Tag: UNC vs. FSU

Omarion Hampton and Beau Atkinson earn well-deserved ACC Weekly Honors

North Carolina dominated Florida State across the board in ACC football action on Saturday afternoon. Omarion Hampton and Beau Atkinson were the Tar Heels’ greatest factors.

All of a sudden, the North Carolina Tar Heels look like a competent ACC football program.

On Saturday, UNC dominated Florida State, a preseason CFP contender, 35-11 in a game which was decided in the second quarter. North Carolina’s defense played a massive role in the outcome, but it was star running back Omarion Hampton who nearly single-handedly gave his team a victory.

The Tar Heels generated seven sacks, led by 3.5 from reserve lineman Beau Atkinson. UNC held the Seminoles to under 100 yards in the first half, then 201 throughout the whole game.

Hampton scored a career-high five touchdowns: four on the ground, then a 49-yard score on a shovel pass from Jacolby Criswell.

For their impacts on Saturday’s game, it’s no surprise that Atkinson and Hampton were named ACC Players of the Week. The ACC tabbed Atkinson Defensive Lineman of the Week, plus it named Hampton Running Back of the Week.

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Hampton continues to showcase he’s one of the best running backs in program history, generating 265 scrimmage yards to go along with his five touchdowns. Hampton currently sits at 1,178 rushing yards, his second-consecutive season with over 1,000 yards, plus he continues to climb the program’s all-time rushing yards list.

Atkinson, who isn’t listed as a starter on North Carolina’s depth chart, is quickly proving why he’ll be a key piece of the future. Atkinson has 5.5 sacks in his past two games, 6.5 this season and has nearly doubled his 2023 total.

The Tar Heels have a bye this coming weekend, then make their long-awaited return home to host Wake Forest on Nov. 15. If Hampton and Atkinson have big games, UNC will finally reach bowl eligibility.

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Kaimon Rucker’s historic sack at FSU ties him with UNC legend for sixth all-time

Kaimon Rucker is a sack machine for the UNC football program. His latest sack tied him on the Tar Heels’ all-time list with a football legend.

The North Carolina Tar Heels dominated the Florida State Seminoles in ACC football action on Saturday, marching into Tallahassee and winning 35-11.

UNC’s highlight of the day was star running back Omarion Hampton, who scored all five of his team’s touchdowns. Hampton’s first four came on the ground, setting a career high, then he caught a fourth-quarter score from Jacolby Criswell.

North Carolina’s defense played like its early-2024 form, generating seven sacks against FSU. Kaimon Rucker, who led the Tar Heels with 8.5 sacks in 2023, added a sack of his own against the Seminoles.

What Rucker may not have initially realized, though, is that his lone sack put him in the same company as a football legend.

Rucker’s sack, the 21st of his career, tied him for sixth all-time with Lawrence Taylor. 

If you’re familiar with Taylor, he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in football history – both in college and the NFL. Taylor was the 1980 ACC Player of the Year, then generated 132.5 sacks across his 13-year career with the New York Giants.

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After missing five games earlier this year while recovering from a torn meniscus, Rucker’s return has breathed life into the UNC defense. North Carolina has 17 sacks in its past two games, plus it has limited Virginia and FSU to a combined 25 points.

Rucker made a much-welcomed decision to return for his fifth year, bringing 16 career sacks back with him. Rucker is quite the tackling machine, too, generating 170 over his 5-year career.

I’m hopeful Rucker will have a successful NFL career like Taylor, but for now, I’m going to enjoy him in his final games as a Tar Heel.

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Beau Atkinson sets career high, leads UNC defensive line in domination of Florida State

Beau Atkinson looks every bit of a leader along UNC’s defensive line, as evidenced by his career high in sacks at Florida State Saturday.

I can’t remember a North Carolina Tar Heels defensive line with more talent that its current group.

UNC has 2023 sack leader Kaimon Rucker leading the group, defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie anchoring the sack attack this year, plus a pair of former top-rated, 5-star recruits in Des Evans and Travis Shaw.

There’s another lineman in that group who, after today’s performance in a 35-11 domination of Florida State, should be getting plenty more attention.

That lineman is none other than Beau Atkinson, the in-state sophomore from Raleigh, who recorded a career, team and game-high 3 1/2 sacks against the Seminoles today.

All 3.5 of Atkinson’s sacks came in the first half, during which North Carolina held FSU to just three points and under 100 yards. Atkinson enjoyed another big game at Virginia last weekend, recording four tackles (three solo) and his first two sacks of the Tar Heels’ 2024 campaign.

With Atkinson bursting through FSU’s offensive line today for 3.5 sacks, he surpassed his 2023 total of – you guessed it – 3.5.

UNC’s defense historically isn’t great, but having new guys step up each week, are major reasons why UNC is starting to suddenly look like a competent program.

North Carolina’s defense couldn’t catch a break in losses to James Madison (70 points allowed), Duke (21 second-half points allowed), Pitt and Georgia Tech (1,000 combined yards). The Tar Heels also weren’t generating pressures in those games, with just five total sacks – and none against Pitt or Georgia Tech.

With Rucker and Ritzie both in their final year of eligibility, Atkinson looks primed to take over as UNC’s 2025 leader along the defensive line. Just how much more can Atkinson improve through North Carolina’s final three games?

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Omarion Hampton, defense carry UNC to dominant victory over Florida State

The Tar Heels marched into Tallahassee and destroy the Seminoles in ACC football action Saturday.

Where have today’s North Carolina Tar Heels been hiding throughout college football season?

For the second-consecutive week, UNC delivered a dominant, well-rounded performance that led it to victory. This time, it came against a preseason ACC Championship pick in Florida State, with North Carolina never trailing after the second quarter in a 35-11 win.

It wouldn’t be a Tar Heels victory without a big game from star running back Omarion Hampton, who scored all FIVE of UNC’s touchdowns and is now seven on the program’s career rushing yards list.

Hampton recorded four on the ground: his first giving North Carolina a 6-3, second-quarter lead it never relinquished, his second extending the Tar Heels’ lead to 13-3 two minutes before halftime, his third a 31-yard burst to open UNC’s second-half scoring (3:12 into the third quarter), then his fourth coming on fourth down with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

If you thought Hampton only contributed on the ground, think again. Hampton added North Carolina’s fifth and final touchdown, too, catching a third-down shovel pass from Jacolby Criswell and taking it 49 yards into the end zone. At that point, UNC led 35-11 three minutes into the fourth quarter.

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It was the Tar Heels’ defense, though, that made an initial impact on Saturday afternoon.

North Carolina generated SEVEN sacks against Seminoles quarterbacks Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek, with five coming in the first half alone. UNC held FSU to under 100 first-half yards, after doing so the previous week at Virginia, then later ended the game with just 201 total yards allowed.

The Tar Heels won’t be going to the College Football Playoff this year, but they’re suddenly back in bowl game contention after a second-straight convincing win.

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Another first half defensive shutdown leads UNC to halftime lead

The UNC football team’s first-half defense made a difference for the second-straight week

For the second consecutive week, the North Carolina Tar Heels’ first-half defense helped them gain a crucial halftime advantage.

Trailing Florida State 3-0 after the first quarter on Saturday afternoon, UNC quickly responded and took and 11-point lead into halftime. North Carolina kept generating pressure up front, with five sacks amongst its defensive linemen, led by a career-high 3.5 from Beau Atkinson.

Most impressive about the Tar Heels’ first-half defensive performance, though, was their ability to limit the Seminoles to just three points. UNC nearly replicated that last week against Virginia, limiting the hosts to six first-half points, while generating six sacks.

Florida State statistically has the ACC’s worst offense this year, but that doesn’t make North Carolina’s defensive start any less impressive. This is the same Tar Heels’ unit that allowed over 1,000 combined yards to Pitt and Georgia Tech, so this sudden resurgence is encouraging to watch,

UNC limited the Seminoles to just 61 – yes, 61 – first-half yards. FSU played both Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek at quarterback, with Glenn completed 1-of-3 passes for 33 yards. Seminoles running back Lawrence Toafili gained just 20 yards on six carries, while Kromenhoek was limited to six yards on a team-high seven carries.

We watched Virginia start to generate some rhythm on offense in the second half last week, but it was too late. Florida State could very well do the same thing today, as I saw a couple big plays in the first half, but North Carolina’s offense could put this game out of reach.

To see the Tar Heels’ defense is playing this well, this late in the season, is an encouraging sign for a possible bowl berth. Just think of the possibilities if UNC played this well defensively earlier in the year, too.

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