As many people know, the vibes for Carolina football were really bad going into tonight’s game against Charlotte. TCU put an absolute hurting on the team that is being led by a six-time Super Bowl winning head coach, and everyone had a whole lot to say after that happened. Thankfully, UNC had a better outing against the 49ers and put them away 20-3 to earn their first win of the season.
UNC came out firing on all cylinders much like they did in the TCU game. Gio Lopez threw three passes on the first
drive which ultimately led to him finding Chris Culliver for a 51-yard touchdown. During the Heels’ defensive drive, former Tar Heel Conner Harrell returned the favor by showing off his arm and connecting with his targets, but ultimately he wasn’t able to help his team put points on the board. In fact, the 49ers were shut out in the first quarter, while UNC managed to add three to their total going into the second.
During the second quarter, Charlotte managed to put three points on the board, but ultimately their offense still wasn’t very effective against Carolina. When the Heels had the ball, things weren’t a whole lot better. Gio Lopez threw a lot of short passes and screens, which while the number of passes executed was a huge improvement over last week, things returned to a pretty predictable cadence. What helped them get going again, though, was freshman running back Demon June entering the game. June beat up Charlotte’s front seven on his first few runs before the drive ultimately ended with a punt. It wasn’t until the last offensive drive of the half that Davion Gause was able to break free for a 12-yard touchdown to send the Heels into halftime up 17-3.
The second half of action ended up being about as uneventful from a scoring perspective as watching the 49ers vs. Ravens matchup in Super Bowl XLVII. Neither team seemed like they were interested in scoring, though the reasons for each side were different. UNC returned to the same offensive funk that they found themselves in against TCU — lack of imagination with play-calling, inability to run the ball effectively, and the amount of throws that we saw were cut in half. For Charlotte, Conner Harrell was able to move the ball down the field a bit, but their run game was non-existent. The good news for Carolina is that Charlotte didn’t pose much of a threat from a scoring perspective, but the bad news is that they didn’t either. The Heels eventually put three more points on the board in the fourth quarter, and from there the teams went back and forth until the Heels ended the game with an interception by Malcolm Ziglar.
It is a bit difficult to figure out what to make of tonight’s win against Charlotte, but it goes without saying that a win is a win regardless. Finding a way to go home with something positive is huge for this team, especially since they will probably spend another month or so trying to put it all together. For fans, though, the question is will they ever fully put it together. Tonight we saw more questionable play-calling, a suspicious offensive line, and a defense that had some pretty good and pretty bad moments. But for now, maybe the most important thing is that they managed to win, which should give the team a confidence boost after that horrible game against the Horned Frogs. We’ll see if they can keep the good vibes flowing next week against Richmond.
