2017 ACC Football: Coastal Division power rankings Week 13

Where Would You Be

For a recap of the game against NC State, click here.

When it comes to the Tar Heels, where would you be applies to two main topics.

The first is where would the Tar Heels be if not for all the injuries they faced this season. UNC has faced an insurmountable number of season ending injuries across all aspects of the game.

From Andre Smith to Thomas Jackson to Tom Sheldon and many, many more, the Tar Heels have been affected everywhere. This has led to a lack of depth which led to some less than physical practices and in turn clearly had a huge effect on the season.

The one positive from this was that it allowed many younger players to get playing time that might not otherwise had. This should create some depth for next year, though several of the injuries occurred to seniors.

The second topic is where would the Tar Heels be if Nathan Elliott had opened the season as the UNC starter. It is still a wonder to many how Elliott sat third on the Tar Heels’ depth chart for so many games this season.

Elliott has been nothing but a breath of fresh air for the Tar Heels since taking over in the Miami game. Since entering that contest, Elliott has thrown for 925 and 10 touchdowns while completing 52.4 percent of his passes.

UNC went 2-2 in those games and had chances to win all four contests. Brandon Harris and Chazz Surratt went 1-7 combined and rarely had chances to win games late. One might believe Elliott might have led the Tar Heels to a couple more wins and a possible bowl berth had he started the season.

In this past start against NC State, Elliott threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn’t a great game as he missed open receivers, threw into double coverage, and tossed two picks late that sealed the win for the Wolfpack.

Up next for the Tar Heels is the offseason. It will be key for Larry Fedora to hit the recruiting trail hard to convince recruits that this season is not where UNC will be for long.