With North Carolina in a bye week and exactly in the middle of its schedule, THI’s staff offers some takes on what we’ve seen so far.

Here we ask: Halfway through the season, what are you two biggest concerns so far?

Our responses:

Depth: The injury bug has hit the Tar Heels in several key positions, especially in the secondary. The Heels are having to play some young and inexperienced kids. In the long run, it will help out but right now depth is a huge problem.

Turnovers: UNC has not forced a lot of turnovers through the years and this year is no different. The defense has been playing outstanding in stretches but they still need to turn their opponents over to gain extra possessions.

Jarrod Hardy

Depth: The DB injury bug is hurting UNC, therefore a lot of young guys are being thrown to the fire. So my concern moving forward is can Carolina keep it together in the secondary? A guy like Myles Dorn absolutely cannot afford to be injured.

Wide Receiver: Dropped passes are a concern entering a big time stretch in ACC play, some big games are coming out after bye week and the wide receivers have to be more consistent.

Injuries in the secondary: With Cam’Ron Kelly and Patrice Rene out for the year, Myles Wolfolk out indefinitely and Trey Morrison missing a majority of the Georgia Tech game through injury, UNC’s secondary is as depleted as ever. Don Chapman, Storm Duck and Greg Ross have all stepped in and played well so far but, if the injury bug continues to plague them, the Tar Heels’ secondary could simply run out of bodies.

Dropped passes: UNC’s wide receivers dropped five passes in the first half alone against Georgia Tech, two of which would have been touchdowns. That has to change going into the second half of the season, especially when the Tar Heels’ come up against tougher opposition than the Yellow Jackets.

Depth: Hit with the injury bug again this year, can this team maintain, or even improve, its quality of play in the final six games? It’s going to be a tall task with so many players having extended playing time.

Dropped passes: The receiving corps can make the spectacular catches, but if they want to be consistent and give themselves a chance to win the last six games, they need to make the routine plays.

Quarterback depth: Sam Howell has proven to be the real deal at quarterback but with Jace Ruder injured it leaves a serious question mark at the QB position if Howell were to go down.

Defensive secondary: Carolina fans are used to hearing about injuries and the defensive secondary has already taken hits six games into the season. So far, the young guys have stepped up and that has to continue for the season to go the way the Heels want it to go.

Offensive line: It is obvious at this point that when the Heels don’t have a healthy offensive line they are not able to move as swiftly on offense. This showed up more than ever against Appalachian State.

Finishing games: Shy of last week’s matchup against Georgia Tech, Carolina has played with the chance to win or lose on the line. Twice it worked, three times it didn’t.

Secondary bodies: It’s truly amazing that UNC has lost two important players in the secondary for the season on plays in which they hit their own teammates. Several others are injured, including Trey Morrison and Myles Wolfolk, so joining Patrice Rene, three of the starting five (including nickel) are out. The pups have played much better than expected, but how many will be remaining by November?

Backup QB: This isn’t a problem as long as Sam Howell stays healthy, but if he goes down the Heels are in big trouble. So, it’s a concern but with an asterisk.