Heel Tough Blog: Five Storylines Coming Out of UNC’s Second Bye Week
The Tar Heels are coming out of their second bye week of the season and beginning to get ready for the game against Notre Dame this Saturday in Kenan Stadium to kick off a nine game stretch to finish the season. As they begin those preparations, here is a look at the five biggest storylines around the team heading into a difficult stretch of games.
Quarterback Job Will Still Be Billy Edwards’ For Now
Many fans were calling for the Tar Heels to turn to one of the younger quarterbacks on the roster during the bye week, but Bill Belichick made it clear on Monday that is not happening. For now, the team will stick with the fifth-year senior who started the season with strong performances against TCU and East Tennessee State but came back to earth against Clemson. Inaccuracy has been the biggest issue for Edwards so far and he hasn’t handled pressure well, but he has distributed the ball well when he is not under duress. It’s up to the Tar Heels to keep him clean and it’s up to Edwards to fix some of the inaccuracies in what will be an extremely difficult stretch coming up. If he doesn’t, the staff will have to seriously consider making a change to one of the younger options to try and create some sort of spark.
Melkart Abou Jaoude Hoping to Return to Bolster Defensive Line
The Tar Heel defensive line has been the most impressive unit on the team in the first three games of the season, but they got worn down and struggled to generate pressure against Clemson. The good news is that the team is expecting that they are going to get star edge rusher Melkart Abou Jaoude from injury at some point soon and he showed in the opener that he will be a big boost for the pass rush. The hope is that the offense can help keep this group fresher by staying on that field and that the team won’t see the pace that Clemson played with often. Regardless, Abou Jaoude’s return should give this group a fighting chance on defense in the three game stretch against undefeated teams.
Rece Verhoff Returns as Placekicker
Last week, it was announced that Verhoff was eligible thanks to a ruling in the state of Indiana and for the time being there is hope for a struggling kicking game. The team has missed a field goal in each of the first three games of the season and can’t be relied from beyond 35 with Aeron Burrell as the starter. Verhoff’s return, however, give the Tar Heels a placekicker that hit eleven field goals of 40+ yards, including a 57-yarder in the game against Wake Forest last year that set a program record. With how rhythmic kicking can be, it is not a guarantee that Verhoff picks up where he left off last year, but it does feel like it is in better hands than it was in the first three games.
Which Unit Bounces Back Better: Offensive Line or Secondary?
Two units that struggled mightily at Clemson were the offensive line and the secondary and both will be looking to bounce back this Saturday against Notre Dame. The offensive line may have had some success in run blocking, but it wasn’t great on important downs and struggled in pass protection. Meanwhile, the secondary faced it first significant test and failed miserably, consistently allowing Clemson receivers to create separation and missing a lot of tackles. The offensive line feels like the unit that can be trusted to bounce back because of what they did in the first two games of the season, but both will have to rebound in a big way if the team is going to find a way to beat any of the next three opponents.
Notre Dame Kicks Off Extremely Difficult Three Game Stretch
We’ve been talking a lot about the three game stretch that the team is set to start on Saturday and for good reason. The stretch kicks off with Notre Dame, an undefeated top five ranked team that might be the toughest test on the Tar Heel schedule. After that, the team may be facing an undefeated Pittsburgh team on the road that boasts one of the hottest quarterbacks in the country in Mason Heintschel, who has thrown for six or more touchdowns in two of the first four games. The stretch will close out with a trip to rival Duke, who is also undefeated to this point and will test the team’s questionable run defense thanks to ACC Player of the Year candidate Nate Sheppard. If the Tar Heels could find a way to just steal one of these games, it would be a huge boost to the team’s quest to get to a bowl game this season.
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