According to Coach John Bunting, the North Carolina defense had two major coverage errors in Saturday's 31-24 victory at N.C. State.
The first came early in the third quarter, when Wolfpack tight end T.J. Williams isolated himself from the defense 35 yards downfield of the line of scrimmage, resulting in an easy touchdown.
The second came on N.C. State's penultimate drive, with the Tar Heels needing a stop to preserve their seven-point advantage.
The N.C. State tight end had gone undetected by the Tar Heels, and quarterback Jay Davis needed time to locate his target down the field.
Except he didn't have that chance. UNC linebacker Larry Edwards plowed through the offensive line on a blitz - essentially untouched - driving Davis into the ground before he had an opportunity to survey the field.
"That was a great play because it took the momentum away from them, any momentum they had going," said UNC defensive end Tommy Davis. "Any time you get a big sack like that, it can deflate an offense."
Edwards compiled one of the team's six sacks of the day, one more than the vaunted N.C. State defense that features star defensive ends Mario Williams and Manny Lawson. The Tar Heels have sacked opposing signal-callers 10 times in the season's first three games, while they had just one sack at the same juncture in 2004.
Credit the front four, which has six of those sacks, for pressing opposing offensive lines even when defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders doesn't call for a blitz.
"We have a good rotation going right now," Bunting said. "They are fresh when they're out there. They're getting 30-35 snaps, and it's significant because they're good players. That's really helping us a lot."
