Three take-aways from Carolina’s pleasing 41-10 win over Virginia Tech.
- The Hokies (along with Commonwealth cousin Virginia) may be the worst team in the ACC, a shadow of what they used to be.
- The ACC Coastal Division and the mythical “State Championship” are still out there for the Tar Heels to win.
- Drake Maye has taken one goal line somersault too many.
For the second straight week, Maye converted a fourth-down pass for the first touchdown, this one to tight end Kamari Morales. Last week’s recipient, Josh Downs, did not score but led all receivers with 8 catches for 120 yards. UNC’s three-headed tight end monster – Morales, Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver – combined for 9 of Maye’s 26 completions.
Maye was on his way to 436 total yards of the team’s 527, which is 83 percent, before he tried to score his third rushing touchdown by jumping over a Virginia Tech defender and then flipping headfirst when his foot caught a shoulder pad.
It was similar to the move Maye tried against Florida A&M in the opener, eliciting a major gasp from the capacity crowd.
He landed awkwardly on the crevice between his right shoulder and head. He stayed down briefly, then got up and returned to the game, throwing his third touchdown pass of the day, a 25-yard strike to Nesbit.
With college and professional stars going down weekly in a more wide-open game, Mack Brown had a giant sigh of relief before calling the redshirt freshman a “very special player.”
“I could see it wasn’t his head and it wasn’t his neck, thank goodness,” Brown said. “It knocked the wind out of him. He said, ‘Coach, I was trying to score.’ We’re just going to have to live with some of that.”
Dear Drake, we would have an easier time living with some of that of you slid more.
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye (10) sails over Virginia Tech defensive back Nasir Peoples (5) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Fortunately, Carolina was on its way to a sure victory before both teams failed to score in the fourth quarter behind reserve QBs, thanks to the Hokies inept offense and/or Carolina’s suddenly improved defense.
While Gene Chizik’s unit held Virginia Tech to a season-low 273 total yards (still the worst in the ACC) and posted a second-half shutout, the jury will remain out until UNC visits high-scoring Miami and Duke in the next two weeks. Why? The Hokies remain at the bottom of ACC offensive statistics with Virginia and Georgia Tech, all three having new coaches.
The Tar Heels and Blue Devils are 1-0 in conference play, the Hurricanes’ first ACC game is against UNC Saturday at 4 p.m. in Hard Rock Stadium. Carolina remains the best offensive team in the ACC, Miami is No. 3 and Duke No. 4.
This is important info because winner of the Coastal Division goes to the ACC championship game against whoever survives a rock fight in the Atlantic, where Clemson edged NC State in Death Valley after the Tigers survived double overtime at Wake Forest last week. The Deacons won at Florida State, and Clemson joined Syracuse atop of the division at 2-0 (after the Orange walloped Wagner 59-0 to go 5-0 overall). That is a rock fight, for sure.
So, the nice crowd at Kenan that believed the forecast about the rain ending watched the Hokies stop Carolina on the first possession and then march to a 3-0 lead. The Heels scored the next three times they had the ball – with Maye by air and by land – to go ahead 21-3, and the slight rain drove some fans under cover.
On the field during a timeout, members of Brown’s 1997 11-1 team celebrated its 25th anniversary reunion; those Tar Heels had three consensus defensive All-Americans (Greg Ellis, Brian Simmons and Dre Bly), nine All-ACC players and held opponents to 209 total yards per game – lowest in the ACC in 35 years.
Still, it was a bittersweet memory for some because Brown took the Texas job after the regular season and missed coaching the 42-3 Gator Bowl blowout of, guess who, Virginia Tech. Over the next 21 years, UNC went a tepid 123-135 under five head coaches until Brown returned for the 2019 season.
Really, the only drama in the game – besides Maye’s gyrating gymnastics – came when the Heels went three and out and the Hokies mounted their only touchdown drive to cut the deficit to 21-10 with less than a minute to play in the second quarter. Maye then passed and ran the team 48 yards to Noah Burnette’s 44-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
Brown told Lee Pace of the Tar Heel Sports Network at halftime that Burnette’s field goal “gave us the momentum back.”
Not so fast, coach, with the second half collapses we have seen this season. But the defense forced the Hokies to punt with their first chance in the second half, and that led to UNC’s longest drive of the season, 94 yards in 12 plays to put the eventual win on ice with Maye’s second TD run.
The victory was hardly defining but it was a good way to reset the season and start playing for goals that are realistically in the Heels’ reach.
Wins at Miami and Duke would make a major statement about Carolina’s Coastal intentions, leave the current 4-1 Heels bowl eligible and give Brown’s fourth team (Stint 2) a chance to sneak back into the polls by finishing 11-1. There is a trip to Wake Forest on November 12 between home games with Pitt and State.
Remember, I said “a chance.”
While Virginia Tech’s offense was the worst Carolina had faced so far this season, Chizik’s defense had the Hokies well-scouted and played smart, led by Cedric Gray’s 8 tackles and his interception he took back to the red zone. One snap later, Antoine Green made a great catch of Maye’s second touchdown pass.
Carolina’s running game was slightly better than against Notre Dame, with 87 yards by the backs to go with Maye’s 73 of scrambles and sprints. Unlike being limited to 21 minutes with the ball against the Fighting Irish, Carolina’s 28 of possession time was easily enough to outscore this almost-impotent opponent.
Assuming Maye is okay to keep playing in this freshman season to remember, he will take his 19 touchdown passes into a second half where the Tar Heels should be competitive in every remaining game, with a chance to win them all.
Remember, I said “a chance.”
Photo via AP Photo/Chris Seward.
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