One thing you will not see out of this post is a discussion of the officiating, let's go ahead and get that out of the way from the start. Yes, we can argue about the pass interference call or the flags on the onside kicks, but anyone who's been around since the 2015 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship knows real injustice. Besides, Carolina scored on the PI call anyway, and they shouldn't have gotten to where they needed the onside kicks.
THAT is something you will see.
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There's time later to talk about the program in the macro — where it's going, just how successful it is being led by a coach whose clock is ticking — but in the micro you can't help but to admire the turnaround this program has made from last season to this. This is coming from someone who still thinks they need a different coach, by the way. The important thing now is to not let this be the high point of the season.
With that, let's talk about our winners, losers, and honorable mentions from the very narrow 38-35 loss to The U.
Winners
Jelani Thurman –Five catches, two touchdowns, and one of those being a spectacular catch on a great play by Billy Edwards, Jr. At this point in the season you run out of superlatives to talk about just how great an addition this was. You'd be excused for thinking his play early in the season was a mirage and wondering just how well he'd do as defenses keyed in on him. Well, we have our answer. This was, without a doubt, the biggest stage that Thurman will have all season and he shined in front of a national audience. He's draft eligible after this year and so he's going to have a great decision to make between some real NIL money or heading pro. Either way, the family should send some thanks to Bobby Petrino.
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Billy Edwards, Jr –It was the best game of his career, and it wasn't particularly close. He played the type of game you wanted from a sixth-year player, and executed the gameplan almost flawlessly. His reads were on point, he kept exploiting the Miami defense, and he — along with Petrino — may have just given game film for the rest of college football on how to exploit this Hurricanes defense. We'll get to the bad in a second, but the Tar Heels are not in this game without the steady hand of Edwards. Anytime you can throw for 341 yards and four touchdowns against the number one team in the country, it's a good night. Against any other team, Edwards probably earns them a win.
Bobby Petrino– You would have been right to have scoffed at this hire in the offseason. He seemed like yet another retread who was being given a second chance by the Belichick administration. He's quickly proven to be anything but. You can scratch your head on some calls over the course of the season, but in general the difference between the offense this season and last is winter to summer. He schemed an almost perfect game against the Hurricanes, to the point that Miami just couldn't stop them on defense. Just like Edwards, against most other teams, his work results in a win.
Losers
Defense –This isn't UNC-specific, though if the Tar Heels could have just gotten one more stop they win. Miami was 6-11 on third down conversions and a perfect 2-2 on fourth down. They couldn't contain Darian Mensah despite having seen him last year, and his 36 rushing yards were perhaps a more crushing blow than the 274 yards in the air. Carolina's defense needed to buckle up after the Edwards fumble and instead Miami just rolled all over them. Miami, though, shouldn't celebrate too much. They got the fumble recovery, sure, but UNC was actually better
on third downs than the Hurricanes, going 8-11. The final score for the Tar Heels was too easy, and while the pass by Edwards to Thurman for his second score was well-placed, how badly are you playing that Jelani Thurman can sneak by three guys and be open enough in the end zone to catch that pass? Miami's defensive staff has to be sweating about their chance to win a title based on what UNC was able to do to them.
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Billy Edwards, Jr –I'm sorry; you can't fumble the ball there. You can't. By the time the game had gotten to that point, it was clear that every possession would be precious. Greg McElroy — one of the best color guys and honestly he and Sean McDonough should be ABC/ESPN's "A" team — excoriated Edwards for his decision making on that play. He missed an easy pass, held the ball too long, and then should have just eaten the sack to give the Tar Heels a chance to move on. It literally cost them the game, and to his credit you know he knows that.
Bobby Petrino –Not talked about nearly as much was the drive that led to Carolina getting back to within three and leading to the onside kick. First and ten at the 16 with 1:45 left and the decision was to run the ball out of the shotgun to McGill. That arguably cost Carolina a chance as well, because Miami actually read the play and made the stop, forcing Bill Belichick to call one of his last two timeouts. Wouldn't it have been nice to have had a timeout in the pocket when Miami…finally…recovered that onside kick? The time for a surprise run was earlier in the clock, where you have more room as Miami is trying to prevent the long completion for a touchdown. The way Carolina's offense was running, it would have been nice to at least have had a shot.
Honorable Mentions
Demon June, Jaylen McGill, and Benjamin Hallall showed out well for the Tar Heels. It was good to see Hall again, and especially see him score. The three combined for just 69 yards on the ground but they were all tough yards, and none of them lost
yardage on a rush. More impressive was the 109 yards they combined for catching the ball, proving themselves to be huge weapons out of the backfield. Hopefully this continues…Miami mostly kept Jordan Shippat bay, but he still had a marvelous touchdown catch, as well as some glowing words from McDonough during the broadcast… Trech Kekahunaalso showed out, getting the other touchdown catch and generally having a ton of room to run around. Overall just a great night for the offense. The defense…the less said about it the better.
The Tar Heels will look to end their two-game losing streak next Saturday in Connecticut as they take on the Huskies in the last non-conference game of the season. Will the Tar Heels suffer a letdown. or was Saturday the start of an offensive renaissance? We shall see.
