Inside The Defense: Carolina's Loss To Florida State
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North Carolina had a difficult time trying to stop Florida State’s offense during the second and third quarters Saturday in a 35-25 loss to the Seminoles at Kenan Stadium.
The Tar Heels dropped to 3-3 on the season, including 2-3 in the ACC, while the Seminoles improved to 2-4 and 2-2.
As we do every week, THI takes a look inside UNC’s defensive output versus FSU:
Note: Many of these numbers and all grades are courtesy of PFF.
*FSU finished with 383 total yards on offense, but 352 came in the second and third quarters, which is when the Seminoles seized control of the game and won. FSU had 22 first downs and a TOP of 29:48 to UNC’s 30:12.
*Grades (only those who played 10 or more snaps and graded out at 60.0 or higher are noted): Kaimon Rucker 75.0; Ray Vohasek 72.5; Jahvaree Ritzie 71.1; Tomon Fox 70.0; Myles Murphy 68.8; Gio Biggers 68.4; Cedric Gray 67.8; Tomari Fox 66.4; Cam Kelly 64.6; Des Evans 61.8; Don Chapman 61.3; Tony Grimes 60.7.
*Tackles: Gray 11; Kelly 9; Ja’Qurious Conley 7; Tomon Fox 5; Vohasek 4; Rucker 3; Biggers 3; Jeremiah Gemmel 3; Chapman 2; Trey Morrison 2; Ritzie 2; Tomari Fox 2; Murphy 1; Evans1; Chris Collins 1.
*Missed tackles (11): Conley 3; Kelly 2; one each for Rucker, Grimes, Gray, Chapman, Kyler McMichael, and Tomon Fox.
*STOPs (plays that are considered failures by the opposing offense – 19): Kelly 19; Gray 3; Conley 3; Tomon Fox 2; and one each for Ritzie, Rucker, Evans, Vohasek, Biggers, Chapman, and Morrison. NOTE: UNC had 35 STOPS vs. Duke a week earlier.
Run Defense
*The Seminoles ran the ball 41 times for 238 yards, which is an average of 5.8 per attempt. Seven runs went for 10 or more yards with three going for 15 or more yards. The long run was 53 yards.
*Of FSU’s 22 first downs, 15 came on the ground, and 105 of its 238 yards came after contact.
Rushing Direction
*Left end: 7 attempts for 76 yards (10.9 ave), 1 TD, 2 first downs, one 10-plus run, long of 53 yards.
*Left tackle: 4 attempts for 21 yards (5.3 ave), 1 first down, one 10-plus run, long of 13 yards.
*Left guard: 4 attempts for 25 yards (6.3 ave), 2 first downs, one 10-plus run, long of 10 yards.
*Between LG & C: 4 attempts for 13 yards (3.3 ave), 1 first down, long of 5 yards.
*Between C & RG: 3 attempts for 12 yards (4.0 ave), 1 first down, long of 9 yards.
*Right guard: 4 attempts for 21 yards (5.3 ave), 2 first downs, one 10-plus run, long of 11 yards.
*Right tackle: 1 attempt for -minus 3 yards.
*Right end: 8 attempts for 63 yards (7.9 ave), 4 first downs, two 10-plus runs, long of 17 yards.
*QB scramble: 3 attempts for 21 yards (7.0 ave), 1 first down, one 10-plus run, long of 11 yards.
THI’s Take
FSU ran really well in stretches between the tackles owning the line of scrimmage, and it set up the QB run game and situational passing. UNC did not handle the trenches, was handled on the edge, and managed just two TFLs. This was a big step backwards, as the middle two quarters very much looked like the second half in Atlanta. Mack Brown appeared extremely disappointed in a lot about his defense following Saturday’s game, and for good reason.
Passing Defense
*FSU QB Jordan Travis was 11-for-13 with 145 yards and three touchdowns. He had one pass batted down, no drops, was not sacked, scrambled three times, eight of FSU’s 22 first downs came on snaps that began as pass plays, and his NFL rating was 152.7.
*Travis dropped back 11 times when not under pressure and was 9-for-10 with 69 yards, 2TDs, 6 first downs, and one passes batted.
*Travis dropped back 5 times when under pressure and was 2-for-3 with 76 yards, a TD, 2 first downs, and 2 scrambles.
*Travis was 5-for-5 with 31 yards on passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
*Travis was 3-for-3 with 20 yards and 2 TDs on passes thrown between 0-9 yards downfield.
*Travis was 1-for-1 with 18 yards on passes thrown between 10-19 yards downfield.
*Travis was 2-for-3 with 76 yards and a TD on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield.
THI’s Take
FSU didn’t pass much because it didn’t need to, but when Travis did, he was highly effective. Six first downs and three TDs on 11 completed passes is a bad look for UNC’s defense, especially a wide open 18-yard conversion on third-and-12 in the third quarter, and a wide open receiver in the end zone for one of FSU’s five TDs.
Pass Coverage
*Conley was targeted 5 times allowing 5 receptions for 75 yards and 3 first downs.
*Morrison was targeted 3 times allowing 2 receptions for 38 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 first downs.
*Grimes was targeted 1 time allowing 1 reception for 4 yards.
*Gemmel was targeted 1 time allowing 1 reception for 7 yards.
*McMichael was targeted 1 time allowing 1 reception for 5 yards and a TD.
*Evans was targeted 1 time allowing 1 reception for 16 yards and a first down.
Overall THI's Take
When the defense has been bad this season it has really gone off the rails for a lengthy stretch. That was the case during the second and third quarters Saturday, when it allowed 352 yards and 35 points, just like in the second half versus Georgia Tech when the Heels allowed 32 points and 313 total yards in the second half at Georgia Tech, or in the win over Virginia when UVA scored 28 points and amassed 366 yards by halftime.
The Tar Heels have not consistently been strong in the trenches, pass coverage has been so-so, they have just 11 sacks in six games, have forced just seven turnovers, and too often either appear disjointed in pre-snap some or multiple players were often in the wrong calls or out of position, as said by Brown and captain Jeremiah Gemmel.
UNC’s issue with running quarterbacks flared up again Saturday, something that has been a problem in the 31 gams of the current regime.