The Tar Heels found a way to win at UConn, ending their two-game losing streak with possibly their most impressive win of the season and bringing their record up to 5-4. With the season now nine games in, it is time for another round of quarterly grades.
Quarterbacks:
Despite the 1-2 record, Billy Edwards Jr probably had his best three-game stretch as he moved up from thirteenth to eighth in the ACC by yardage. He is also now tied for third in touchdowns with 18 (a respectable jump from ninth at the midpoint while
also doubling his touchdown total from the first six games), while also only throwing one interception during the past three games compared to five during his first six (he is still tied for third worst in the conference, but with many more players). Finally, Edwards moved up from eighteenth to tenth in the ACC with a 65.2 completion percentage (he is also eighth in the conference with a 148.1 passer rating).
First Quarter Grade: F+
Mid Season Grade: D+
Third Quarter Grade: B+. I still don’t love Edwards as a quarterback, but he seems to have found his way in the offensive system and I am no longer campaigning for a different quarterback to take over. He was probably an A this past quarter but my grade does consider the first two quarters, so if he stays on this trajectory, he should be in A range by the end of the season.
Running Backs:
The running back room continues to be one of the weak points of this offense and is probably one of the reasons that Edwards had such a good quarter. Despite only seeing 12 rushes in the past three games (including zero against Syracuse), Benjamin Hall still leads the team in rushing with 377 yards. Demon June still has the most touchdowns on the team with eight (tied for sixth in the ACC) and now has the most rush attempts on the team, though he is tied for third on the team on average per attempt. The one bright spot of this three-game stretch may have been the emergence of Jaylen McGill as a receiving threat out of the backfield, as he caught 11 balls for 100 yards (including six catches in the loss to Miami). The overall unit continues to rank fifteenth in the ACC overall.
First Quarter Grade: B-
Mid Season Grade: C
Third Quarter Grade: D. The fact that Benjamin Hall continues to be the team’s leading rusher despite seeing a massive decrease in his workload is very concerning. The receiving yards from McGill are positive, as is June’s ability to find the end zone, but the overall running game is not good and it allows defenses to focus on the passing game and limit opportunities for success for the offense.
Wide Receivers:
As I have written the last two times, this group consists of Jordan Shipp and that’s about it. Shipp continues to lead this group with 50 receptions for 642 yards and four touchdowns (that first one last quarter got the ball rolling. He ranks seventh in the ACC in yards and receptions while his four scores put him in a tie for twelfth. The rest of the wide receivers have combined for 41 receptions for 477 yards and one touchdown.
First Quarter Grade: C-
Mid Season Grade: C
Third Quarter Grade: B. Again, Shipp on his own is an A+. However, the other tick up the chart is Trech Kekahuna, who has 11 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown during these past three games and is giving UNC a second wide receiver threat that isn’t a tight end. Speaking of tight ends…
Tight Ends:
Jelani Thurman continues to dominate as a pass catcher this season. He’s currently second in the ACC amongst all tight ends with 45 catches for 525 yards. He also finally surpassed Virginia Tech’s Luke Reynolds with four touchdowns in the last three games, bringing his season total to eight (tied for second best in the conference amongst all pass catchers).
First Quarter Grade: B
Mid Quarter Grade: B+
Third Quarter Grade: B. Much like Shipp, Thurman by himself has been an A+ this season. However, the grade drops slightly this quarter because Shemar Easter did not continue his previous trajectory, only accounting for three catches for 23 yards over the last three games.
Offensive Line:
As I mentioned in my past two quarter grades, offensive lines are hard to evaluate. However, looking at the same statistics as before, the line has stayed about the same on pass protection — tenth in the ACC in sacks, while improving to eighth in sack yards lost (they were tenth last time). The rushing game continues to be an issue as the unit continues to struggle compared to other conference teams.
First Quarter Grade: C
Mid Season Grade: C+
Third Quarter Grade: B-. Another small uptick as it is mostly unchanged over the past three games, though the slight improvement in sack yards lost seems to be worth the bump. The running game woes improving could change this as UNC has been lucky to avoid injury with their starting unit here.
Defensive Line:
North Carolina continued to drop in the ACC in rushing yards allowed per game, though not nearly as precipitously as last time (they previously dropped from fifth to tenth, this time just to eleventh) as their ypg continued to rise from 147.3 to 149.8. On a positive note, the team did rise from fourteenth to eleventh in sacks (not as good as second, but take the positives where they lie) increasing the season total to 18, with 5 over the past three games.
First Quarter Grade: B-
Mid Season Grade: D+
Third Quarter Grade: C. Xavier Lewis saw no sacks over the past three games, but Melkart Abou Jaoude did get his second sack of the season in the win over UConn. Overall, the pass rush is hit-or-miss, as 13 of the team’s sacks have come in just four games this season.
Linebackers:
Derek McDonald continues to lead the ACC in tackles while Peyton Seelman is now third. Seelman is also second on the team with 4.5 sacks this season, with four of those coming in the last three games (including two in the win over UConn).
First Quarter Grade: F-
Mid Season Grade: C-
Third Quarter Grade: B+. I still do not love this pairing, but they are doing what they are supposed to be doing and that’s getting tackles. Throw in Seelman’s sacks and the two forced fumbles (one from each of them) and it is hard to knock this group too hard, even if they don’t instill confidence as a linebacking duo.
Defensive Backs:
The passing defense continues to allow opposing quarterbacks to throw touchdowns, with another five passing touchdowns against bringing the season total to 13 and dropping the unit from second in the ACC to a tie for seventh. The passing yards per game also continues to rise, as the total went from 211.7 to 227.2 — tenth best in the conference (this is also a drop, as the unit was eighth in the conference last time). As one might also expect, the opposing team’s quarterback rating continued to rise going from 120.9 to 129.0, dropping the defense from fifth to eighth in the ACC. UNC ranks tied for sixth in the conference with seven interceptions (a small drop from fifth last time). Greg Smith III continues to lead the team in interceptions with three (zero over the last three games), while Jaiden Patterson leads the team with seven pass deflections (two over the past three).
First Quarter Grade: B
Mid Season Grade: B
Third Quarter Grade: C. The unit continues to worsen as the season progresses and they might have only faced one legitimate quarterback over the past three games. Their next three starting quarterbacks rank sixth, ninth, and eleventh respectively in the ACC in passer rating, so it may only continue to go down from there.
Special Teams:
Rece Verhoff continues to stabilize the kicking unit as he has gone five-for-six on field goals and 21-for-22 on extra points since becoming eligible before the Notre Dame game. Verhoff is four-for-five on field goals the past three games, and is a perfect 13 for 13 on extra points. Aeron Burell dropped from tenth to thirteenth in the ACC in yards per punt, but has only attempted 28 punts this season (also thirteenth in the conference). Jaden Jefferson maintained his spot at eleventh in the conference in kick return yards, while Trech Kekahuna moved up one spot to nineteenth in punt return yards.
First Quarter Grade: D-
Mid Season Grade: C
Third Quarter Grade: C. Verhoff continues to stabilize the kicking game since his return, but not much else has changed other than the continued drop of Burrell in the punting numbers (again, the offense has looked better meaning fewer punts and shorter punts). With not much changing, why should the grade do any different?
Coaching:
The team just turned in it’s worst quarter of the season going 1-2. Considering only one of those three teams was ranked, that is a disappointment. However, they also only lost those games by a combined four points, including only by a field goal to the number one team in the country. The offense ranks fifteenth in the ACC in total yards and eleventh in points per game. The defense ranks twelfth in the conference in yards allowed per game and sixth in points per game. They are currently ninth in the conference at 2-3 in conference play and 5-4 overall.
First Quarter Grade: D
Mid Season Grade: C+
Third Quarter Grade: C+. This is an average grade for what the numbers say is at best an average team with some above average to very good individual players. Just like last time, an optimist would say this team is a rain delay, a questionable two-point conversion, and an onside kick (or Edwards fumble) away from being 8-1 with a win over a top ten team and the inside track to not only the ACC Championship game but the College Football Playoff as well. On the other hand, a pessimist would say the team is a couple of lucky breaks from being 2-7 and staring at another abysmal year. Regardless, a realist sees the 5-4 record and the only question left is whether this team can win one of their last three games (two of which are at home) and make a bowl game this season.
What do you think of the team in this third quarter of play? Let us know in the comments below.
