After picking up their first win of the season last week against Charlotte, UNC picked up their first win in front of their home crowd in a pretty painless 41-6 win over Richmond. Carolina did what they were supposed to against an FCS opponent, out-gaining the Spiders 193-57 yards first half and going to the locker room up 20-3. The Tar Heels had chances to run up the score more that did not come to fruition.
Richmond started the second half with some trickery, attempting a successful onside kick
to take possession away from UNC. The Tar Heel defense pulled off a goal line stand to keep Richmond from adding any points. Richmond ineffectively ran the ball 48 times in the game and threw it just 15. UNC’s defense kept Richmond off the board for the whole second half until the Spiders put together a late drive for one more field goal with less than a minute remaining in the game.
Demon June put a stranglehold on the running back position with another impressive performance. He had 148 yards including a late 45-yard run for a touchdown. June, along with Jordan Shipp and his two touchdowns, were easily the most impressive players on offense. Gio Lopez continues to be a bit of an adventure at quarterback for Carolina, but he did enough to lead the team to a win. It’s fair to say that his play is going to have to improve quickly with the level of competition increasing in the weeks ahead.
The defense played a solid game to hold Richmond to just two field goals. Mikai Gbayor stripped quarterback Kyle Wickersham and took the fumble back for a touchdown in the third quarter, which was the first fumble recovery for a touchdown for UNC in four years. ACC Network also noted that it has been 13 years since Carolina went back-t0-back games without allowing a touchdown. Even if it comes against FCS teams, that is a fun stat to have on their side.
Carolina travels to Orlando, FL next week for a date with 2-0 UCF.
