Although the offense won the UNC football spring game 74-70 under an odd scoring system, it was the team’s defense that made the biggest impression at Kenan Stadium on Saturday.

With everyone in the stadium focusing on the quarterback position–and how junior Mitch Trubisky would look in his first appearance since the graduation of former starter Marquise Williams—the defense stole the show with four interceptions.

Three of the picks came against backup Caleb Henderson, but senior cornerback Des Lawrence was able to make an impressive play against Trubisky to get one against the starter.

That earned three points for the defense in a confusing scoring system head coach Larry Fedora said was adopted from the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw for 148 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the spring game. (Jeffrey A. Camarati)

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw for 148 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the spring game. (Jeffrey A. Camarati)

“I don’t wanna sit here and say one side was better than the other,” Fedora said after the game. “I think that both sides benefited from what we did today.

“That’s the tough thing about a spring game,” he continued. “I thought there were good things in some situations, and I thought there were bad things on both sides of the ball. So we know as a team we’ve got a lot to work on.”

In all, Trubisky completed 13 of his 22 passes for 148 yards, with 111 of those yard–and an 18-yard touchdown pass–going to big-play receiver Mack Hollins.

Playing without starting receiver Bug Howard and starting running back Elijah Hood, the offense was only able to score three touchdowns and two field goals in a game made up of two 45-minute halves and a running clock.

While not impressed with the overall effort offensively, Fedora did like what he saw from Trubisky.

“I thought he had a pretty good command of the offense,” the coach said. “We had one pick on the sideline, Des [Lawrence] made a great play on that ball, but it was a well-thrown ball.

“He didn’t miss many throws,” Fedora added. “I thought he did a good job.”

One interesting development came when the clock ran out at the end of each half. The offense was left out there with no time on the clock to run 11 untimed plays in the first half, and another three untimed plays following the second half.

Since the team uses the same scoring system in practices, whichever side loses typically carries the other’s pads back to the locker room.

That wasn’t the case on Saturday, but Lawrence still had some fun with it—saying it was a conspiracy by the coaching staff.

An outline of how the scoring was counted during the spring game. Touchdowns and field goals did not count for points. (UNC Athletics)

An outline of how the scoring was counted during the spring game. Touchdowns and field goals did not count for points. (UNC Athletics)

“They were lucky,” Lawrence said with a smile about his teammates on offense. “I think they wanted the offense to score one more time so they wouldn’t have to carry our pads, but we’ll let them have their fun today.”

The defense actually held a slim lead in the score until a make-shift offense led by reserve quarterback Manny Miles—the fifth man to take snaps for the Tar Heels—pulled ahead on the final drive.

Despite that, junior defensive tackle Naz Jones felt good about the way his unit performed, saying the score was meant more for the fans.

“I think they wanted to get more big plays so the crowd could enjoy it and get more into it” Jones said. “Because they don’t really get up for big defensive stops or anything besides an interception.”

The crowd was lucky enough to be treated to four of those, as the defense did its best to provide some entertainment in a game that otherwise resembled an unorganized scrimmage.

Whether it means anything long-term is unclear given the amount of injuries on the roster, but for one day at least defense was king for the normally high-powered Tar Heels.

Game Notes:

  • Sophomore safety Cameron Albright led the defense with two interceptions.
  • Star wideout Ryan Switzer–a rising senior–was held to just two catches and 10 yards while being matched up with cornerback MJ Stewart.
  • Freshman Jordon Brown–a running back who enrolled in January–had 11 carries for 85 yards.
  • Linebacker Cole Holcomb had 10 tackles, which narrowly edged out Lawrence’s nine for the team lead.