After getting bowl eligible with last week’s win over Wake Forest, the Tar Heels will look to extend their winning streak to four games on Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill as they face a Boston College team that will be hoping to seal their own bowl eligibility. Here’s everything that you need to know about the team’s final road game of the season.
Team Breakdowns
Tar Heels
The Tar Heels offense had their issues against the Demon Deacons but leaned on their running back and made plays when they needed to. Omarion Hampton has been fantastic the entire season, but has really taken his game to the next level the last two games and is prepared to drag this offense to victories. Jacolby Criswell didn’t have the type of performance last week that he did in the previous two games, but he continues to take care of the football and make the throws that he needs to. The receiving corps still lacks the consistency that they’ve had for so long, but J.J. Jones has made big plays and found the end zone when they’ve needed him to. Nate McCollum and Kobe Paysour have had some productive games this season but just haven’t been able to make those common occurrences. The most consistent threat each week in the receiving game has been tight end John Copenhaver, who stepped up since Bryson Nesbit went down with a wrist injury. The biggest issue for this offense on Saturday was the offensive line, which has been up and down all season long. Right tackle Trevyon Green continues to have his issues in pass protection while the group as a whole has been inconsistent in run blocking. The Tar Heels need the starters to step up and play two of their better games of the season against the physical defensive lines of Boston College and NC State.
Defensively, the Tar Heels turned in a solid performance against Wake Forest despite allowing them to move the football a little bit. Three turnovers were a big part of the success and the best part was that they were spread out across all three units. The defensive line continues to have success, led by the trio of Kaimon Rucker, Des Evans and Beau Atkinson, who have taken their game to another level off the edge in the second half of the season. On the interior, Travis Shaw has been really solid against the run all season long while Jahvaree Ritzie and Joshua Harris Sr. have settled back in after being pushed around during the four-game losing streak. At linebacker, Power Echols is coming off his best game of the season where he showcased his ability to affect the game in a multitude of ways, while Amare Campbell continued his strong second half to the season. The secondary is still the biggest concern on this side of the ball, especially with Alijah Huzzie not playing nearly as well as he was earlier in the season, but they have been better as a whole in the second half than the first. Kaleb Cost has still given up some yards in coverage, but he has become a more consistent tackler just like safeties Stick Lane and Jakeen Harris. Even Marcus Allen has been more consistent in coverage in the past three games. As a whole, this unit has done a much better job of being where they are supposed to be and tackling since that first bye week, leading to some of the best defensive performances of the season in the last three games.
The special teams unit has grown more concerning as the season has progressed. Placekicker Noah Burnette has missed a field goal in each of the last three games, including a 34-yarder last week. He pairs with Tom Maginness, whose leg simply isn’t big enough to consistently flip field position. The good news is that the return and coverage units are in pretty good shape.
Boston College
The Eagles are battling for their bowl lives and doing so with a quarterback different from the one who led them to their first five wins. Grayson James replaced veteran Thomas Castellanos a couple of weeks ago and showed a lot of positive flashes against SMU, providing more of a threat in the passing game than we had seen from Castellanos this season. He’ll be hungry to get that first win as a starter, so it’s going to be up to the Tar Heel defense to make him uncomfortable. The Eagles boast one of the toughest running games that the Tar Heels have faced so far this season. The team has four capable backs led by Kye Robichaux, who has started to see more reps as the season has progressed. At receiver, Lewis Bond is having a solid season and Reed Harris was unlocked last week by the quarterback change. Meanwhile, former Tar Heel tight end Kamari Morales is having a nice year, especially in the red zone and Treshaun Ward, who is averaging 19.3 yards per reception on his 13 catches out of the backfield, will also test the linebackers. The Eagles' offensive line has graded out fairly well in run blocking but has issues in pass protection. Of the six players who have played extensive snaps along the front so far this season, four have allowed double-digit pressures, meaning there will be an opportunity here for this Tar Heel defensive front.
Just like the offense, the Eagles' defense is a very average unit. The best room on this defense is the defensive line where Donovan Ezeiruaku is putting together one of the most dominant seasons for an edge rusher in the country and Cam Horsley is making plays on the inside. There are some others in that room, though, who are struggling, including Owen Stoudmire and George Rooks on the interior of the unit. The secondary is in decent shape, but safety Carter Davis has been picked on a bit in coverage and outside corner spots have led up a lot of yards. Losing linebacker Kam Arnold to injury was bad enough, but Owen McGowan’s season-ending injury made things even worse. If both guys are out, it will be a combination of Joe Marinaro and Bryce Steele alongside the very inconsistent Daveon Crouch.
The special teams unit might be the most confusing in the entire country. Between the two placekickers the team has used, Luca Lombardo and Liam Connor, they have attempted just two field goals so far this season, while the punting has been spread out between four different players. The returner spots have been no better with four different players having handled kick return duties and the same amount having split punt returns.
Team Stats
Tar Heels
Off. PPG: 33.7 (30th)
Off. PYPG: 235.6 (T-55th)
Off. RYPG: 204.5 (17th)
Off. TYPG: 440.1 (28th)
Off. 3rd Down %: 42.9% (T-48th)
Off. 4th Down %: 50.0% (T-80th)
Off. Red Zone TD%: 62.5% (T-63rd)
Tackles For A Loss Allowed: 60.0 (T-90th)
Sacks Allowed: 20.0 (T-65th)
Def. PPG: 26.2 (T-78th)
Def. PYPG: 235.7 (91st)
Def. RYPG: 128.5 (45th)
Def. TYPG: 364.2 (64th)
Def. 3rd Down %: 34.3% (T-32nd)
Def. 4th Down %: 53.9% (T-70th)
Def. Red Zone TD%: 60.0% (T-71st)
Tackles for A Loss: 63.0 (T-44th)
Sacks: 34.0 (5th)
Interceptions: 8 (T-65th)
Turnover Margin: +2 (T-53rd)
Penalties Per Game: 7.2 (T-107th)
Penalty Yards Per Game: 60.8 (98th)
Boston College
Off. PPG: 27.6 (T-72nd)
Off. PYPG: 184.5 (113th)
Off. RYPG: 175.6 (50th)
Off. TYPG: 360.1 (93rd)
Off. 3rd Down %: 44.1% (36th)
Off. 4th Down %: 54.2% (T-73rd)
Off. Red Zone TD%: 72.2% (20th)
Tackles For A Loss Allowed: 49.0 (T-41st)
Sacks Allowed: 25.0 (T-98th)
Def. PPG: 24.5 (T-65th)
Def. PYPG: 248.8 (107th)
Def. RYPG: 130.4 (47th)
Def. TYPG: 379.2 (79th)
Def. 3rd Down %: 36.3% (51st)
Def. 4th Down %: 50.0% (T-49th)
Def. Red Zone TD%: 48.8% (T-18th)
Tackles for A Loss: 44.0 (T-117th)
Sacks: 17.0 (T-90th)
Interceptions: 12 (T-19th)
Turnover Margin: +4 (T-35th)
Penalties Per Game: 4.5 (T-12th)
Penalty Yards Per Game: 40.1 (T-14th)
Keys to the Game
Start Fast
Chestnut Hill is the perfect example of a sleepy environment especially with this game being a noon kick, but the Tar Heels have to wide awake and ready to go for this one. Boston College has proven they can score in the second half of the season and if the Tar Heels aren’t careful, they could get behind early. The team needs to bring the energy and physicality from the word go to prevent this from being the trap game it has the chance to be.
Run The Ball Until They Prove They Can Stop You
Boston College’s defense is similar to Wake Forest’s defense from a week ago in that they are allowing a lot of yards through the air, but Chip Lindsey needs to prove he learned from last week. This Tar Heel team needs to come out running the football and make a Boston College run defense that hasn’t been tested that much so far this season and is banged prove that they can stop it. Lindsey’s need to trust his best player to carry this offense to success like he’s done in each of the last two games.
Force Them to Throw It
The Eagles are going to want to lean on their run game and the Tar Heel defense needs to be able to counter that. Gap integrity and strong tackling are going to be important and the good news is those are areas Geoff Collins’ unit has been much better during this three game losing streak. The goal should be to limit the effect of this potent running game and force Grayson James to have to beat you in what are expected to be cold and rainy conditions.
Injury Report
Tar Heels
OUT- Jonathan Adorno (undisclosed), Darwin Barlow (lower body), Liam Boyd (lower body), Leroy Jackson (undisclosed), Max Johnson (leg), Bryson Nesbit (wrist), Julien Randolph (undisclosed)
QUEST- Caleb LaVallee (lower body)
Boston College
OUT- Jaylen Blackwell (undisclosed), Alex Broome (knee), Owen McGowan (upper body), Amari Thomas (undisclosed)
QUEST- Kam Arnold (upper body), Turbo Richard (undisclosed)
PROB- Daveon Crouch (undisclosed)
Projected Starting Lineup
Tar Heels
Offense
QB#12 Jacolby Criswell, Jr.
RB#28 Omarion Hampton, Jr.
WR-X# 5 J.J. Jones, Gr.
WR-SL# 6 Nate McCollum, Sr.
WR-Z# 8 Kobe Paysour, Jr.
TE#81 John Copenhaver, Gr.
LT#79 Howard Sampson, So.
LG#68 Aidan Banfield, Fr.
C#63 Zach Greenberg, Gr.
RG#53 Willie Lampkin, Sr.
RT#78 Trevyon Green, So.
Defense
DE#10 Des Evans, Sr.
NT#98 Kevin Hester Jr., Gr.
DT# 5 Jahvaree Ritzie, Sr.
RUSH# 7 Kaimon Rucker, Sr.
WLB#23 Power Echols, Sr.
MLB#17 Amare Campbell, So.
CB#28 Alijah Huzzie, Gr.
BS# 1 Stick Lane, Gr.
FS# 2 Jakeen Harris, Gr.
CB#29 Marcus Allen, Jr.
STAR#21 Kaleb Cost, So.
Special Teams
PK#98 Noah Burnette, Sr.
P#96 Tom Maginness, Jr.
KOS#97 Lucas Osada, Fr.
LS#62 Spencer Triplett, Gr.
H#96 Tom Maginness, Jr.
KR# 6 Nate McCollum, Sr.
PR#28 Alijah Huzzie, Gr.
Boston College
Offense
QB#14 Grayson James, Jr.
RB# 5 Kye Robichaux, Sr.
WR# 6 Jaden Skeete, So.
WR#9 Jerand Bradley, Jr.
WR#11 Lewis Bond, Jr.
TE#88 Kamari Morales, Gr.
LT#71 Jude Bowry, So.
LG#65 Logan Taylor, Jr.
C#66 Drew Kendall, Jr.
RG#67 Jack Conley, Gr.
RT#70 Ozzy Trapilo, Gr.
Defense
DE# 4 Neto Okpala, Sr.
DT#96 Cam Horsley, Gr.
DT#91 George Rooks, Jr.
DE# 6 Donovan Ezeiruaku, Sr.
LB#45 Joe Marinaro, Gr.
LB# 1 Daveon Crouch, Jr.
CB#13 Max Tucker, So.
FS#28 Carter Davis, RFr.
SS#20 KP Price, So.
CB#35 Ashton McShane, Fr.
NB# 3 Khari Johnson, Sr.
Special Teams
PK#95 Liam Connor, Jr.
P#43 Sam Candotti, Jr.
KOS#95 Liam Connor, Jr.
LS#46 Bryant Worrell, Gr.
H#43 Sam Candotti, Jr.
KR# 2 Jayden McGowan, Jr.
PR# 2 Jayden McGowan, Jr.
Game Information
Kickoff Time: 12:00 PM ET
Weather: 43℉, 30% chance of rain, NW at 13 mph
Betting Line: UNC -2.5
TV: The CW
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network
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