Ok, so we all know our offense has been BAD, like really ugly bad… No hope for tomorrow right? Not so fast my friends!
First lets take a mile high view of us vs them- both teams 6-6. Our schedule was much more difficult. Unc looked better on O than us but compared to last year and preseason expectation (top 10 rated team preseason), they took a HUGE step back in production especially passing (pass blocking was awful). Our D has not been great but better than the O, their D is at best mediocre by ACC standards. Mile high= pretty even matchup. Special teams comes into play in a push and I give us an advantage there.
So, how can we win?
1- pressure the QB. Early, often and do not ever let him get comfortable. Burch is one of our most important players in this game IMO- we need him to have a great game replacing Enagbare/Strahan.
2- run the ball EFFECTIVELY. They can’t score if we do not let them have the ball. Harris is a stud, we all know it.. We need him to have his best game of the year.
3- get some young players more involved on offense. We saw Juju and Bell get some touches and make big plays this year. Juju disappeared late?? I know we had a crowded room but his skill set is different than other guys in that room and with White gone, Lloyd clearly not 100%… We need him to be an effective change of pace. Bell has big play ability but had some turnovers..Time to get him the ball, QUICKLY- screens, quick slants, TE crossing routes, maybe let him run it a few times… Get those two more involved and search the damn bench for play makers! What about Crosby, what about Blake..? I think Blake has yet to see a snap this year, won’t burn his RS if we give him a look… Crosby looked like a player- time to find out?
4- Turnovers. That is something we did well in games we won. We caused turnovers, scored on some on D, but with the offensive struggles if we can get some short fields and/or some points from the D we can flip momentum and make the job easier for our offense.
These are the things I will be watching tomorrow. If we pull this one out it will be a huge step for the program! I know a lot of fans seem to think we are in trouble but I do not see UNC being any better than 3 of the teams we beat this year and not as good as at least one team we barely lost to. At this point we should all know the transitive properties of CFB are meaningless though so comparing UNC directly to specific teams we have played is pointless. This game will be determined by turnovers and mistakes I think- if we can force them to make more, we can get the momentum and win this game!
First lets take a mile high view of us vs them- both teams 6-6. Our schedule was much more difficult. Unc looked better on O than us but compared to last year and preseason expectation (top 10 rated team preseason), they took a HUGE step back in production especially passing (pass blocking was awful). Our D has not been great but better than the O, their D is at best mediocre by ACC standards. Mile high= pretty even matchup. Special teams comes into play in a push and I give us an advantage there.
So, how can we win?
1- pressure the QB. Early, often and do not ever let him get comfortable. Burch is one of our most important players in this game IMO- we need him to have a great game replacing Enagbare/Strahan.
2- run the ball EFFECTIVELY. They can’t score if we do not let them have the ball. Harris is a stud, we all know it.. We need him to have his best game of the year.
3- get some young players more involved on offense. We saw Juju and Bell get some touches and make big plays this year. Juju disappeared late?? I know we had a crowded room but his skill set is different than other guys in that room and with White gone, Lloyd clearly not 100%… We need him to be an effective change of pace. Bell has big play ability but had some turnovers..Time to get him the ball, QUICKLY- screens, quick slants, TE crossing routes, maybe let him run it a few times… Get those two more involved and search the damn bench for play makers! What about Crosby, what about Blake..? I think Blake has yet to see a snap this year, won’t burn his RS if we give him a look… Crosby looked like a player- time to find out?
4- Turnovers. That is something we did well in games we won. We caused turnovers, scored on some on D, but with the offensive struggles if we can get some short fields and/or some points from the D we can flip momentum and make the job easier for our offense.
These are the things I will be watching tomorrow. If we pull this one out it will be a huge step for the program! I know a lot of fans seem to think we are in trouble but I do not see UNC being any better than 3 of the teams we beat this year and not as good as at least one team we barely lost to. At this point we should all know the transitive properties of CFB are meaningless though so comparing UNC directly to specific teams we have played is pointless. This game will be determined by turnovers and mistakes I think- if we can force them to make more, we can get the momentum and win this game!
