Inside The Offense: UNC's Loss at NC State
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There wasn’t any fast-moving start to North Carolina’s offense Saturday night at NC State, and partly as a result, the Tar Heels dug a huge hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 39-20 loss to the Wolfpack.
UNC ran 16 plays on its first five possessions, four times going three-and-out, and another time losing the ball on the fourth play.
Quarterback Drake Maye did not complete a pass until three minutes into the second quarter, Omarion Hampton ran for 28 yards, and the Tar Heels were held to a season-low point total, equaling its output a week earlier in a loss at Clemson.
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’ offensive 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): William Barnes 72.3; J.J. Jones 70.5; Drake Maye 69.6; Diego Pounds 64.8; British Brooks 64.0; Ed Montilus 63.7; John Copenhaver 61.1; Willie Lampkin 60.7.
Rushing
*UNC ran the ball 21 times for 130 yards, 56 of which came on a dash by Maye. He ran 9 times for 106 yards and a TD. Hampton ran 9 times for 28 yards, with 19 coming on one run. Brooks ran 2 times for 3 yards, and Conner Harrell was sacked for a loss of 7 yards on his only credited attempt.
*UNC had one run for 15 or more yards, and three runs of 10 or more yards; 96 of the yards came after contact (62 for Maye); six runs registered first downs; and four were scrambles.
*Maye’s 56-yard run was a QB scramble; Hampton’s 19-yard run went around right end.
*The long runs from the other holes: Left end 6 yards; left guard 8 yards; between eft guard & center 1 yard; right guard 8 yards; right tackle 0 yards.
Passing
*Maye was 22-for-38 with 254 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 1 sack, 4 scrambles, 15 first downs, 1 throwaway, 2 hit as throwing, 3 drops, 3 big time throws, and an NFL rating of 74.1.
*Maye was blitzed eight times and was 5-for-7 with 76 yards, 1 TD, 5 first downs, 1 scramble, 1 throwaway, 1 big time throw, 1 drop, 1 hit as throwing, and an NFL rating of 146.1.
*Maye dropped back to pass 10 times when under pressure and was 5-for-8 with 52 yards, 4 first downs, 1 scramble, 1 sack, 1 throwaway, 2 hit as throwing, and an NFL rating of 81.3.
*Maye was 5-for-5 with 37 yards on passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
*Maye was 5-for-8 with 51 yards on passes thrown between 0-9 yards downfield.
*Maye was 6-for-13 with 89 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT on passes thrown between 10-19 yards downfield.
*Maye was 2-for-4 with 53 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield.
Receiving
*Copenhaver was targeted 8 times with 5 catches for 64 yards, 1 TD, 4 first downs, and a long of 20 yards.
*Walker was targeted 7 times with 2 catches for 29 yards, 1 TD, 2 first downs, and a long of 21 yards.
*Brooks was targeted 6 times with 6 catches for 40 yards, 1 first down, and a long of 11 yards.
*Jones was targeted 5 times with 4 catches for 62 yards, 3 first downs, and a long of 30 yards.
*Nesbit was targeted 4 times with 3 catches for 48 yards, 3 first downs, and a long of 23 yards.
*Hampton was targeted 3 times with 2 catches for 11 yards, 1 first down, and a long of 8 yards.
*Blackwell was targeted 2 times with 0 catches.