Inside The defense: Tar Heels' 39-20 Defeat at NC State
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The downward trend for North Carolina’s defense continued Saturday night as the Tar Heels allowed rival NC State to get into the red zone and score on each of its first eight possessions in what was a 39-20 loss to the Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium.
UNC simply could not get off the field because it had no answers for State’s freshman jack-of-all-trades Kevin Concepcion, nor could it contain quarter Brennan Armstrong, who was benched at one point in October.
State gained 504 yards, its most against a Power 5 opponent since 2018, and led by 26-7 at halftime and 33-7 in the third quarter.
Carolina finished the regular season 8-4 overall, 4-4 in the ACC and in seventh place in the standings. The Wolfpack finished at 9-3 and 6-2.
As we do following every UNC game, here is a breakdown of the Tar Heels’ defensive performance Saturday:
Note: Many stats and all grades are courtesy of PFF.
*UNC’s grades (Only those who played 10 or more snaps and are above 60.0 noted): Power Echols 76.2; Stick Lane 71.7; Cedric Gray 70.6; Tomari Fox 68.8; Beau Atkinson 68.8; Armani Chatman 68.1; Amari Gainer 65.1; Kevin Hester 64.6.
*Tackles: Gray 17; Lane 12; Echols 8; Chapman 6; Jones 6; Allen 5; Atkinson 4; Rucker 4; Biggers 3; Hester 3; Fox 2; Gainer 2; Murphy 2; Chatman 2; Campbell 2; Ritzie 1; Holloway 1.
*Missed tackles (9): Allen 2; 1 each by Hardy, Echols, Rucker, Murphy, Jones, Gray, and Gainer.
*Hurries (11): Echols 2; Evans 2; 1 each by Campbell, Rucker, Murphy, Gray, Fox, Lane, and Gainer.
*STOPs (plays that are considered failures by the opposing offense – 28): Gray 6; Atkinson 5; Lane 4; Echols 2; Murphy 2; Fox 2; Chapman 2; Gainer 2; Campbell 1; Rucker 1; Hester 1.
*State had 12 offensive plays in the first half that went for 16 or more yards, and 22 plays in the game that gained 10 or more yards.
Rushing
*State was credited with 43 runs for 170 yards, which is 4.0 per attempt (actually, 3.95, rounded to 4.0). It amassed 9 first downs, two runs that went 15-plus yards, seven runs that went 10-plus yards, and 98 yards after contact.
*State gained 10 ore more yards on runs that went through six different holes: end-around left (high of 11 yards); left end (10); left tackle (10); right guard 919); right tackle 910); right end (19).
*Up the middle – left guard, between LG & center, and between RG & center, the long runs were 6, 3, and 4, respectively.
Passing
*State QB Brennan Armstrong was 22-for-31 with 334 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 16 first downs, 4 scrambles, 1 sack, 2 throwaways, 3 drops, 2 big time throws, and an NFL rating of 138.4.
*UNC blitzed Armstrong 15 times, and he was 9-for-12 with 179 yards, 3 TDs, 8 first downs, 2 scrambles, 1 sack, 1 throwaway, and an NFL rating of 156.3.
*Armstrong dropped back to pass 9 times under pressure and was 2-for-5 with 65 yards, 2 first downs, 3 scrambles, 2 throwaways, and an NFL rating of 87.5.
*Armstrong was 5-for-6 with 31 yards on passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
*Armstrong was 7-for-12 with 68 yards and 1 TD on passes thrown between 0-9 yards downfield.
*Armstrong was 6-for-7 with 129 yards and 1 TD on passes thrown between 10-19 yards downfield.
*Armstrong was 4-for-4 with 106 yards and 1TD on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield.
Coverage
*Jones was targeted 5 times allowing 5 receptions for 103 yards with a long of 45 yards.
*Lane was targeted 5 times allowing 2 receptions for 8 yards with a long of 7 yards.
*Allen was targeted 4 times allowing 4 receptions for 66 yards, a TD, and a long of 20 yards.
*Echols was targeted 4 times allowing 3 receptions for 43 yards, a TD, and a long of 21 yards.
*Gray was targeted 3 times allowing 2 receptions for 13 yards, and a long of 11 yards.
*Campbell was targeted 2 times allowing 2 receptions for 25 yards, and a long of 19 yards.
*Chapman was targeted 2 times allowing 1 reception for 11 yards and a TD.
*Holloway was targeted 1 time allowing 1 reception for 5 yards.
*Chatman was targeted 1 time allowing no receptions.