With North Carolina’s 17-10 loss at Virginia Tech fully in the books and all numbers crunched, we’re going to take a deep dive into the Tar Heels’ offensive performance.
We’re slightly changing how we approach giving you guys the stat breakdowns this season. We will avoid a heavy stat overload and instead offer more perspective. Your takes on these numbers are appreciated as well.
*The Tar Heels finished the night with 354 yards and just 18 first downs. Twice last season UNC had fewer yards and once the Heels had fewer first downs in games: 298 & 14 versus Notre Dame, and 324 & 18 versus Texas A&M.
Many stats are found researching on PFF.
*19 Tar Heels played on offense with only eight players grading out at 60.9 or higher based on those who were in for at least 10 snaps: Joshua Ezeudu 82.6; Jordan Tucker 81.4; Ty Chandler 73.1; Marcus McKethan 72.7; Josh Downs 70.8; D.J. Jones 67.2; Quiron Johnson 63.8; Antoine Green 60.6.
*Sacks allowed: Only two of the six sacks UNC allowed were attributed to the offensive line, with Asim Richards getting charged with both. Four QB hurries were charged to blockers: Ezeudu 2, and one each for William Barnes and Tucker. Johnson was charged with a pressure in which Sam Howell was hit.
*Run blocking: Ezeudu graded out at 86.2 on run blocking with Tucker at 79.3, McKethan 70.5, and Garrett Walston at 68.8. Four receivers graded out higher than 60.0 on run blocking: Emery Simmons 63.3, Downs 62.0, Khafre Brown 60.9, and Antoine Green 60.8.
*Nine of UNC’s 18 first downs came on the ground: Howell 4, Chandler 3, and Jones 2.
*UNC had seven runs of 10 or more yards: Howell 4, Chandler 2, Jones 1.
*Of Carolina’s 146 net rushing yards, 85 were made after contact: Jones 40 of his 43 yards; Chandler 26 of his 66 yards; Howell 18 of his 35 net yards; and Caleb Hood 1 of his 2 yards.
*Long runs of the night: Jones 29, Chandler 23, Howell 17, and Hood 2.
THI’s Take:
It would be interesting to see the numerical differences across the board with the run game from the first half to the second half. The Tar Heels were much better after halftime, and that’s including Howell’s sacks. Still, with so much experience up front, perhaps UNC should have tried to establish the run early more than it did; just willing it to work. If it can’t against Virginia Tech, how will it at Notre Dame or other high-level teams?
Rushing
*Chandler ran 10 times for 66 yards, Jones 6 times for 43, Howell 13 times for 35 (includes six sacks for minus-32 yards), Hood one time for 2.
*In addition to the six times Howell was sacked, here are UNC’s poor runs breakdown: One for minus yardage (excluding the sacks); one for 0 yards, two for 1 yard; three for 2 yards.
Rushing Direction
*Left end: 3 attempts for 31 yards (10.3 average), 2 first downs, one run of 10-plus yards, long of 23 yards.
*Left tackle: 1 attempt for 4 yards.
*Left guard: 2 attempts for 21 yards (10.5 ave), 2 first downs, one run of 10-plus or more yards, long of 12 yards.
*Between LG & C: 2 runs for 26 yards (13.0 ave), 1 first down, one run of 10-plus or more yards, long of 17 yards.
*Between C & RG: 4 attempts for 1 yards (0.3 ave), long of 3 yards.
*Right guard: 2 runs for 7 yards (3.5 ave), long of 6 yards.
*Right tackle: 3 runs for 31 yards (10.3 ave), 1 first down, one run of 10-plus more yards, long of 29 yards.
*Right end: 2 attempts for 2 yards (1.0 ave), long of 4 yards.
*QB Scramble: 6 attempts for 53 yards (8.8 ave), 3 first downs, three runs of 10-plus yards, long of 17 yards.
*Chandler’s runs were spread out: Two each around left end and right end, and one through each of the other holes.
*Jones’ six runs included two between C and RG, two over RT, and one each over LG and RG.
THI’s Take:
Obviously, the Heels had more success going to the left side, but only eight of the 19 conventional running plays went to that side. Issues running in the neighborhood of right guard (6 attempts for 8 yards) was a killer, because the RPO works so much better when those inside runs are working.
Passing
*Howell dropped back to pass 44 times but attempted just 32 passes, completing 17 for 208 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions. He was sacked six times, hit once as he was throwing (UNC’s last offensive play of the game), was pressured 11 times, and scrambled six times. No passe were batted and he had no throwaways. One receiver was charged with a drop.
*When untouched, Howell dropped back 33 times and was 15-for-27 with 180 yards, a TD and 2 INTs. His drop came on one of those throws. He scrambled six times.
*Howell was under pressure 11 times completing 2 of 6 pass attempts for 28 yards with an INT. PFF notes five of the sacks came when Howell was under pressure, and the sixth one was charged late in the first half on that awkward run, stop, and sort-of attempted pass. That was official ruled a sack as well.
Passing Direction
*Howell was 7-for-8 with 69 yards and a TD on passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
*Howell was 5-for-7 with 56 yards and two INTs on passes thrown between 0-9 yards downfield. Four of the completions were over the middle.
*Howell was 5-for-12 with 83 yards and an INT on passes thrown between 10-19 yards downfield. Four of the completions were over the middle.
*Howell was 0-for-3 on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield.
THI’s Take
Very little was open toward either sideline, as most of what Sam completed were slants and crosses over the middle. When was the last time he completed just four passes more than nine yards downfield?
Receiving
*Downs caught nine passes for 132 yards and a score, Simmons had 3 receptions for 46 yards, Green 2 for 20, Jones 2 for 4, and Walston 1 for 6.
*Targets: Downs 11; Simmons 9; Walston 4; Green 3; Jones 2; Olson 1; Chandler 1.
*Yards after the catch: Downs 77; Simmons 16; Jones 16; Chandler 14; Walston 7; Green 4.
*Downs breakdown: 3 targets and 3 catches for 50 yards and a TD on throws behind the line of scrimmage; 2 catches on 4 targets for 31 yards on passes between 0-9 yards downfield; 3 catches on 3 targets for 41 yards on passes 10-19 yards downfield; Nothing 20 or more yards downfield.
THI’s Take
Obviously, the receivers weren’t finding grass. Part of this was the constant pressure Howell was under, or at least the OL was allowing Tech’s DL to push some even when not pressuring Sam. No deep balls to Downs is a surprise, but clearly illustrates the issued the Tar Heels had in the passing game.
Overall THI's Take
These aren’t typical numbers considering what the UNC offense has produced the last two seasons. The ground game got some stuff working, and Chandler and Jones displayed some darting skills and ability to kick into the next gear. That is a positive. And, Sam still passed for 208 yards when it seemed during the game like he was well away from that number. Not really a positive, but it does indicate much bigger numbers are coming, though there is plenty to clean up as well.
