If you would have told me we would be without our entire starting backfield, top wide receiver and best defensive player and we would play with the 5th ranked team in the country until the final minutes I don’t know if I would have believed you. My facial expressions give a lot away and that would have been an interesting facial expression. A 41-27 loss isn’t really indicative to how close it was for the majority of the game. It was a one possession game for most of the game and we were just gassed at the end of the game.
I also know where this is going. Well what if we had the guys that opted out? We would have won with them. Would we have? We don’t know. Our defense didn’t miss a beat without Surratt in my opinion. Asante played an amazing game. He doesn’t quite have the instincts that Surratt has, but he is quick and has good closing speed. He led the Tar Heels with 10 tackles. 16 of the 17 players that recorded tackles last night will be back next season. That’s exciting. Duck and Grimes could be the lock down corners we have been looking for. We knew the game would come down to which run defense showed up. A&M had 225 rushing yards as a team. Spiller came up limping after a play and was replaced by Achane. He finished with 140 yards. Missed tackles hurt us on his go ahead touchdown runs, but overall the defensive game plan was solid. A&M had surrendered 4 sacks all season and we finished with 3. We also held A&M to 5-13 on 3rd down. It was overall a good defensive effort, but we were just too tired at the end of the game. Their big offensive line started getting good push after good push and we weren’t able to stop them after our offense failed to convert on 4th down.
Speaking of that 4th down, the sequence of plays that led up to that leads to some questions, but I really liked our game plan for the majority of the game. We were more deliberate on offense and were slower than normal. But we had to be with all the weapons we were missing. The commitment to the run game early was unexpected, but it opened up the passing game down field. Howell has a pretty deep ball and Dazz Newsome had an awesome catch in the back right corner of the end zone. Just amazing concentration and hand eye coordination by Newsome. He had 6 receptions for 68 yards. Howell did slightly overthrow Newsome on a deep ball down field, but he also threw an absolute dime to Khafre Brown that just went right through his hands. That drop was a big one. Brown had 2 catches for 40 yards. How lucky are we to have Howell for at least one more year? He surpassed Trevor Lawrence for the most TDs in the ACC after a player’s sophomore year. Howell called his shot in the 4th quarter when he directed Downs to an open spot and threw another dime that resulted in a 75 yard touchdown. Downs was the leading receiver with 4 receptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Downs is going to be a huge part of the offense next year. All of our offensive line is returning as well. Our running backs need to get bigger and stronger in the off season, but we have some bright young talent there as well.
Now back to that 4th down and the sequence of plays up to it. We couldn’t convert on a 2nd and 1 which was a pass play. We then failed on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 2. Both were run plays. People will criticize Phil Longo for the play call, but we had a good offensive game plan for the majority of the game. I think our only other option is to run the ball with Howell. I am not a fan of a pass in that situation as the obvious main target would be Newsome who would have been blanketed by A&M defenders because of that. If you don’t target Newsome then you are still putting the ball in the hands of an inexperienced player. I will admit that after we failed to convert the first thing I said was that Carter or Williams would have gotten that. Our young backs just aren’t that physically strong yet. They will be though. A&M also got a good push on that play.
But man isn’t it exciting that we pretty much played with the same team that will take the field next year? We will be good next year if not great and should be the favorites in the coastal division. Howell should be in the Heisman conversation and I think we are now on the national radar. Even in a loss this game was huge for recruiting. It showed young players that if you can come in and produce then you will get to play on one of the biggest stages. Our recruiting class is 14th nationally and 3rd in the ACC. It includes 5 star DE Keeshawn Silver. He is ranked 32nd nationally, 5th at his position, second in the state, and is an All American. He will have an immediate impact on the D line next year which we desperately need. Next year is looking bright and as Mack said “We are about to be really good.”
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