ANALYSIS: The good and the bad — where UNC football team stands at the bye week

The North Carolina football team almost turned around a first half disaster in its season opener against Cal, before collapsing in the second half against ECU the next week. 

The team put together a solid win against Pitt and then took a step backward in a blowout loss to Miami.

After four games, UNC (1-3, 1-1 ACC) looks to gain traction and keep the season from slipping away coming out of its bye week. Here is the good and the bad for three important phases of play the Tar Heels will be looking at after an inconsistent first third of the season:

Quarterback Play

At the quarterback position, the bad comes first. No matter who is in at quarterback, UNC hasn’t found rhythm in the pass game. Against Miami, quarterbacks Nathan Elliott and Chazz Surratt, who made his return from suspension, looked shaky against an athletic Miami defense. Surratt threw three interceptions — two of them pick sixes — and took two sacks. 

Elliott also took a sack, which resulted in a fumble returned for a touchdown by Miami. UNC’s offense is tied for 15th in the nation in fewest sacks allowed, having allowed only one through the first three games before giving up three to Miami. Yet both quarterbacks have looked uncomfortable throwing the ball at times, combining for a 3-7 touchdown to interception ratio so far this year.

The good news is there is room to build. Both quarterbacks have shown moments of confidence. The mobility of Surratt, which could help alleviate some of his pressure to throw, was on display against Miami when he scored a 17-yard rushing touchdown on his first drive of the season. He went on to rush for 69 yards. Elliott threw for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Pittsburgh, and hit nine different receivers for at least one completion in the game. But whichever quarterback leads the way from here, there will need to be more confidence in the pocket and more chemistry with the receiving corps.

Running Back Rotation

The Tar Heels got exactly what they were looking for in Ohio State transfer Antonio Williams. Williams had 114 yards against Pitt, and 96 yards in just under a half at ECU. Jordon Brown has the second highest workload of the running backs, and has rushed for a pair of touchdowns so far. Michael Carter, after missing two games to injury, is averaging 7.9 yards per attempt. UNC has options among its backs.

That is why it has been surprising to see stats such as Williams only getting four handoffs against Miami, and Carter not seeing the ball once in the second half. Without competent quarterback play, North Carolina’s offense can quickly become one dimensional, with defense's focus on shutting down the run game. Even so, with a solid offensive line, UNC should look to utilize its talented run game to help take more pressure off whoever is under center.

Defense

Sometimes the defense for the Tar Heels has been there. It has allowed the 28th fewest passing yards in the country, and is tied for 38th in sacks. The final scores haven’t been helped by offensive turnovers giving opposing teams beneficial field position — or giving the opposing defense 21 points in the case of the Miami game.

But sometimes the defense has not been there. It gave up three touchdowns to Pittsburgh in the second quarter, and allowed Miami to score on six consecutive possessions before the end of the first half. It also has particularly struggled to bottle up the run game, a weakness the team will need to address quickly if it hopes to stop three top-40 rush offenses in the next four games. 

Bottom Line

No Tar Heel unit has been perfect, but some have been far better than others. The defense just needs to tighten a few screws to give UNC chances to be in ballgames. The offense has a lot of building blocks, but has much farther to go. 

The team has benefitted from reliable senior kicker Freeman Jones putting up 30 points, because unless they can put some of these blocks together they will continue to struggle to find other ways to put numbers on the board.

@James_Tatter  

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com