The Tar Heels and Seminoles will face off for the second straight season Saturday afternoon. Carolina fans won’t soon forget the 2020 meeting between the programs, a 31-28 win for Florida State over then-No. 5 UNC. The Seminoles buried Carolina in a 31-7 halftime deficit, with a last-gasp comeback attempt by the Tar Heels falling just short in the final minute.
Circumstances are similar this time around: Florida State is still struggling, and the Tar Heels are coming off a big win. And while they may not be No. 5 in the polls, head coach Mack Brown’s team is still favored by 17.5 points. Brown is 0-10 in his career against his alma mater Florida State, and this would appear to be his best chance at notching that first win. But Brown said he isn’t fooled by the Seminoles’ poor record.
“If you look at their season, they’re [in] overtime with Notre Dame,” he told reporters Wednesday. “And like us, they had a tough opener. So they’re really fighting back and getting more spirit. Then last week, they won against Syracuse.
“So,” Brown added, “they’ve been in every game [except] one, with a chance to win in the fourth quarter. they could just as well be 4-1 as they are 1-4.”
Florida State has played two quarterbacks this season: transfer McKenzie Milton from UCF and redshirt sophomore Jordan Travis. Travis played one of his best games as a Seminole against Carolina in 2020, racking up 298 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. Brown described Travis as a scrappy, mobile quarterback, just the type of player UNC has trouble with.
“Jordan’s a great competitor,” Brown said. “And he can run. And man, he keeps fighting. There were times I thought we had him down last year, and all of a sudden, I turn around and start yelling for the punt team and here he comes out of the pile. So that’s what he does, he just competes. He obviously leads the team very well. They believe in him.”
The Florida State defense is also primed to give Carolina trouble. The Seminoles rank fifth in the ACC with 14 sacks on the season. The Tar Heel offense, meanwhile, ranks dead last in the conference, having given up 22 sacks on the season. UNC’s offensive line has seen numerous injury problems this year, with sophomore Cayden Baker, who played tackle in high school, seeing time at center to fill in for starting senior Brian Anderson.
“Can we do some things on the skill end and schematically to try and help them? Absolutely,” offensive coordinator Phil Longo said this week. “We want to get as few people in the box as possible. We want to create some indecision so that we can get up the field and get into people at the second level. But at the end of the day, it’s gonna be [these] three things: we have to have continuity at center, we’ve got to be more consistent, and I think we have to be more fundamentally sound.”
Graduate student Quiron Johnson also saw time at center in last week’s win over Duke. To Johnson, the offensive line’s struggles are more of a mental issue than anything else.
“The only thing that’s limiting us is ourselves,” Johnson said. “Let’s say something bad happens; we just overstress it, overthink it, and we’ve just gotta be able to move on to the next play. So, just don’t get down on yourself. That’s probably the biggest issue.”
A short memory will be key for a Carolina team hoping to avoid a nightmare start against the Seminoles for the second straight season. The Tar Heels have won two of the last three against Florida State, but are just 1-7 against them in Chapel Hill, with the lone Carolina victory coming in 2001.
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