wind, bright sunshine, and blustery wind.
10. Defensive stops are different in the year 2021. On a day the Tar Heels allowed 42 points, there weren't many stops. But when there were stops, it was often with a turnover, as the Tar Heels picked off three passes to stop Hurricane drives.Â
11. Credit Grayson Atkins for the toughness to come back a minute after missing a long field goal near the end of the first half and knocking in a 48-yarder going into halftime. In a game where the Tar Heels needed every point they could get, that was a big kick. That field goal was created by a Cam'Ron Kelly interception, another example of a timely stop that changed the game.
12. You're starting to see some personnel shuffling in the defensive backfield and at wide receiver. Some of those position battles will continue to shake out over the open week, as Carolina has a week off before traveling to Notre Dame on Oct. 30. The Tar Heels now have four wins. Looking at the remaining schedule, a win over Wofford at home seems probable. That means the Tar Heels need one win against the combination of the Irish, Pitt, Wake Forest or NC State to be bowl eligible. Three of those four teams are ranked and the fourth (Pitt) soon will be.
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1. If you didn't see it, there's no way any words on this page are going to explain it. Carolina defeated Miami, 45-42, in a game that had almost everything—good and bad. But it ended with the good, which is all that mattered.
Â
2. That decisive play wasn't pretty, it wasn't perfect, but it was what Carolina needed to win. With Miami driving in a surprisingly leisurely fashion, Jeremiah Gemmel tipped a Hurricane pass, and Cedric Gray corralled it with six seconds left for his second interception of the game. He finished with six tackles, the two picks, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss.
"Cedric was not a guy who was highly recruited because he was a safety and a slot receiver and wide receiver," Mack Brown told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "We knew he could run and hoped he would gain weight. His ability to catch as a wide receiver in high school has really helped us. He can run and break on the ball. He has really good instincts."
3. It's worth noting that on the final Miami drive, with the defensive line having been relatively quiet, Jay Bateman began to send more blitzes to try and force Tyler Van Dyke to make quicker decisions. It was a high risk decision with what felt like the season in the balance, but it paid off.
4. The game reached that point because the Tar Heels could not put it away on offense. After the Canes drew within 45-42 with 3:08 left to cap a 97-yard drive, Carolina went three and out while Manny Diaz burned all his timeouts (which turned out to be key). They took just 14 seconds off the clock. On Carolina's final two drives, both were three-and-outs that managed just four yards apiece and consumed just 1:59 of clock time. That was largely because the Tar Heels at that point were limited to two productive offensive choices: throw it to Josh Downs, or let Sam Howell run it. Even on a day when Ty Chandler rushed 18 times for 104 yards, Miami wasn't particularly concerned with stopping the run other than Howell (51 of Chandler's yards came on one scoring play).
"We didn't do very well on the last two offensive series that we had it," Brown said on the THSN. "We need to move the ball. We were trying to kill the clock, but we weren't far enough ahead to do that."
Of course, the Tar Heels also could have put the game away in the first half once they took the 28-10 lead, but allowed Miami back into it with a quick Canes drive down the field to give them life at halftime. Another offensive weapon needs to seize the opportunity that is available to make the Carolina offense more diverse.
5. The offensive struggles were surprising considering that the Heels looked like they were clicking while building a 28-10 first half lead. Josh Downs caught ten passes in the first half on the way to an 11-catch day, but Miami covered him more effectively in the second half, and the other Carolina receivers weren't able to pick up the slack. After Downs' 11 catches, the next highest reception total belonged to Ty Chandler with two.
6. But Carolina still has Sam Howell, who has turned into a legitimate two-way threat. Howell threw for a pedestrian by his standards 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but also rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries. Keep in mind that sack yardage is taken out of his rushing yards, and he was sacked four times for 31 yards. Howell had one of the best runs of his career midway through the third quarter, as he ran through three Miami defenders on the way to a 30-yard scoring run. "Sam brings it every day, every time," Brown said. "His ability with quarterback draws, but also his ability running the option and scrambling was the difference in the ballgame."
7. That play included a highlight reel trucking of Miami defensive back James Williams, who had an eventful afternoon. Williams thought he had a free shot on Howell and tried to lay him out, but Howell simply ran through it. Williams was also called for a key roughing the passer penalty on third down that sustained a UNC drive, and was whistled for an unsportsmanlike penalty after he hit Howell after another touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
8. Those types of plays were indicative of a game that got much more chippy in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. Both teams will leave Kenan Stadium thinking they made too many mistakes. Carolina was flagged 10 times for 102 yards, the second straight week they've had double-digit penalties for 100+ yards. But Miami was whistled nine times for 81 yards, many of them at critical times, including a roughing the kicker penalty that took a Carolina field goal off the scoreboard and turned it into a touchdown (a four-point swing in a game that Carolina won by three points). It wasn't a game that will go on the ACC officiating highlight reel--among the perplexing decisions included not measuring to see if a late Miami third down conversion was a first down (they were simply granted the first down), a head-shaking targeting flag from behind the play on Trey Morrison that was overturned, and numerous adventurous pass interference decisions--but the teams didn't make it very easy to officiate, either. If this gives you any idea of what kind of mood was present in the fourth quarter, at one point Miami kicker Andrew Borregales was talking trash to Ja'Qurious Conley, which seemed like a particularly bad choice.
9. It was one of the weirdest weather days ever at Kenan Stadium. In the course of one football game, fans were treated to rain, wind, bright sunshine, and blustery wind.
10. Defensive stops are different in the year 2021. On a day the Tar Heels allowed 42 points, there weren't many stops. But when there were stops, it was often with a turnover, as the Tar Heels picked off three passes to stop Hurricane drives.Â
11. Credit Grayson Atkins for the toughness to come back a minute after missing a long field goal near the end of the first half and knocking in a 48-yarder going into halftime. In a game where the Tar Heels needed every point they could get, that was a big kick. That field goal was created by a Cam'Ron Kelly interception, another example of a timely stop that changed the game.
12. You're starting to see some personnel shuffling in the defensive backfield and at wide receiver. Some of those position battles will continue to shake out over the open week, as Carolina has a week off before traveling to Notre Dame on Oct. 30. The Tar Heels now have four wins. Looking at the remaining schedule, a win over Wofford at home seems probable. That means the Tar Heels need one win against the combination of the Irish, Pitt, Wake Forest or NC State to be bowl eligible. Three of those four teams are ranked and the fourth (Pitt) soon will be.
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Players Mentioned
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Running Back
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Defensive Back
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Wide Receiver
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Linebacker
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Quarterback
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Defensive Back
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Defensive Back
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