Despite a strong third quarter, North Carolina lost for the seventh time this season, this time to archrival Duke 32-25. The Tar Heels — who actually took the lead by a point with a 12 yard run by Davion
Gause a little under two minutes into the fourth quarter — couldn’t get the stops needed and ended up losing.
So what did we learn about the Tar Heels in their second straight loss to an in-state rival?
All the progress made was just a big illusion
One could’ve argued this last week when the team lost 28-12 to Wake Forest, giving up 414 yards on defense and making the red zone once on 10 offensive drives. However, the Demon Deacons have a really good defense and so for some the Heels got a pass.
This game was completely different.
First of all, the offense continued to sputter. Yes, Gio Lopez went over the 200 yard mark for the fifth straight game (not sure how 200 yards is impressive, but whatever) while accounting for two touchdowns and not turning the ball over. But outside of three drives, the offense basically sputtered, going three and out three times and ending the game on a four and out that lost yardage due to penalties and sacks.
Then there were the defensive “improvements.” The defense was being heralded as the best unit on the team after four straight games in which they held their opponents in check. But that was also an illusion. The team’s best game might’ve been against Syracuse, but Notre Dame showed that it wasn’t even that impressive by destroying the Orange 70-7.
For the second week in a row, the opposing offense looked to be able to do as it wished against the North Carolina defense. Duke finished the game scoring on five of their seven real drives (not counting the two drives to end both halves where they kneeled down both times) and only punted once. The Blue Devils, who were held to 6-15 on third down, went an impressive 5-6 on fourth down tries.
Throw in the 12 penalties for over 100 yards and its hard to see much improvement from the TCU game — even if the score wasn’t as lopsided.
Special Teams felt left out of the party
Special Teams, which was always considered a calling card of any Bill Belichick coached team, must have felt like the offense and defense were getting too much attention for their miscues and wanted to end their FOMO.
The Tar Heels had four big special teams gaffs against the Blue Devils in this game. The first came on the ensuing kickoff after North Carolina opened with a 13 play touchdown. Samir Hagans returned the short kick 40 yards, setting Duke up for a short field which led to a game tying touchdown.
The next play came on the following drive: after the Tar Heels went three-and-out and punted, Duke marched down the field, but after an unsportsmanlike penalty on a failed third down pushed the Blue Devils to attempt a long field goal (which the kicker missed), a roughing the kicker call gave Duke a first down. On the next play, Darian Mensah hit Jeremiah Hasley for the 27 yard touchdown.
The third miscue came on the opening kickoff of the second half, when the Tar Heels attempted a surprise onside kick that North Carolina touched before the ball traveled 10 yards, leading to yet another Duke touchdown.
The final miscue was the biggest. With the Blue Devils down one, Manny Diaz sent his kicker out to try a long field goal attempt (about 44 yards) with a little over 2 minutes to go. The attempt was a fake as the holder tossed the ball to the place kicker who ran it untouched 26 yards before getting tackled at the one yard line. Duke scored on the next play and converted the two point conversion for the late seven point lead.
Considering that all four miscues led to Duke touchdowns in a seven point loss, special teams definitely did their job to be considered for worst unit of the week.
Bill Belichick does something Mack Brown never did his second time around
I think most people can agree that it was time for Mack Brown to leave at the end of his sixth season in his second stint with the Tar Heels. However, despite all the things Mack failed to do — and there were many — one thing he never did was fail to at least win six games in his second go around, making a bowl game six straight seasons (if you go back to his first stint, he made a bowl game in 12 straight seasons).
He did lose five straight in those bowl games, but he still coached his team to the bare minimum each season, including last year with an offense led by Jacolby Criswell (which looked better than anything this team has put out).
Well, with the loss to Duke, not only did Bill Belichick guarantee the Victory Bell would stay in Durham, but he also made sure that the bowl streak would end at six. Not only is the team not progressing, one could argue that they are in fact regressing from a coaching staff and team that needed a reset to a team and coaching staff that really should probably be scorched earth by the administration.
