Heel Tough Blog: Richmond Recap

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The Tar Heels were looking to build off of Bill Belichick’s first win as a college football head coach on Saturday and they did just that with a 41-6 victory over the Richmond Spiders in the first meeting between the two sides since 1978. Here’s a look at our biggest takeaways from Belichick’s first home win as the team’s head coach.

Offense Makes Strides

The most important task for the Tar Heels to accomplish on Saturday was to find some efficiency on the offensive side of the ball and while everything wasn’t perfect, it was a nice step in the right direction for that side of the ball. The running game was easily the most effective it has been this season, rushing for 193 yards and two touchdowns and, although he missed some throws, Gio Lopez still looked the most comfortable that he has in any game so far this season. The gameplan certainly seemed to be set up better than in weeks past, but it feels like a lot of the reason things looked better this week was because the team was able to execute the way they didn’t against TCU or Charlotte.

Demon June Era at RB is Officially Underway

Entering the season, there was a thought that June could be a part of the rotation at running back, but I don’t think anyone saw him becoming as significant a part of the Carolina backfield as he has become already. He led the way for the Tar Heels on the ground, carrying the ball 14 times for 148 yards and a touchdown, the most rushing yards for a freshman in a game since Michael Carter in 2017. The running back rotation was thinned down today with June carrying the load and Davion Gause and Caleb Hood relieving him at certain points throughout the game. That should be the plan in the backfield moving forward until proven otherwise.

Trenches Produce Some Promise

We were looking for a dominant performance in this area of the game for the Tar Heels and while everything wasn’t perfect, they still looked pretty strong here most of the day. The defensive line got off to a great start, winning their 1-on-1 matchups across the board, especially on the interior in the run game where the Tar Heels held the Spiders to just 51 rushing yards on 33 carries through the first three quarters. On the edge, Melkart Abou-Jaoude had the best performance of his season so far, collecting two sacks and a fumble recovery, and Smith Vilbert doing the same. On the opposite side, the Tar Heel offensive line got off to a bit of a slow start in pass protection, but rebounded nicely in the second half and opened up some mammoth holes in the run game, something they couldn’t do often in the first two games of the season. This was a step in the right direction and hopefully they will be able to build on it on the road against UCF next Saturday.

Defense Builds Off Strong Showing In Charlotte

The defense as a whole deserves a hat tip for how they were able to build off what they did a week ago against Charlotte. Richmond might be far from the best offense that the team will face, but by allowing just six points, this is the first time since 2012 that the team has gone two consecutive weeks without allowing a touchdown. The run defense was stellar for most of the day, as was the pass defense, which allowed just 75 passing yards and had their fourth interception of the season while getting the most consistent pass rush of the season. This secondary deserves a lot of credit for rebounding the way they have after a brutal opener against TCU. The group as a whole has also massively improved their tackling since that opener, something that they will look to bring with them against UCF in their first Power 4 game since then.

Linebacker Room Standing Out

The best unit on this defense right now is this linebacking corps, which has recovered from their struggles in run fit against TCU. Andrew Simpson and Khmori House were everywhere all afternoon and tied for the team lead in total tackles with seven. Mikai Gbayor had his best game as a Tar Heel, as well, collecting six total tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in just 22 snaps. Even Jonathan Agumadu flashed in limited reps late in the game for the team, finishing with six total tackles himself. This unit was supposed to be an area of strength for the team after they acquired Simpson and it has looked like it the last two weeks.

Bryce Baker Not Coming Into the Game Was Weird

There were a few weird things that happened at the end of this game, but from a Tar Heel perspective the weirdness started at quarterback. On the second-to-last offensive series of the game the Tar Heels removed Gio Lopez and put true freshman Au’Tori Newkirk in the game instead of fellow true freshman Bryce Baker. Baker, who was a part of the quarterback battle back in the spring, was the guy that many expected to see in a scenario like this and the choice to go to Newkirk may tell us that the Tar Heels are not as high on Baker as we thought.