There’s absolutely no reason the North Carolina Tar Heels should’ve lost their ACC football opener on Saturday at archrival Duke.
UNC was up 17-0 at halftime, moving the ball well and finding ways to score against a solid Blue Devils defense. Noah Burnette added a 37-yard field goal halfway through the third quarter, putting North Carolina up 20.
But, as the Tar Heels’ inability to play a complete game would have it, they suffered an epic collapse that has me wondering about the program’s direction.
Thanks to an offense that went cold and a defense that couldn’t stop the run to save its life, UNC lost to Duke, 21-20, for the first time since 2018.
There are so many areas North Carolina (3-2, 0-1 ACC) struggled in during the second half, but none other than run defense.
Blue Devils running back Peyton Jones scored the eventual game-winning touchdown, evading an Antavious “Stick” Lane tackle and taking the football 20 yards with just under six minutes left in the game, but it was Star Thomas who torched the Tar Heels defense. Thomas ended his night with 166 yards and two total touchdown – catching one from Maalik Murphy in the third quarter, then running the rock into the end zone during the fourth.
https://twitter.com/MikeCurmi/status/1840171660693123176
UNC’s offense was essentially non-existent after the Burnette field goal, generating 85 yards of offense and just ONE third down, which didn’t come until the final drive.
We really thought North Carolina solved its issues when it jumped out to a 20-0 lead. Instead, it’s right back to the drawing board.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.