Boom! These huge plays got Sam Howell and UNC’s offense rolling against Syracuse

When the explosive plays opened up, so, finally, did North Carolina’s scoring against Syracuse. The No. 18 Tar Heels scored on four straight possessions that finally turned a tighter than expected season opener into a 31-6 laugher.

The game was played without fans in Kenan Stadium due to state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions on crowds. The exception was the 25 guests of the Tar Heels’ seniors who were allowed tickets and the cutouts that filled in a small section on the visitors side.

Carolina looked like it would have an easy go of it, when it took its opening possession of the game 12 plays for a touchdown.

“We probably scored too quickly,” UNC coach Mack Brown said during his postgame press conference that was conducted through a video call. “And felt like it was going to be an easy day.”

Brown warned everyone who would listen that the opener could be mistake-filled. And the better part of the opening 35 minutes, the Tar Heels did their best to fulfill his prediction.

Quarterback Sam Howell threw two interceptions, the second of which led to an Orange field goal. Dazz Newsome fumbled a punt return that led to their first. The Heels even got called for an illegal snapping penalty when they were simply lining up to take a knee to end the first half.

That all changed in the second half. In football vernacular, an explosive play is any gain of 20 yards or more. Explosive as in it’ll blow up a defensive game plan. Explosive like it’ll ignite an offensive drive. In the case of Carolina and Syracuse, both things occurred.

Syracuse and its 3-3-5 defense took some adjusting to figure out. Early on, the Orange were doing just enough to keep UNC from sustaining its drives and scoring. But when Carolina tweaked its focus to counter how Syracuse’s secondary was playing, it led to all their big plays.

“They were playing really deep, they were kind of bailing on everything,” Howell said. “So we knew our deep game wasn’t really going to be there. So we just had to take the underneath stuff, and just take what they were giving us. Once we settled down and started doing that, things started opening up.”

Howell’s second pick came when he eyed Newsome on a deep seam route that safety Andre Cisco, the nation’s current Football Bowl Subdivision leader in career interceptions with 13, read all the way. But when Howell dumped the ball off to Javonte Williams on a swing pass out of the backfield, the Orange had too many players dropped in coverage. It just took one block from tight end Garrett Walston to cleared the way for a 22-yard gain on a third-and-6 in the third quarter. That led to a field goal and a 10-6 lead.

Michael Carter, who finished with 78 yards rushing and 60 yards receiving, popped two big plays that led to Carolina touchdowns on their next two drives. Carter had a 45-yard run that came on a misdirection play running behind the left side of the offensive line down to the Syracuse 16. And he also took a screen pass from Howell and weaved his way from the right side of the field all the way to the left side for a 23-yard gain.

Those underneath throws made the Orange secondary start playing a bit more honest in coverage. It also opened up a lane for Howell to connect with Newsome for a 38-yard strike that set up UNC’s final score.

“We just had to get back into a rhythm,” Williams said. “Once the second half started we just came together and made plays. Once we started scoring it seemed like they kind of faded away a little bit.”

Williams, who had 57 rushing yards, finished off all three of its touchdown drives. It marked the second time in his career he’s had a three-touchdown game.

The Heels’ offensive line, whose lack of depth was one of Brown’s concerns entering the game, held up fairly well despite news that would-be starter left guard Josh Ezeudu would not play due to an injury. They only gave up two sacks to the Orange and one came on the second play of the game as they were still not knowing what to expect.

“Once we settled down,” Mack Brown said. “We became the offense that we thought we wanted to be coming into the ball game.“

This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 12:15 AM with the headline "Boom! These huge plays got Sam Howell and UNC’s offense rolling against Syracuse."