CHAPEL HILL – The 2023 football season for North Carolina will come to a conclusion sometime Wednesday night after the Tar Heels and West Virginia do battle in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
The game gives UNC an opportunity at a ninth victory this season, which would mark just the third time that has happened since Mack Brown left following the 1997 campaign. It happened in 2015 under Larry Fedora, and also happened last season in the fourth year of Brown part two.
So, with the Heels getting ready for the Mountaineers (8-4), they spoke about WVU’s offense and defense. Here is what Carolina had to say about West Virginia:
Power Echols, Linebacker
“Number one rushing team in the country in Power 5, so that just jumps off the table. Great running backs, great scheme, great quarterback. They’ve got a real good team.”
J.J.Jones, WR
“They are a solid team all the way around. They’ve got a good defensive line, good secondary. Coached very well, really good coached team.”
Kaimon Rucker,Jack/OLB
“They have the ability to run the ball, and they also have the ability to protect their quarterback. They use their tight ends a lot; a lot of play-action. They like to get a lot of their guys involved. I think they were third in the FBS when it comes to sacks allowed, I think they allowed nine. So, that just shows when they run play-action seven-man protection, they have the ability to block. So, that’s their strength.
“I feel like they’ve got a really solid team. They’ve got a quarterback that’s really shifty. He knows how to manage the game well… They’ve got some great dynamic guys on that squad.”
Gene Chizik, Defensive Coordinator
“If you start with running the football, okay, it’s running the football and time of possession. They have a very creative scheme. They do a lot of good things in their scheme. They’ve got three (now two) really good tailbacks, and they’ve got a quarterback who is essentially another tailback. I think he’s tied as the second leading rusher on the team.
“So, you’ve got to decide on who you want to have the ball on certain things and who you don’t. They’re very physical up front, so they do a good job of running the football. They do a good job of play-actioning off of that, especially with some deep shots.
“But their job is ball control, run the ball, make sure that the quarterback gets his touches every game running it. And the other thing he brings to the table is his athletic ability to escape and get outside.
“So, very challenging offense. They’re third in the entire country in rush offense at over 230 a game. So, you can’t do that for 12 games by accident… This is a real run team, and they are run first.”
Chip Lindsey, Offensive Coordinator
“They’re talented. They do a great job. I know a lot of those guys on that staff from some of my previous stops, and just growing up in Alabama, a lot of those guys were at Troy at one time. They’re really good football coaches.
“They’re going to play fast and physical. West Virginia, they’ve got a DB (Beanie Bishop) that’s one of their better players. He’s on some All-American teams. I’ve really got a lot of respect for him. I think he’s a fantastic football player…
“Their d-line looks very active… I just know when you flip the film on, they played really good defense. And from what I understand, run the ball extremely well, and that’s been their recipe to success.”
