There were hardly any positive takeaways for the UNC football team after Saturday’s poor excuse of a game against James Madison.
The Tar Heels allowed JMU to rack up 611 yards and score 70 points against them. The Dukes scored seven offensive touchdowns, with quarterback Alonza Barnett accounting for all seven (five passing, two rushing), while their defense added two more touchdowns on a blocked punt and pick-six.
If there even was one positive takeaway for North Carolina on Saturday? New starting quarterback Jacolby Criswell, who – despite losing a fumble and throwing a pair of interceptions – threw for a career-high 475 yards and three touchdowns.
Criswell shined particularly on his two first-half touchdown throws. He connected with tight end John Copenhaver for a 35-yard score in the first quarter, then opened up the second quarter scoring when he connected with his starting tight end, Bryson Nesbit, for a 34-yard catch-and-run.
“He made some great throws,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said about Criswell. “Just unbelievable throws. That’s the first real game he started since he’s been here. He started, I think, 4 years ago or something. Played one half. But he made some unbelievable throws today and he’ll just get better and better. And he saw a whole lot of looks, they (JMU) blitzed him a whole lot. He was the one bright spot for sure.”
https://twitter.com/GrantHughesNC/status/1837581914246729967
Criswell’s third and final touchdown pass went to freshman Jordan Shipp, with the freshman catching a 5-yard, over-the-shoulder pass for his first career score.
It’s extremely difficult to think of positives after a game like today, but knowing that North Carolina found its starting quarterback is something to be happy about.
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