I finally thought that after hiring defensive coordinator Geoff Collins in the offseason, the UNC football team finally fixed its long-standing defensive issues.
Those issues largely looked long-gone in the Tar Heels’ first three games, as they allowed 47 total points and 769 combined yards to Minnesota, Charlotte and NC Central. There were some defensive lapses, as to be expected with even the best units, but also plays North Carolina made it wouldn’t have in season’s past.
On Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium, James Madison exposed all the defensive issues we feared in years’ past.
The Dukes racked up 611 total yards and scored seven offensive touchdowns, with quarterback Alonza Barnett having a hand in all seven, en route to stomping the Tar Heels 70-50.
“Our defense, who played great all spring, all preseason and played outstanding for the first three games, looked awful today,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said. “We had communication problems, we had missed tackles, we had guys wide open for a touchdown.”
North Carolina had a manageable 11-point deficit entering the second quarter, but 28 points essentially put the game out of reach and gave JMU a halftime advantage too large to overcome.
JMU kicker Noe Ruelas added a pair of long field goals, hitting from 50 and 44 yards. The Dukes also scored a pair of defensive touchdowns, blocking a first quarter Ben Kiernan punt and taking a Jacolby Criswell pass 33 yards to the end zone.
The Tar Heels now head back to the drawing board, hoping to solve a regressing unit before opening up ACC play at archrival Duke next weekend.
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