Keeping It Heel
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UNC Football: The Tar Heels’ 2016 Season in Review

By Horran Cameron

Nov 25, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora (center) reacts to a call during the second half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Wolfpack won 28-21. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora (center) reacts to a call during the second half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Wolfpack won 28-21. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Overview

Dec 30, 2016; El Paso, TX, USA; Stanford head coach David Shaw (L) shakes hands with North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora (R) after their game in the Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium. The Tar Heels won 25-23 Mandatory Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2016; El Paso, TX, USA; Stanford head coach David Shaw (L) shakes hands with North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora (R) after their game in the Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium. The Tar Heels won 25-23 Mandatory Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports /

North Carolina brought back a lot of offensive weapons despite losing a few key players (Marquise Williams, Quinshad Davis). On the defensive side of things, UNC lost the heart and soul of their defense (Shakeel Rashad, Jeff Schoettmer).

The Tar Heels finished the 2016 with an 8-5 record. UNC’s defense was abused by opposing running backs all season (i.e. Georgia, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Duke). T

hey had their moments when they stood their ground in close games, however (i.e. Pittsburgh, Florida State, Miami).

In the first game of the season, the Tar Heels continued their losing streak to SEC teams with a 33-24 loss to Georgia. UNC suffered losses to N.C. State (28-21) and Duke (28-27), in addition to a beatdown by Virginia Tech (34-3).

North Carolina lost their Sun Bowl game against Stanford, 25-23. Every loss was winnable, with the exception of the Virginia Tech game.

Elijah Hood was not an all-ACC player in 2016. He did not play several games this season due to injury. Likewise, he was not a focal point of the offense like he was in 2015. As a sophomore, Hood finished the season with 1,463; the second-most rushing yards in a single-season at UNC. This season, he finished below 1,000 yards.

Next season, you will enjoy watching Hood on Sunday afternoons in the NFL. Recently, he announced that he would forego his final season of eligibility and turn pro.

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