UNC Football: Takeaways From Beating Duke
UNC’s win in Durham accomplishes three things for the Tar Heels: Brings them into bowl eligibility, retakes the Victory Bell, and keeps the title “ACC Coastal Division Champions” out of the Blue Devils’ hands. Talk about a big win. There are some big takeaways UNC must bring into their last home game of the season against NC State in order to finish with a three game winning streak.
#1: Big Leads Early Allow UNC To Play Their Game
The team that owns clock possession normally wins. Being that the clock is always ticking when rushing compared to incomplete passes, the team that runs the ball more often owns the clock. Thus, when UNC runs the ball more than the other team, they tend to win. Or, to remind you of algebra class, if A = C and B = C, then A = C. This is the transitive property of college football.
When Chapel Hill isn’t constantly battling back from deficits, they have time to develop their running game. The longer they keep the opposition’s defense on the field, the more tired said defense becomes. Then, the opportunities for UNC to make big plays, increases.
Most importantly, quarterback Marquise Williams didn’t lead the team in rush yards. This left Williams rested. TJ Logan led UNC with 116 yards and a 47 yard burst, tacking on a touchdown to go with it. Williams followed him with 21 carries, 98 yards, and two touchdowns.
#2: Ryan Switzer Played Big
The 5’10, 180 pound sophomore has 50 receptions, 672 yards, and 4 touchdowns on this season with a game still to play. The numbers this season have all been increased from last. This year alone, Switzer has 18 more receptions, 331 more receiving yards, and a touchdown than in his freshman season. Again, all these numbers include the fact that he’s still got another game to go.
Most of all, he spreads the field with his big-play making ability. In the win against Duke, he had triple digit receiving yard production with only three catches. That means he averaged over 36 yards per catch. Let us all just shake our collective heads at how bananas that stat actually is. Switzer broke the defense’s back with a long play of 62 yards in this game and that’s not even his biggest of the year. Ryan’s longest play was 75 yards.
Perhaps most important of all however, is the fact that Switzer is still just an underclassman who has earned the trust of quarterback Marquise Williams. That chemistry will be imperative as Williams will enter his senior season. Switzer is seen as reliable. That’s huge.
#3: UNC Dominated The “Total Yards” Category
Duke never stood a chance against the Tar Heels the way Chapel Hill was eating yards like Pacman on Adderall. UNC tallied just under 600 yards offense compared to Duke’s 378 yards. This means that the Tar Heels both made bigger plays and controlled the time of possession. The biggest highlighter category is the way in which Chapel Hill did it: rushing.
UNC outrushed Duke by an astounding 200 yards. This is a glaringly obvious takeaway for Chapel Hill coaches going into next season. The Tar Heels have underperformed at the running back position all year long. Now, it seems UNC has made some major strides in the ground game and it is translating into victories.
This running game must continue to steadily improve. Chapel Hill has to push their rushing agenda against NC State for Coach Larry Fedora to fully move off the hot seat (in some fans’ eyes). It will be a statement victory for his coaching staff to build into next year without feeling their collars tightening.