If the offensive struggles during Saturday’s 24-17 loss to the California Golden Bears at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley showed anything about this year’s edition of the UNC football team, it’s that improvement in that phase of the game is crucial to the Tar Heels’ hopes of recovering from last season’s dismal 3-9 record.
The once-vaunted Tar Heel offense appeared absolutely lifeless in every way you could imagine against Cal, as it failed to get any kind of rhythm going until it trailed by three touchdowns entering the fourth quarter.
Junior quarterback Nathan Elliott had a day to forget, as he completed just 15 of his 35 passes for 137 yards—47 of which came on a single downfield pass to star receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams.
On top of that, Elliott threw only a single touchdown compared to four interceptions. The first pick led to the Golden Bears’ first touchdown of the afternoon, while the second was returned 38 yards for a score to put the home side ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter.
UNC head coach Larry Fedora was not happy with his team’s performance on the offensive side of the ball in Saturday’s loss at California. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Running the ball didn’t work much better until later in the game. Head coach Larry Fedora’s team ultimately finished with a combined 164 yards on 38 carries—106 of them coming in the final period–while Ohio State transfer Antonio Williams scored his first touchdown for UNC early in the fourth quarter.
“I’m not gonna sit here and say it was Nathan Elliott,” Fedora said after the game. “It was a combination of a lot of things. We’ve gotta play better at quarterback. We’ve gotta play better at offensive line. We’ve gotta play better at wide receiver, tight ends. The whole offense has gotta play better.”
Play-calling in the second half was essentially limited to read-option runs and shots downfield to Ratliff-Williams—whose 14-yard touchdown with just over a minute remaining pulled the Tar Heels within one score.
Ratliff-Williams then appeared to recover an onside kick that would give the team a chance to tie things up in the last minute, but a call for an illegal block allowed Cal a chance to recover the re-kick and kneel out the rest of the time.
Penalties proved to be a major issue beyond the onside kick as well, with UNC giving away a total of 136 yards on 13 infractions.
Perhaps the one positive note for the Tar Heels was the outstanding play of their defense, which held strong despite consistently being put in tough situations due to turnovers and the poor offensive showing in general.
California benched starting quarterback Ross Bowers for true freshman Chase Garbers early in the game, but still couldn’t manage much of a spark—as UNC held the Golden Bears to just 279 total yards for the game, a number less than the 308 gained by the Tar Heels.
“I thought our defense played well enough to win a football game,” Fedora said, before later adding that: “They got pressure on the quarterback, especially early in the first half. They were on the field for 20 minutes [of the first half] because the offense couldn’t get a first down. But I thought those guys stepped up and played hard the entire game.”
Still, though, it was a game in which UNC fans could be forgiven if they began having flashbacks to last year. one where the problems on offense–and with penalties–consistently erased any positives provided by the defense.
The final score was certainly respectable, but it was clear that UNC will have problems putting wins on the board until it can find consistency moving the ball upfield—a trademark of the successful teams from early in Fedora’s tenure.
“You hope that the old saying is true, that you’re gonna make your most improvement between your first and second game,” Fedora said. “I think our guys will be very coachable. They’ll understand the things that we need to do to get better, and we’ll start the road to recovery right now.”
Up Next:
UNC faces another road trip next week as it travels to Greenville for an in-state showdown against East Carolina, a game set to kick off at 3:30 p.m.
Game Notes:
- With Elliott struggling mightily behind center, true freshman Cade Fortin–the Tar Heels’ backup while sophomore Chazz Surratt serves a four-game suspension–warmed up on the bench, but did not end up making an appearance in the game.
- The trip across the country to Berkeley was the longest in the history of the UNC football program.
- UNC tallied 189 of its 308 yards on offense in the fourth quarter alone.
- Despite the success on defense, the Tar Heels failed to force a single Cal turnover.
Cover photo via Associated Press
