CHAPEL HILL – It wasn’t that long ago when the topic of rushing defense and North Carolina was a rather unpleasant one for the Tar Heels.

Gashed, bulldozed and lacking resistance were fair characterizations more often than not. The results backed that up.

But that’s changing in Chapel Hill. Last year’s team, the first under defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, allowed 4.0 yards per rushing attempt versus the 7.3 surrendered by the 2018 Tar Heels. In 2017, Carolina gave up 5.8 yards per attempt. So last fall reflected considerable improvement.

If this past Saturday’s win over Syracuse is any indication, the defense might be even better against the run, in particular allowing opponents to convert and keep drives alive on the ground.

Syracuse managed just three rushing first downs and all were quarterback scrambles. Nothing conventional. In fact, the longest run for either of the Orange running backs was six yards.

“The quickness out of Ray Vohasek and Tomari Fox has been very impressive in preseason camp,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said, referring to his starting tackles. “Those two guys can move, they're strong, they're hard to block, they've been difficult for us to block. So, I thought they really disrupted a lot of things up inside…

“Tomon Fox is always back there, he's always in the backfield. So, I thought that those three guys were really, really disruptive throughout the game.”

Not allowing a rushing first down by a running back is significant, as is holding Syracuse to just three on the afternoon. How so? Consider these numbers:

Last season, opponents gained 106 first downs on runs, an average of 8.5 per contest. The breakdown was 58 by running backs (nearly five per game) and 48 by quarterbacks. And that’s with Bryce Perkins on last year’s slate as well as Georgia Tech, which was still very run heavy in Geoff Collins’ first season. Perkins picked up five by himself at Kenan Stadium last November. The Yellow Jackets aren't on this fall’s slate and Perkins graduated.

It should also be noted that the Heels allowed 31 rushing first downs over the first three games a year ago but just 15 over the final three contests. So last weeknd was more of a connection to how the Heels closed last season than something new.

Twenty-two attempts by Syracuse’s running backs and no first downs is a big deal, and Bateman explained why it happened and how improved numbers in that area could continue the rest of the way.

“I think our two inside kids, Ray and Tomari, played really well, that’s a part of it,” he said. “Our two inside linebackers (Chazz Surratt, Jeremiah Gemmel) are really good players, and if you’re going to try to run one-back, on-tight end run pays, they’re going to diagnose those pretty well.

“So, I think the combination of those four kids in the run game, we’re going to have a pretty good chance to stop most runs I think.”

One game in and the group passed the test with flying colors. Greater challenges are on the way, but the leading indicator suggests this could be another area of improvement for the Tar Heels.