Tonight’s game between UNC and Louisville was supposed to be closer to a shootout than a shutout, but ultimately both teams scored three touchdowns total in UNC’s frustrating 16-14 loss.
Both defenses played way better than anybody expected for most of the night. Louisville did a great job of blitzing Billy Edwards Jr. and making him uncomfortable in the pocket, and ultimately it led to him ending up on the ground several times. The run game for the Heels wasn’t quite enough to do enough damage in the first
half, and ultimately it led to them getting shut out of two quarters after Benjamin Hall was able to punch it in for the touchdown in the first quarter.
As far as UNC’s defense goes, the mostly got pushed around on the line of scrimmage by Louisville’s run game, but they were able to get enough stops when it mattered most. After the Cardinals went up 13-7, the Heels clamped down and didn’t allow another touchdown for the rest of the night. Jaiden Patterson and Derek McDonald were key contributors in making sure the Cardinals didn’t have too much fun, racking up 17 tackles between the two.
Where things took an unexpected turn is when Billy Edwards Jr. took a hard hit on a sack and had to leave the game. Freshman quarterback Travis Burgess took Edwards’ place, and his ability to punish defenses with his legs was on full display. It didn’t lead to any points until the fourth quarter, though, when he facilitated a nine-play, 75-yard drives that ended with Benjamin Hall finding the end zone once again. With a decent chunk of time left on the clock, the Heels’ defense was able to keep Louisville from adding more points to the board, and UNC regained possession with less than two minutes left in the game.
On UNC’s final drive, Burgess was sacked for a two-yard loss, threw a couple of incompletions, and then threw a bizarre interception that effectively ended the game. The ball technically hit Jordan Shipp, but the ball went rogue and ended up in the hands of Jabari Mack. After Louisville killed the rest of the game clock, a skirmish broke out, but it’s unclear who started it. We’ll see what bad news the ACC delivers after the film is reviewed.
UNC losing to Louisville isn’t really a surprise, but what is surprising is how they lost. They had a chance to win what was a lowish-scoring game in the fourth quarter, but not having Edwards in the game made things…different. Not good, not bad, just different. The Cardinals more than likely didn’t get to game plan for Burgess, but at the same time, it’s hard to imagine that Burgess expected to hear his name called after Edwards got hurt unless we’re all missing something. Bill Belichick tagging him in instead of Miles O’Neill feels like they knew Burgess was capable of escaping the kind of pressure Louisville kept throwing at Edwards, but we’ll see what is said during the post-game presser regarding how they decided to make that move.
Overall, this was a frustrating loss for a handful of reasons, but losing in and of itself felt like a shoulder shrug. The Heels have two more opportunities to become bowl eligible, and the next one is against Virginia next week in Charlottesville.
