With another late-night loss, Tar Heels show they’re still not ready for prime time
The evidence is overwhelming at this point: It’s clear North Carolina still isn’t ready for prime time.
Even Mack Brown admitted the Tar Heels weren’t a top-five team after the Florida State loss; after Saturday night’s 44-41 loss at Virginia, they have fallen entirely off the pace set by Clemson and Notre Dame.
There’s a class divide in the ACC, and North Carolina is on the wrong side of it.
It’s merely coincidental that the Tar Heels are unbeaten in the afternoon and have yet to win at night, but there’s no excuse for losing to a bad Florida State team nor an average-at-best Virginia team, and both losses were rooted in the same deficiencies that surfaced even in North Carolina’s wins.
The skill talent on the North Carolina offense is elite, from Sam Howell to Michael Carter and Javonte Williams to the receivers, Dyami Brown particularly. But the offensive line is too prone to breakdowns — Howell was sacked five times Saturday — and the defense is unreliable, to put it as nicely as possible.
It doesn’t help that North Carolina continues to miss both its starting cornerbacks, but there’s no excuse for the way quarterbacks have run on the Tar Heels. Florida State’s Jordan Travis tore the Tar Heels up two weeks ago; Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong had his moments Saturday night.
All of this was foreshadowed by the way Boston College came back in the second half to have a chance to win and the way Virginia Tech kept pace once Hendon Hooker took over at quarterback. The Tar Heels were able to tee off against N.C. State’s backups with Devin Leary out, but that appears to be the exception to the rule, which is that the defense remains a level below the offense.
Not that the offense doesn’t have its issues at times — and the vaunted running game never really did get in gear Saturday — but as they did at Florida State, the Tar Heels have the firepower to make things interesting even when they have to dig out of a hole of their own making.
Strange things were afoot under a full moon in Charlottesville, from the curious officiating that cost Howell a touchdown — on a fumble recovery ruled first an incomplete pass and then an inadvertent whistle — to the punt that Toe Groves muffed to give Virginia a chance to score before halftime and the bizarre play call on the goal line on the final play of the half to a dropped backward pass that cost the Tar Heels a chance to even kick a field goal to the fake punt North Carolina saw coming and still couldn’t stop on the game’s pivotal play in the final minute.
But as damaging as those oddities were, the seeds of North Carolina’s defeat have been sown throughout the season, even in its wins. A funny thing happened on the way to the de facto semifinal against Notre Dame: The Tar Heels have now lost two games a team as good as they thought they were should have no business losing.
Losing at Virginia may not have been as unfathomable as losing at Florida State was, if only because it’s happened 16 times in the Tar Heels’ past 20 visits, but it was no less inexcusable.
If there’s good news for North Carolina, it’s that Duke is next: The Tar Heels will enter another rivalry game with something to prove. If there’s better news, it’ll be at noon.
ACC STANDINGS
1. Clemson 6-0 (7-0)
2. Notre Dame 5-0 (6-0)
3. Miami 4-1 (5-1)
T4. UNC 4-2 (4-2)
T4. NC State 4-2 (4-2)
T4. Virginia Tech 4-2 (4-2)
7. Wake Forest 3-2 (4-2)
8. Boston College 3-3 (4-3)
T9. Pittsburgh 2-4 (3-4)
T9. Virginia 2-4 (2-4)
T9. Georgia Tech 2-4 (2-5)
12. Florida State 1-4 (2-4)
T13. Duke 1-5 (2-5)
T13. Louisville 1-5 (2-5)
T13. Syracuse 1-5 (1-6)
SATURDAY’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCORES
EAST
Indiana 37, Rutgers 21
Ohio St. 38, Penn St. 25
Wake Forest 38, Syracuse 14
West Virginia 37, Kansas St. 10
SOUTH
Abilene Christian 20, Mercer 17
Alabama 41, Mississippi St. 0
Appalachian St. 31, Louisiana-Monroe 13
Auburn 48, LSU 11
Clemson 34, Boston College 28
Coastal Carolina 51, Georgia St. 0
Duke 53, Charlotte 19
FAU 24, UTSA 3
Florida 41, Missouri 17
Georgia 14, Kentucky 3
Louisiana Tech 37, UAB 34, 2OT
Mississippi 54, Vanderbilt 21
Notre Dame 31, Georgia Tech 13
Rice 30, Southern Miss. 6
Tulane 38, Temple 3
Virginia 44, North Carolina 41
Virginia Tech 42, Louisville 35
MIDWEST
Cincinnati 49, Memphis 10
Iowa St. 52, Kansas 22
Michigan St. 27, Michigan 24
Northwestern 21, Iowa 20
Purdue 31, Illinois 24
SOUTHWEST
Cent. Arkansas 52, Missouri Western 10
Louisiana-Lafayette 44, Texas State 34
Oklahoma 62, Texas Tech 28
SMU 51, Navy 37
Stephen F. Austin 64, Western St. (Col.) 7
TCU 33, Baylor 23
Texas 41, Oklahoma St. 34, OT
Texas A&M 42, Arkansas 31
Troy 38, Arkansas St. 10
UCF 44, Houston 21
FAR WEST
BYU 41, W. Kentucky 10
Boise St. 49, Air Force 30
Nevada 37, UNLV 19
San Diego St. 38, Utah St. 7
San Jose St. 38, New Mexico 21
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 11:24 PM with the headline "With another late-night loss, Tar Heels show they’re still not ready for prime time."
