On one hand I’d say it’s not surprising that NFL legend Bill Belichick found a way to limit UofL’s offense to just 16 points. But on the other hand, I’m not sure at any point this season we could have said that this defense would be capable of holding a Bobby Petrino offense to just 14 points or scoreless for 50+ minutes, but here we are!
What an odd game, nbut man I’m sure glad we came out on the right side of things.
The Good
It was awesome having Lawayne McCoy back as he picked up right where he left
off with 6 receptions for 64 yards, but with some important snags. Keyjuan Brown also looked great tonight as he went for 78 yards on just 11 carries, with Isaac going for 59 on 12 carries.
The defense??? For a second game in a row the defense looked….great? Aside from Bobby’s signature first drive script and a far too easy touchdown drive late in the 4th quarter, the defense was awesome. The ends worked the Tar Heel o-line all night with former UNC edge Tyler Thompson and Clev Lubin wreaking havoc all night. The pressure the d-line got tonight was extremely disruptive and ultimately knocked out UNC’s starting QB.
The secondary also did a great job all night as they kept the offense in front of them and successfully ran a bend-don’t-break defensive scheme.
Stanquan Clark and Jabari Mack were absolutely everywhere tonight as they combined for 17 tackles and Mack had the game sealing INT.
I think after the Syracuse and Stanford games the fanbase had some doubts about if it was too late in the year for the defense to salvage anything, but in the last 2 games, and even including the second half vs. Stanford, they’ve really made a turn. If they keep this up these last 2 games could be especially fun.
The Bad
The offense was methodical, but had trouble finishing drives in the first half which left them with a narrow 13-7 lead at the half. The offense would only score once more in the fourth quarter as both defenses were in control for most of the game. Really wish the passing game would have been more effective, and I hate that we got cute late in the game and went away from Keyjuan who had been unstoppable.
I thought we had probably lost the game when we got a freaking delay of game after the kickoff to start the drive from our own 7 yard line when we needed a first down to end the game. The defensive holding was a major break, but after we gave UNC the ball back I was certain that we had blown the game and that the Heels would win by 1.
But against all of our expectations the defense bowed up and quickly got UNC to 4th and 12 before they threw the game-sealing INT to Mack.
The playcalling also bit us in the ass, the stupid penalty after a kickoff almost bit us in the ass, the clock management almost bit us in the ass, but somehow we came out on top.
I’m not complaining! But holy moly.
UofL now heads into it’s last home game of the season against a Pitt team I imagine will have a very similar plan of attack as UNC did, and I imagine UK will have a similar approach, too. While SMU fell on their faces today and blew any chance UofL had at an ACC title game, 9 wins is still on the table, and if both Miami and Wake are CFP bound we could have some fun in a bowl like the Pop-Tarts Bowl. It’s not where we wanted to end up, but 9 wins, a Governor’s Cup win, and a fun bowl would be a pretty damn fun consolation.
See y’all next week.
