UNC's offense records worst performance since 2017 in loss to Boston College

BOSTON — North Carolina got the ball for its first drive of the game with 8:45 remaining in the first quarter.

Junior running back Omarion Hampton touched it twice. Graduate quarterback Jacolby Criswell found graduate wide receiver J.J. Jones twice. Criswell was sacked once. 

The Tar Heels were forced to punt. Five plays. 14 yards. Three minutes. It was the only time UNC's offense touched the ball in the first quarter. 

“When we got out there on offense, we got frustrated early and really did a poor job,” head coach Mack Brown said. 

In UNC's 41-21 loss to Boston College on Saturday, the offense never showed up at Alumni Stadium. For all four quarters, the Tar Heels couldn't find a rhythm. The offense never stayed on the field for long. They couldn't move the ball. North Carolina tallied just 212 total yards, compared to Boston College's 420, the fewest the Tar Heels have recorded since losing 59-7 to Virginia Tech in 2017.

Last Saturday, the offense seemed disconnected against Wake Forest. While Hampton had a career day, the rest of the unit was off. But against the Eagles, it plagued the entirety of North Carolina's offense against a team that had won just one of its past five games. 

“I don't think you can really single out one thing for us,” Criswell said. “As a whole, as an offensive unit, nothing was just clicking.”

And this time, Hampton wasn't able to save the Tar Heels. On 11 carries, Hampton recorded 53 yards. Brown had no answers for why UNC's star player didn't see more action during the most critical moments. 

“I think that's why you talk to [offensive coordinator] Chip [Lindsey] on Monday,” Brown said.

In the first three quarters of play, UNC recorded 80 yards of total offense — negative 11 rushing yards and 91 passing yards. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Criswell stood in the pocket. With UNC down 27-7, he looked to make something happen. 

With Criswell's eyes downfield, Boston College's Neto Okpala pulled him to the ground. Criswell let the ball fly. 

“I knew someone was behind me trying to get my ankles,” Criswell said. “And as soon as I came down, I tried to throw it out of bounds.”

Instead of going out of bounds, the ball landed in the hands of BC's cornerback Ryan Turner. Not a single Tar Heel was close enough to make a play on the ball. Turner took it all the way to the house. Pick six.

Pressure from Boston College was something Criswell faced all afternoon. On third downs, the Eagles often brought increased pressure, and North Carolina's offensive line was unable to stop it. 

“Sometimes it's the quarterback holding the ball too long, sometimes it's a receiver running the wrong route which makes the quarterback hold the ball too long,” Brown said. “I thought our offensive line struggled today. I didn't think they did as well as we've been doing.”

Criswell was sacked seven times and hurried another seven, making him either try and scramble, force the ball to a receiver or throw it out of bounds. 

And when every level of the offense is struggling, that formula doesn't work. UNC was 0-10 on third downs until the final two drives of the game. 

“If [the] offense is not putting up as much production as they [have] in the past, that puts a little pressure on us,” graduate rush Kaimon Rucker said. “We gotta get them off the field so we can get better field position for the offense.”

The North Carolina offense was on the field for just 21:58 during the game, giving the defense little time to rest before the next series. 

And while Brown said he and his coaching staff discussed replacing Criswell with sophomore quarterback Conner Harrell, Brown wanted to see Criswell gain back some confidence. 

Criswell led back-to-back scoring drives on North Carolina's last two possessions when the game had already been decided and against BC's backups. But those two sequences accounted for 109 of UNC's 212 yards and its first offensive scores of the game.

Right now, there are no answers. The abysmal performance is unexplainable after a three-game winning streak.

Brown is already looking to the last game of the regular season. 

“We never got anything going offensively, and we got to go back and figure out why we were so bad,” Brown said.

@mdmaynard74

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com