UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi joined 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck this morning for “The Monday Morning Huddle,” presented by Chapel Hill Tire.
It was a difficult weekend in Winston-Salem for the Tar Heels, as UNC’s offense never found its footing in a 28-12 loss at Wake Forest. The loss drops UNC to 4-6 on the season, meaning Carolina will have to win both of its final two games to secure bowl eligibility. The program hasn’t missed a bowl game since 2018.
Here are a few of Lombardi’s answers on various topics:
On the loss at Wake Forest: We’re all disappointed. Obviously we did not play to the level that we thought we could play at. I think you owe a lot to Wake Forest. They were more physical, they were tougher. They did the things they needed to do to win the game. They made plays when they had to make them, whether it was pick up a 51-yard fumble or a 75-yard pass. They were able to control the game with their style of play, and it’s hats off to them. And we have to figure out how to improve and work hard towards doing that.
On if there were any positives to take from the loss: One of the keys in sports is to understand why you lose and why you win. And you have to be honest with yourself. You can’t exaggerate the wins and forget about the losses. We had opportunities in the game. It’s unfortunate we were not able to crack into the low red zone. Our team kept competing, but we weren’t able to make critical plays when we needed to. And I think that’s something that we have to learn from and grow from. In spite of where the game was, in spite of our inability to cash in in the red zone for touchdowns, we were still in that game and had opportunities, but we just couldn’t make the plays. So we didn’t play our best and we had a chance, but we just didn’t capitalize. I think that’s the thing we have to understand.
On the leadership of Jordan Shipp: We need more of that. I think that’s important, especially offensively. We’re searching for some consistency offensively and I think Jordan having been there, he understands what we have to do. And we’ve gotta play with a tougher sense of mentality. And it starts with all of us. When you lose, it isn’t just one player or one unit, it’s the entire organization. And we’ve gotta find players that exude that toughness and that character that we’re looking for. It starts in scouting, it starts with coaching, and it goes everywhere.
On how the team can beat Duke Saturday: We’ve gotta get back to being able to pressure the quarterback, do the things that we did in the prior games. Virginia went in there last week and put over 500 yards on them. UConn has been able to move the football on them, so we’re gonna have to play a three-dimensional game here. They can be an explosive offense. They went into Clemson and were able to find a way to win that game and scored a ton of points. So we’re gonna have to be able to control the football. I think our team operates best when we can run the ball and have balance. Last week against Wake, we were not able to consistently run the football. So it’s gonna take a really good week of practice, a lot of physicality within the team, and we can’t make mental mistakes, we can’t have blown assignments, we can’t do the things that Shipp talked about. We’ve gotta pay attention and focus on the details and that’ll lead us to be prepared for Duke and then playing the game the right way.
On his message to the fans: I just hope everybody uses their tickets. Where else can you want to be on a Saturday afternoon? It’s gonna be a beautiful day. Duke can throw the football effectively with their quarterback. And the louder we can get that stadium on Saturday afternoon with people being in there enthusiastic about the team, certainly can go a long way to having success.
Listen below for the full conversation with Michael Lombardi, and tune in to hear the segment live on Monday mornings each game week!
Featured image via UNC Football on Twitter
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