After losing a 44-41 shootout to a sub-.500 Virginia team on Saturday, the North Carolina football team fell out of the top 25 for the first time this season.
It was the Tar Heels’ fourth consecutive loss in the South’s Oldest Rivalry, and it all but eliminated their hopes of an ACC Championship game appearance. With No. 1 Clemson, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 11 Miami sitting above them in the conference standings, the Tar Heels have slim odds of making a run at an ACC title after suffering losses to a pair of teams with a combined 4-8 record.
Despite the loss, in a Monday morning press conference, seniors Tomon Fox and Patrice Rene said UNC has pointed its focus toward continuing to improve before its matchup with Duke this Saturday.
“Our guys are very disappointed, especially on the defensive side, we’re disappointed with how we played,” Fox, an outside linebacker, said. “Whether we win or lose, we just forget about it the next day and focus on our next opponent.”
Saturday’s loss was filled with miscues on both sides of the ball, but the defense was especially notable for all the wrong reasons. UNC allowed 210 yards on the ground, many of which came in third-and-short situations, allowing the Cavaliers to milk the clock and ward off a second-half comeback attempt.
After starting off the season with the top-ranked rushing defense in the country through two games, UNC’s front seven has strung together a series of inconsistent performances. Against N.C. State on Oct. 24, the Tar Heels allowed just 34 yards on the ground. Against the Cavaliers, they forced just two punts — one of which was muffed.
“Our defense as a whole just has to be more consistent,” Fox said. “We can’t have these ups and downs like a rollercoaster.”
Rene, one of the few healthy members of UNC’s secondary, said another focus of the defense is on limiting penalties and miscues. An unsportsmanlike conduct call against junior Trey Morrison kept North Carolina's defense on the field late in the first half when the game was still back and forth. Later that drive, UNC muffed a punt and the Cavaliers offense took the ball into the end zone, taking a lead they would never give back.
“At the end of the day, the coaches can coach as hard as they can, but it really falls down on the players,” Rene said. “We’ve got to really take that accountability on us as players and as leaders. Make sure the guys understand we can’t have those penalties and that they can really change the outcome of the game.”
