In the early 1990’s, popular hard rock band Guns N’ Roses released two albums on the same day: Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. While overall both were considered solid releases, the band was criticized for releasing two albums at once; the thinking was that if the band had axed some of the filler tracks and combined the best songs from both albums it could have been an absolute banger of a release. Among fans, this gave rise to the “Choose Your Illusion” challenge; basically, fans would
pick the 15ish songs from both albums they thought were the best and would create the best (theoretical) Use Your Illusion album*.
The phrase “Choose Your Illusion” randomly popped into my head while perusing the reactions to UNC’s season opening win over TCU. Pretty much everyone found a way to confirm their assumptions coming into the season. If you thought year two of the Bill Belichick experience was going to be much better, UNC’s 15-10 win gave you plenty of ammo; if you thought that the Heels were not going to be much better than last season, there were things in this game to back you up.
In the “Choose Your Illusion” spirit, I’m going to take a crack at laying out the vastly differing views that seemed to pop up after the Heels win:
Illusion I: UNC is so back
UNC came into this game as a 7.5 point underdog (and it was as high as 9.5 at times in the week before kickoff) against an opponent that many thought would be a borderline top 25 team. Despite the bad juju of last season’s game against TCU hanging over the team, Carolina took care of business in Ireland. The defense looked positively nasty, with Xavier Lewis and Melkart Abou Jaoude wreaking havoc on the Horned Frog’s offensive line. Belichick’s NFL teams were often known for their grimy defenses that could muddy a game; this was confirmation that he’s figured it out and UNC is starting to resemble a true BB team. While the offense wasn’t electric, game one of Bobby Petrino’s offense looked far better than last year; Billy Edwards Jr. did a solid job of distributing the ball and avoiding turnovers. Jordan Shipp and new UNC tight end Jelani Thurman looked like reliable pass catchers and the rebuilt offensive line held up pretty well after the first quarter. Sure, there are areas to clean up, but this game serves as proof that Belichick and UNC football are on the right track; fans simply need to be patient and trust the process.
Illusion II: Fool’s Gold
Hey, everyone loves winning! And while it certainly feels good to get a win few saw coming, the results from that game didn’t significantly alter the idea that this UNC football team isn’t going to be much more competitive than last year’s squad, and certainly not good enough to justify keeping the current coaching/player development staff. The Heels offense was once again nonexistent; the unit technically scored fewer points against TCU than last year’s squad and turned the ball over twice. Edwards Jr. looked like what he’s been most of his career: an average-at-best Power 4 quarterback. The defensive improvement was as much a function of playing a team that was clearly in the midst of their own rebuild than any marked improvement, and they still allowed TCU running back Jeremy Payne to rush for 142 yards. The win was more a case of what TCU did (or didn’t do) than UNC grabbing control of the game, as evident by UNC only scoring five points in the final three quarters. UNC only won because TCU gave up a safety, had 11 penalties for 89 yards, and generally seemed to be bothered by the wet conditions more than the Heels did. While UNC may be marginally better than it was last year, this is still a bad team, and the program is still on track to need a reset after this season.
While there’s some merit in both arguments, they both also choose their illusion: basically, picking and choosing what they can pull from the TCU game to fit their narrative. Ultimately, we will get the answer to which one is correct. While ETSU shouldn’t provide much of a challenge for UNC, even a not-quite-as-good-as-normal Clemson team will provide a stern road test for the Heels in three weeks and some insight on what this team’s ceiling is. Until then, we’re all free to choose our illusion.
*Just in case you were curious, here are my picks: Right Next Door to Hell, Dust and Bones, Live and Let Die, Don’t Cry (Original, off UYI 1), Back Off B**ch, Coma, November Rain, Civil Way, 14 Years, Yesterdays, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Shotgun Blues, Pretty Tied Up, Locomotive, and You Could Be Mine.
