North Carolina’s offense poses a legitimate threat to the fate of Notre Dame’s season.
North Carolina’s offense poses a legitimate threat to the fate of Notre Dame’s season. As we learned early in the first quarter, you need to make the Tar Heels drive further than midfield if you’re going to win. But even doing that might not be enough. At least the Irish find themselves in a 14-all tie.
Notre Dame got the ball first and went three and out. After Ian Book was sacked by Chazz Surratt on third down, Jay Bramblett was forced to punt in the Irish’s end zone and only could get the ball to the 50-yard line. Led by Sam Howell, the Tar Heels advanced in Irish territory with relative ease. The drive ended when Emery Simmons caught a 50-50 ball for the game’s first touchdown.
Fortunately, the Irish have a strong ground game, and they decided to unleash it on their second drive. Most of the time, Kyren Williams’ number was called, and there also were some nice runs from Book and Chris Tyree. Still, it only made sense for Williams to tie the game on a 2-yard run.
None of that mattered to the Tar Heels because they went right back to work. Even when a holding call in shallow Irish territory appeared to set them back, Howell immediately overcame that with a 51-yard pass to Dyami Brown that got the ball to the 1-yard line. Howell then took the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown run.
Book had something to say about that, though. He found Javon McKinley for a 43-yard reception and then ran the ball himself for 33 yards. He handed the ball off to Williams, then passed to him. The result was a 4-yard touchdown reception that put the score where it is.
Ian Book will need every bit of his balanced attack when Notre Dame takes on North Carolina.
Ian Book will need every bit of his balanced attack when Notre Dame takes on North Carolina. The frequency with which he carries the ball makes him as much of a threat as any quarterback who relies heavily on passing. You can’t knock anyone at his position who’s able to run effectively. Also, that he’s gotten this deep into the season with only one interception shows how smart he is with the ball and how well his receivers are hitting their marks.
Sam Howell is the leader of a Tar Heels offense that simply gets the job done very well. Just look at his passing numbers, and not much further explanation is needed. His rushing numbers aren’t that impressive, but he doesn’t need to rely on that part of his game with the arm he has. The Irish’s defense will have to pressure him from his first snap, and everyone needs to be involved if that’s going to happen successfully.
Schemes, player notes, prospects to watch and more as the college football season really gets going in Week 2.
So we have enjoyed an appetizer of college football, but the season begins in earnest this weekend as some of the bigger conferences get in on the action, including the preseason number one team in the nation. Here is a look at some of the things to watch for during Week 2 of the college football season.
#1 Clemson at Wake Forest
(Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports)
The 2020 college football season begins in earnest on Saturday, September 12 as seven teams in the preseason Top 25 are in action, including preseason number one Clemson. The Tigers, coming off a loss to LSU in last season’s National Championship Game, return a number of starters in both sides of the ball and are expected to make yet another run at a national title.
Clemson returns 12 starters this season but the most notable is of course quarterback Trevor Lawrence. In two years at Clemson Lawrence has led the Tigers to a 25-1 record as their starting quarterback, and is considered by many to be the top quarterback for the 2021 NFL Draft. Last season he threw for 3,665 yards and 36 touchdowns. But Lawrence is not the only weapon the Tigers return on offense. Running back Travis Etienne decided to forgo the 2020 NFL Draft and return to school, and he is also in contention for the top player at his position in the upcoming draft. Clemson also sees two starting wide recievers from last season return in Justyn Ross and Amari Rodgers, as well as tight end J.C. Chark.
On defense, Brent Venables continues to change things up schematically, as last season Clemson often utilized a 3-1-7 personnel package on that side of the ball. Of course, having the versatile Isaiah Simmons in your huddle makes such a decision easy. The Tigers should be stout up front, returning four players to their defensive line including defensive ends Justin Foster and Xavier Thomas, and defensive tackles Tyler Davis and Nyles Pinckney. Middle linebacker James Skalaski finished second on the team in tackles last year and is back for his final college season. The secondary will be filled with new names, but cornerback Derion Kendrick is back. Kendrick moved to CB last season from wide receiver, and earned All-ACC honors.
Wake Forest expected to be in a much different position at this point when the 2019 season ended. However, due to transfers and opt-outs some of their best players from a season ago are not going to be taking the field for the Demon Deacons in this game. Quarterback Jamie Newman, who threw 35 touchdown passes for Wake Forest over 15 starts, is now in Athens having transferred as a graduate to Georgia. Defensive end Carlos Basham Jr., who was a first-team All-ACC selection and second in the conference in sacks, decided to opt-out of the season due to COVID-19 and focus on the draft, where he could be a first-round pick. Then there is wide receiver Sage Surratt, who decided to opt-out as well.
They do return some talent up front on defense, even with the loss of Basham. Returning starters on the inside include Tyler Williams and Sulaiman Kamara, as well as Basham’s former running mate, EDGE JaCorey Johns. Linebackers Ja’Cquez Williams and Ryan Smenda Jr. are back as well. Offensively, the Demon Deacons turn to Sam Hartman at quarterback, who started nine games for the team as a freshman but saw his season cut short due to a broken leg.
Matchup to watch: Lawrence versus #DraftTwitter. The life cycle of a draft prospect at the quarterback position is a fascinating case study. Lawrence might be QB1 on many boards right now, but one mistake and…
Draft prospects to watch: You could make the case that anyone wearing a Clemson jersey is worth studying for the draft, either in 2021 or beyond. Lawrence and Etienne are the headliners, but offensive tackle Jackson Carman (it is unfortunate we miss out on him against Basham), Ross and Rodgers all have early-round potential.
Scheme notes: While Lawrence gathers the bulk of headlines, defensive coaches have spent most of the offseason studying what defensive coordinator Brent Venables was running last year with the Tigers. Given the hybrid defenders at his disposal, Venables implemented a complex 3-1-7 defensive scheme that confused quarterbacks and coaches alike.
Take this near-interception of Justin Fields. The Clemson defense shows the quarterback a two-high safety look pre-snap, but rotates into an inverted Cover 3 look with both safeties dropping into hook zones, while the cornerbacks and the middle linebacker run the deep alleys:
They were among the best players in college football in 2019, but they either flew a bit under the radar or they didn’t become household names. That’s about to change.
He’s not all that big, and he’s not all that mobile, and he doesn’t have the biggest arm, but as a true freshman, he showed it.
Originally a key part of Willie Taggart’s 2019 Florida State recruiting class, Mack Brown and company swooped in and flipped Howell to be the main man to run the North Carolina offense. In a rebuilding job, the hope was for the true freshman to be ready right away, and then let him work through his mistakes as the team matured and the talent started to come in.
Instead, Howell came out rocking, bombing away for 245 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening win over South Carolina, and hitting Miami for 274 yards and two scores with no picks in either one.
The Tar Heels won both games, and the season was off and running.
There were a string of losses the middle of the season, but Howell handled himself like a seasoned pro in close game after close game.
There were a few multi-interception games – the two in the loss to Appalachian State were a problem – but he only threw seven picks on the season and had two or more touchdown passes in every game.
He needs to be more consistent, he took a few too many chances, and there were too many misfires in key moments, but for a true freshman to hit 61% of his passes for 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns with just seven interceptions in his first year, he wasn’t bad.
NEXT: The best pass rusher you probably don’t know, Part 1
