Heel Tough Blog: Miami Recap
Just like the last time that the Tar Heels welcomed the No. 1 team in the country to Kenan Stadium, the team took the Miami Hurricanes to the brink on Saturday night, but fell just short. In a game that will remind many of the 2015 ACC Championship Game, the Tar Heels recovered two onside kicks but were flagged for penalties on both. In the end Miami fell on the third onside kick attempt and ran out the clock to survive and stay undefeated. Here are our biggest takeaways from the 38-35 loss.
Onside Kick Calls Were Right, But Miami Got Away With a Lot
While we may have drawn comparisons to the 2015 ACC Championship Game, it was a different case this time around. In 2015, it was clear that no one was offside on the play where Hunter Crafford recovered the ball. In this case, it looked like Coleman Bryson and Shamar Easter were both offside. On the second recovery, it was close, but it looked like Peyton Seelmann got there just a fraction of a second too early. These may have been the correct calls, but there were some other calls and non-calls that were frustrating. The most notable one is the pass interference call in the end zone on an important 3rd down play that extended a drive that should have resulted in a field goal. This was the penalty that got Bill Belichick visibly irate and rightfully so as it appeared that both guys were just hand battling on a fade route to the corner of the end zone. On Miami’s side, a team that averaged 6.9 penalties per game and 62.9 penalty yards per game was called for just three penalties, two of which came on the Tar Heels final offensive drive.. It felt like there were obvious holds that went uncalled, especially early in the game, which could have backed the Hurricanes up and given this defense more margin for error. The fact of the matter is that it wasn’t the reason the Tar Heels lost the game, but it was certainly a contributing factor.
One Mistake Cost Tar Heels the Game
The reason the Tar Heels lost the game was because they made one mistake on a night where they needed to be absolutely perfect to win. The Tar Heels got the ball 7:43 left to go in the game and look to have another methodical drive off and running. On a 2nd & 9 play, though, with 5:33 remaining in the game, Billy Edwards Jr. would hold the ball just a little too long on a play designed to get the ball out quickly and he would be stripped from behind by Miami star edge rusher Marquise Lightfoot. In a scramble for the ball, Miami defensive tackle Justin Scott would fall on the ball, setting up the Miami offense with great field position to score the eventual game-winning touchdown. It sucks that this play was so costly because it is the lone blemish on what was a great showing from the Tar Heels’ sixth-year senior quarterback.
Billy Edwards Still Deserves a Lot of Praise
Edwards may have made the mistake with the late fumble, but he was simply outstanding on Saturday and was the main reason the Tar Heel had a chance to win. In what was easily his best game as a Tar Heel, Edwards completed 28 of his 34 pass attempts for 341 yards and four touchdowns, while committing just the one turnover. The emphasis was clearly to get the ball out of his hands quickly in this one and he did a great job of making the right throws all night long. There were a few high-level throws that he had to make, though, including the two touchdown passes to Jelani Thurman and he delivered. While the fumble may have been frustrating, Edwards proved last night that he is the guy that gives the Tar Heels the best chance to win this season and the conversations about turning to one of the backup quarterbacks needs to be put away for the rest of the year.
Bobby Petrino Calls His Best Game
Last week’s gameplan from Petrino was a frustrating one, but he followed it with the best one that we have seen so far this season. The plan was established early to get the ball out of Edwards hands quickly to negate the dangerous Miami pass rush and it worked to perfection. Petrino also did a good job of moving his tight ends and even receivers around with pre-snap motion to create favorable matchups that they were able to take advantage of constantly. While the passing game was where he shined, he ran the ball more than he did a week ago and it was a big reason why the offense was able to move the ball more consistently than any game this season and take time off the clock to shorten the game. We talked so much a week ago about how the team had to be better outside of the opening script and Petrino did everything he had to for that to be a possibility on Saturday night.
Defense Couldn’t Find a Way to Get Stops
Saturday’s defense outing could be seen as a successful one, but it shouldn’t be. While the Tar Heels held Miami below their season average in points and yards, the Hurricanes scored on six of their eight drives, with one of those drives they were held scoreless being the final offensive possession where they just ran out the clock. The biggest issue for the team, just as it was a week ago against Syracuse, was the fact that they simply could not get off the field on important downs. The Tar Heels can into the game 115th in the country in 3rd down percentage (43.1%) and it was a major issue again, as the Hurricanes converted six of their eleven 3rd down attempts. On top of that, they went for two 4th downs and converted in both instances, including on the touchdown that gave Miami the lead back at 30-28. Even the red zone defense, which had allowed just a 47.8% touchdown rate so far this season, struggled, as they allowed five of the six red zone trips to result in a touchdown and the other one to still end in a field goal. In order for this team to get back to winning games, they need this defense to return to the bend-don’t break unit that they were for the first half of the year and get off the field in important moments down the stretch of games.
Tar Heels Held Their Own in the Trenches
One of the biggest concerns coming into the week was how the Tar Heels would hold up in the trenches, but the team actually had solid showings on both sides of the ball in this one. The offensive line was matched up with one of the best defensive lines in the entire country and battled the entire night. While the team only ran for 66 yards on 30 carries, when they needed to run the ball, they were able to do it because of the blocking up front and the group may have allowed three sacks, but they only allowed 11 total quarterback pressures the rest of the night. On the other side, the defensive line wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction after last week. The group got way more push in the run game than they did a week ago and held a running game that was averaging 211.1 rushing yards per game coming in to 142 yards and 4.3 yards per carry. That number will need to improve moving forward, but against this team, you’ll take it. As for the pass rush, the team rushed four most of the night and felt like they got a decent amount of pressure despite only being credited with 11 total quarterback pressures. The hope is that the moments of success for this group can become more frequent in the last four games of the season and that the team can actually get the quarterback on the ground after two straight weeks without a sack. It wasn’t a perfect night, but after what happened against Syracuse, the team needed to respond in the trenches and they did just that.
Kenan Stadium Crowd Underwhelms
One of the disappointing things about the evening was the amount of empty seats in Kenan Stadium on Saturday night. The game was on a Halloween night, meaning some fans decided to stay home to trick-or-treat with their children or grandchildren, which is totally understandable. Still, there is absolutely no reason for the upper decks to be as empty as they were. There were plenty of other teams around the country hosting games during the same window on Saturday and none were as big as the Tar Heels game with the No. 1 team in the country. I get that last week’s loss to Syracuse was frustrating, but that was not the type of loss that should have had people giving up on the season. At this point, it feels like a waste of time to complain about this because it will likely never change, but I will continue to do it every time something like this happens because these players deserve better.
Anyone Who Believed the Season Was Over After Last Week is Crazy
One of the main reasons that the stadium wasn’t full was because too many fans simply called the season over after the loss to Syracuse. After what we saw on Saturday night, anyone with that opinion has to feel foolish. It doesn’t mean that the Tar Heels are going to run the table in the final four games of the season, but it feels like they have a chance to win all of those games. Also, that loss to Syracuse looks a lot different after they took down No. 19 SMU in similar fashion to how they beat the Tar Heels the week before. It’s not going to be easy, but this team gave you a reason to have faith on Saturday night that they can at least reach the postseason.
Comments