UNC Football early opponent preview: Western Carolina Catamounts
Keeping It Heel takes a look at each of the UNC Tar Heels football opponents in reverse order. This week we take a look at Western Carolina.
Previous Team Previews:
Two seasons ago, UNC played two FCS schools and it hurt them with the College Football Playoff committee.
Last season North Carolina also played two FCS schools, but due to a greater gap between them, it didn’t seem to effect them as much.
However, because of a poor finish, it didn’t matter.
Will the Tar Heels be good enough this season that playing only one FCS team could keep them in the playoff picture?
Head Coach: Mark Speir. Career Record 18-34. This will be his sixth season at Western Carolina which is his only head coaching stop.
In his previous five seasons with the team, Speir has won two or fewer games three times.
Best Former Player: DE Clyde Simmons, Four-Time Pro Bowler and Four-Time All Pro team member, career 121.5 sacks, three interceptions, and two touchdowns.
Simmons led the NFL in sacks in 1992 with 19. He ranks 20th all time in total sacks in a career.
Second Best Former Player: WR David Patten, Three-Time Super Bowl Champion with the New England Patriots, career 324 receptions for 4,715 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Last Season: Went 2-9 (1-7 in Southern Conference play). Season highlights include beating Gardner-Webb 44-14 and playing South Carolina better than what was probably expected in a 13-point road loss.
Last season also included a six-game losing streak. The Catamounts lost their two FCS games by a combined score of 88-45.
This Season: Six of their opponents finished last season with a winning record and six made a bowl game or the FCS playoffs.
Some improvement should be expected, but overall a 4-8 record is probably the best the Catamounts can hope for.
Best Current Player: RB Detrez Newsome. Last season, he rushed the ball 156 times for 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught the ball 31 times for an additional 342 yards and four more scores.
Newsome was also the team’s leading kick returner. The dynamic back returned 40 kicks last year for 970 yards and another touchdown, which he returned against South Carolina.
Despite playing for a team with such a poor record, Newsome received multiple honors last season, including SoCon Offensive player of the week and STATS FCS National Special teams player of the week.
If you haven’t heard, the Tar Heels have had their troubles stopping the run and probably need to make sure they know where Newsome is at all times.
Match-up: Saturday, November 18th in Chapel Hill.
Prediction: This will be senior day at UNC. Considering UNC won their two FCS games by a combined 97-35 against better FCS schools last year, this could be a record setter.
Final score: UNC 56, Western Carolina 14.
Though there may be questions regarding UNC’s offense this season, this game should not be one of concern. The Tar Heels have more than enough talent to beat their directional brethren from Cullowhee, NC.
The question is when do the Tar Heels take their feet off the gas pedal.
The Catamounts best hope is that UNC is looking ahead to a revenge game against NC State the following week. However, even that should only keep them in the game for about a quarter or two.