CHAPEL HILL – Three straight losses mark where North Carolina is now at the mid-point of the football season.
The latest setback for the Tar Heels came at home Saturday against Pittsburgh in a 34-24 loss. UNC powered its way to four drives of 10 or more yards leading to 17 points, which was all the offense scored. Kaleb Cost got the defense into the end zone with an interception return for the touchdown.
UNC is now 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the ACC.
Here is a breakdown of the Tar Heels’ offensive performance from its loss to the Panthers:
*Grades (snaps in parentheses): Nate McCollum 80.6 (49); Willie Lampkin 69.9 (82); Omarion Hampton 69.3 (65); John Copenhaver 65.9 (68); Bryson Nesbit 65.0 (47); Howard Sampson 64.9 (72); Jacolby Criswell 63.3 (82); Jakiah Leftwich 62.5 (10); Aidan Banfield 60.7 (73); Davion Gause 60.6 (14); Luke Masterson 60.0 (1): Paul Billups 60.0 (1); Jake Johnson 59.6 (3); Jordan Shipp 58.0 (1); Caleb Hood 57.9 (3); Kobe Paysour 54.6 (78); Austin Blaske 52.0 (82); Malik McGowan 50.2 (9); Trevyon Green 47.0 (82).
Note: Five players logged three or fewer snaps, so UNC basically used only 15 players on that side of the ball.
Rushing
*UNC ran for 147 yards on 35 attempts which is an average of 4.2 per attempt. Hampton had 23 carries for 106 yards and a TD, and Davion Gause had six carries for 28 yards.
*The Heels had 3 runs of 15+ yards: 1 each by Hampton, Criswell and Gause. They had 6 runs of 10+ yards: Hampton with 4, and Gause and Criswell with 1 each.
*Yards after contact (92): Hampton 58; Gause 25; Criswell 8; Hood 1.
*14 of UNC’s runs went between center & right guard and over right guard for 79 yards, and 7 runs went between center and left guard for 38 yards. So, 117 of Carolina’s 147 yards came between the guards.
Passing
*Criswell dropped back to pass 47 times and was 24-for-45 with 269 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 15 first downs, 1 scramble, 1 sack, 1 throwaway, 1 batted pass, hit as throwing 3 times, 2 drops, 2 big time throws, and an NFL rating of 78.8.
*Criswell was blitzed 14 times and was 6-for-14 with 85 yards, 3 first downs, 1 throwaway, 1 drop, 2 big time throws, and an NFL rating of 63.1.
*Criswell was under pressure when he dropped back 18 times and was 4-for-16 with 76 yards, 3 first downs, 3 times hit as throwing, 1 throwaway, 1 batted pass, 1 sack, 2 big time throws, and an NFL rating of 46.9.
*Criswell was 8-for-9 with 59 yards on passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage
*Criswell was 10-for-14 with 85 yards on passes thrown between 0-9 yards downfield.
*Criswell was 5-for-10 with 77 yards and a TD on passes thrown between 10-19 yards downfield.
*Criswell was 1-for-7 with 48 yards on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield.
Receiving
*McCollum was targeted 13 times with 10 receptions for 128 yards, 6 first downs, and a long of 48 yards.
*Nesbit was targeted 8 times with 4 receptions for 34 yards, 2 first downs, and a long of 10 yards.
*Paysour was targeted 5 times with 1 reception for 23 yards and 1 first down.
*Jones was targeted 5 times with 2 receptions for 36 yards, 2 first downs and a long of 19 yards.
*Copenhaver was targeted 4 times with 4 receptions for 32 yards, a TD, 3 first downs, and a long of 11 yards.
*Hampton was targeted 4 times with 3 receptions for 16 yards, 1 first down, and a long of 7 yards.
