I envisioned several scenarios in Saturday’s North Carolina vs. South Carolina game.
Yeah I could see the Heels winning, but in a shootout. Yes, I could see the Gamecocks winning also in a shootout, maybe even in a game where they would win 42 – 24. If the Tar Heels had a great defensive play, it wouldn’t be because they slowed South Carolina, but because they created turnovers.
One I did not see coming was North Carolina manhandling South Carolina upfront. I mean really manhandling them up front on both sides of the ball, and in particular, the Heels defensive line was simply fantastic. They held South Carolina to -2 rushing yards and had South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler running for his life all night as he was sacked a whopping 9 times against what was usually a 4-man rush. North Carolina’s offensive line was pretty good too, as the Tar Heels rushed for 168 yards and kept Drake Maye from getting sacked even 1 time.
This was a quality Gamecock team. They finished last year beating Tennessee, Clemson, and going toe to toe with Notre Dame in the bowl game. The Tar Heels were simply the better team Saturday, and now we’re left to wonder how good is North Carolina.
The Heels went into tonight with a number of starters out on offense and defense, and yet played one of their most complete games in recent years.
What should concern UNC opponents is that QB Drake Maye and the offense were already enough of an issue to deal with, but I think few expected the defense to be this good this quickly. One game doesn’t make a season, but if the Tar Heels can maintain that level of defense consistently throughout the year, this can be a double-digit regular season team – maybe even more.
The Tar Heels went from a team with potential, to one when they play to their potential can be very dangerous.
That was one great performance by North Carolina on Saturday night.
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