UNC Football: 3 key stats from loss to Louisville - SCACCHoops.com

UNC Football: 3 key stats from loss to Louisville

by Zack Pearson

Posted: 9/12/2017 2:00:13 PM


We break down three key stats from UNC’s loss to Louisville on Saturday.

Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was just too much to handle for the North Carolina Tar Heels in Week 2, helping propel the Cardinals to a 47-35 win in Chapel Hill.

The loss dropped UNC to 0-2 on the season and gave them their first conference loss of the year.

UNC’s defense was considered a strength going into the season but through two games, they have given up a few big plays.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels offense hasn’t looked that bad.

Chazz Surratt started Saturday’s game after it appeared that Brandon Harris won the job prior to Week 1.

Surratt played well and led the Tar Heels on a few scoring drives but had to leave the game with an injury. Harris took over in the second half and actually played good.

It appears as if Surratt will be the team’s starter moving forward if he’s not injured too bad.

705 yards

That’s how many yards the Cardinals offense gained on UNC Saturday in the win.

Yep, you read that right.

The Tar Heels couldn’t stop a faucet from running on Saturday and it hurt. Jackson led Louisville with big gains all game long including a 75-yard touchdown pass and a 43-yard touchdown run in the game. Yikes.

The 705 yards are the most the Tar Heels have given up in Kenan Memorial Stadium and provided a flashback to the 2014 season where UNC’s defense was getting gashed game-after-game.

In what is supposed to be a strength for the Tar Heels this season has turned into a struggle in the form of the defense.

Louisville rushed for 312 yards on 44 attempts including 19 from Jackson.

The quarterback attempted 39 passes, completing 25 of them for 393 yards and three touchdowns.

UNC’s defense has struggled in both games, something we didn’t expect this year. They are giving up a astounding 8.53 yards per play on defense this season through the two games.

The Cardinals are a very explosive offense but Cal shouldn’t have been able to do what they did to the Tar Heels in Week 1. But it happened and now it’s time to move on.

If UNC wants to reach a bowl game this season, they are going to have to turn it around on defense first. Otherwise, it will be a disappointing year for the Tar Heels and a bowl game would be out of the question.

 

Time of possession

After Louisville marched down the field on their opening drive, UNC’s defense stood up to the task and forced a field goal.

On the ensuing drive, UNC’s offense had a quick drive that led to a touchdown and a brief 7-3 lead for the Tar Heels.

While it was a successful drive it put UNC’s defense right back on the field, something that they did a lot of on Saturday.

The Cardinals dominated the time of possession in the game 35:56 to 24:04. That included complete domination by Louisville in the first half regarding time of possession.

Going into the game, UNC hoped to control the clock using their run game and sustain scoring drives. It would also help the Tar Heels defense stay rested as they had the difficult task of trying to contain Jackson.

It just didn’t happen.

The Tar Heels couldn’t sustain enough drives to extend their lead, although they did hang in with the Cardinals until the very end.

In week 1 we saw a potent rushing attack with Jordon Brown and freshman Michael Carter getting the ball. But we didn’t see that in week 2 against Louisville.

Moving forward it will be key for Fedora’s team to control the clock and put up points while doing so.

If they can do that, it will be a recipe for success moving forward. If they can’t, it could lead to more big days for opposing team’s offenses.

With some high-powered offenses still left on the schedule, UNC doesn’t want that to happen.

 

A big day for a special teams star

While there were some positives on offense, the biggest one came on special teams for the Tar Heels on Saturday.

Return man Anthony Ratliff-Williams introduced himself with a monster day special teams-wise against the Cardinals.

The sophomore return man set a school record with 199 return yards on the day, a big bright spot for the Tar Heels on Saturday.

Ratliff-Williams got his big day going right away when he took the kickoff on Louisville’s first scoring drive for 39 yards, setting up the Tar Heels in good field position. UNC would get a big run from Dazz Newsome and then a touchdown pass from Chazz Surratt to Brandon Fritts.

The big highlight of Ratliff-Williams’ day came on a kickoff return where he took it 94 yards for a touchdown to give UNC the lead early in the third quarter.

Check it out:

Ratliff-Williams did it all on special teams Saturday, including on punts.

Punter Tom Sheldon sent a booming punt in the second quarter and Ratliff-Williams ran the field to down the punt at the one-yard-line.

His special teams value is big for the Tar Heels moving forward and gives them a threat that they might have lost when T.J. Logan and Ryan Switzer graduated after the 2016 season.

Keep an eye on Ratliff-Williams as the season goes on.

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