After taking a little bit of time to enjoy its thrilling comeback win over Pitt last Saturday, the UNC football team had no choice but to get right back to business this week.

With a trip to Tallahassee to face No. 12 Florida State looming this weekend, the Tar Heels will need to overcome one of the most talented teams–and one of the most hostile environments–in college football in order to keep their three-game win streak alive.

The Seminoles boast the same 3-1 record as UNC after taking a blowout loss in Week 3 at the hands of Louisville and its Heisman candidate quarterback Lamar Jackson.

With all the talent and speed head coach Jimbo Fisher has on the field, however, Florida State is a team that could easily win each game it plays the rest of the way.

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has exploded onto the scene over the past couple of weeks with two of the four most prolific pass performances in UNC history. The Tar Heels may need another heroic effort from him in order to knock off Florida State. (Smith Cameron Photography)

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has exploded onto the scene over the past couple of weeks with two of the four most prolific pass performances in UNC history. The Tar Heels may need another heroic effort from him in order to knock off Florida State. (Smith Cameron Photography)

Its main weakness so far, though, has been that its defense has struggled limiting explosive plays this season–which happens to be the specialty of the UNC offense. Despite those issues, the Seminoles still aren’t fooling Tar Heel head coach Larry Fedora.

“There’s a lot of talent over there, that’s what I can tell you” Fedora said about the Seminole defense. “They’ve got a lot of big guys that can really run. They can run.

“So I’m gonna just tell you,” he continued, pausing for emphasis. “They’re really talented.”

If previous games are any indication, UNC’s offense may have to put forth another superhuman effort to make up for the problems its own defense may present.

Although they stepped up when it mattered most last week, the Tar Heels continued to struggle mightly when defending the run. Just 10 of the 128 teams in the FBS give up more than the 240 yards per game UNC allows.

Part of that is due to facing top-class runners like Georgia’s Nick Chubb and Pitt’s James Conner, but that gauntlet won’t get any easier this week against Florida State’s Dalvin Cook.

Some analysts consider the blinding fast Cook—who currently ranks eighth in the NCAA in rushing with 495 yards through four games—to be the best back in the country.

Junior defensive tackle Naz Jones recognizes the level of competition the Tar Heels have faced, but also admitted if he were a coach he’d be the first one to test the team’s problem area.

Florida State tailback Dalvin Cook is the type of player who can make great defenses look bad. He currently ranks eighth in the nation in total rushing yards this season. (Stephen M. Dowell/ Getty Images)

Florida State tailback Dalvin Cook is the type of player who can make great defenses look bad. He currently ranks eighth in the nation in total rushing yards this season. (Stephen M. Dowell/ Getty Images)

“We’re not playing against just some random, average running backs,” Jones said. “We’re playing against the country’s best each and every week.

“He brings a lot to the table,” he continued, speaking about Cook. “It’ll be another situation like Georgia where they try to get the run game going early—just like any team would.”

Should Cook and redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francois get into a groove for Florida State, Trubisky and the Tar Heels will need to do a much better job scoring of course—but also with keeping their defense off the field.

Last week, UNC won despite holding the ball for only 18 minutes and change—including just 33 seconds in the first quarter. Obviously the running game will need to produce more than the 18 yards it tallied against Pitt for that plan to be successful, but that should happen given that the Seminoles don’t blitz nearly as much as the Panthers did.

Having put together the two best games of his career over the last two weeks, Trubisky is confident the offense can take care of its job on Saturday.

Yet again, UNC's chances of winning may boil down to how well it can stop its opponent's rushing attack. (Smith Cameron Photography)

Yet again, UNC’s chances of winning may boil down to how well it can stop its opponent’s rushing attack. (Smith Cameron Photography)

“Putting up that many points in basically three quarters, we see where we could be and what kind of effort and tempo we want to play with as an offense,” Trubisky said. “I think we just need to learn from that and take it into next game because there’s still a lot more out there obviously.

“We need to be able to control the ball more, convert more third downs, keep our defense off the field and keep on finishing in the endzone.”

For most of the week during practice, Fedora even went so far as to play the Seminole War Chant over the loudspeakers in place of the team’s usual hip-hop playlist. Playing in one of the loudest stadiums in the country, he knows the offense will have to be prepared to execute without being able to hear much at all.

As for the defense, this week may not be the one where statistical improvement is made—but as long as the scoreboard looks OK, the head coach will be too.

“We’ve gotta do a much better job limiting the run,” Fedora said. “But as long as we score one more point than they do, we’ve got something to build off of and work from.