Chalk up yet another game for UNC head coach Larry Fedora to erase from his memory bank.

Favored by 16 points heading into Saturday’s showdown with East Carolina in Greenville, the Tar Heels instead delivered their latest disappointment—falling to the Pirates by a score of 41-19.

Fedora made headlines earlier this week when he said he had no recollection whatsoever of his team’s 70-41 loss to ECU back in 2014—the last time these two teams met on the gridiron.

If Saturday was any indication, though, the coach with the selective memory may have forgotten where he was during the second half as the Pirates completely embarrassed the Tar Heels on both sides of the ball.

After trailing 21-19 at halftime, UNC was shut out and tallied just 78 yards in the second half.

East Carolina’s Darius Pinnix (7) makes a one handed catch in front of North Carolina’s Corey Bell Jr. (18) during the first half. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

ECU, on the other hand, seemed to only get stronger as the game wore on—beginning with a 48-yard touchdown run from Darius Pinnix early in the third quarter, a play where not a single Tar Heel defender made significant contact to try and stop it.

The Pirates ultimately finished the game with 510 yards of offense against a Tar Heel defense missing star defensive end Malik Carney due to suspension.

Needless to say, Fedora wasn’t the happiest man in the world afterwards.

“Nobody’s happy with it,” Fedora said of his team’s performance. “Everybody’s disappointed. As they should be. These guys work hard, put a lot into it, and we didn’t get the job done. And again, that’s on me.”

UNC’s top offensive weapon in the game was junior tailback Antonio Williams, who carried the ball six times for 96 yards—including a 48-yard scamper that led to a field goal on the team’s opening drive of the game.

Williams was ejected in the second quarter for targeting, however, when referees deemed that he illegally used the crown of his helmet when delivering a crushing block on ECU defensive back Colby Gore, who was taken off the field on a stretcher.

The Tar Heels lone touchdown of the game came on a 12-yard run from Williams’ backup, Jordon Brown, earlier in the second quarter—a play that gave UNC a 13-7 lead.

Quarterback Nathan Elliott avoided the turnover bug, but didn’t provide much of a spark even though he completed 22 of his 38 throws for 219 yards.

Besides Williams, it could be argued that kicker Freeman Jones was the top offensive player for the Tar Heels. Jones drilled all four of his field goal attempts in the first half, with three of them coming from 42 yards or longer.

All in all, there weren’t too many other positives to take away from a game that was supposed to be one of the most winnable on the schedule for UNC.

The Tar Heels now have no choice but to take a hard look in the mirror as they try to avoid a full-scale meltdown that ends up lasting all season long.

“We’re 0-2 right now,” Fedora said. “We’re 0-2, and it’s early in the season. Our kids will keep fighting. Our coaches will keep coaching. And we’ll get things going in the right direction.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will play their first home game of the season next Saturday at Kenan Stadium, when they host No. 19 UCF. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for noon.

Game Notes:

  • UNC benched Elliott in favor of true freshman quarterback Cade Fortin late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. Fortin completed three of his six passes for 15 yards.
  • Neither team committed a turnover in the game.
  • The Tar Heels finished with 395 yards of total offense, with 317 of those coming in the first half

 

FINAL STATS

 

 

Cover photo via Karl B. Deblaker (Associated Press)