Keeping It Heel
Fansided

Lessons Learned from the UNC football program's humiliating defeat against JMU

North Carolina knows dark days in football, but none darker than yesterday.

By Michael McKay

James Madison v North Carolina
James Madison v North Carolina / Grant Halverson/GettyImages
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Special Teams absolutely killed the Tar Heels

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The first quarter was one of the more bizarre sequences of special teams miscues experienced by Mack Brown in either one of his stints in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels were unfortunate to cough up the football in the red zone for their first turnover, but then after forcing a JMU three-and-out, had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown. To add insult to injury, the Dukes scrambled on the extra point attempt, and surprised the Tar Heels for an early two-point conversion.

In the blink of an eye, North Carolina was down 11-0, and the defense hadn't really done anything wrong. Yet.

Later in the first quarter, after North Carolina stabilized and took a 14-11 lead, James Madison scored a touchdown to go up 18-14 and surprised the Tar Heels again with an onside kick. Five plays later, the Dukes were up 25-14. North Carolina never recovered.

Click the "Next" button below to see why that's so bad.

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