Tar Heel Takeover - NCAA 14

[R1zzo23]

[R1zzo23]

Tar Heels take it to Old Dominion in Rizzo's first game as head coach.

Sep. 2, 2017

Chapel Hill, NC - In the long awaited season opener for the UNC football program, the Tar Heels hosted the Old Dominion Monarchs. Not only was this Adam Rizzo's first game as the head coach at North Carolina, defensive coordinator George Jackson was coaching his first game as well against the school he attended. Jackson was later quoted "It was a weird feeling going up against the Monarchs, trying to stop their offense after I did that in practice every day. Things have changed quite a bit there since I last played but I think we were able to have our guys prepared for anything they threw at us."

North Carolina started the game with the ball and looked to get their all-everything halfback Josh Harris the ball early to get him established. Harris, who was seemingly snubbed of both the first and second team All-ACC preseason lists, got out of the gates a bit slower than offensive coordinator John Settle had expected. The first drive, ODU was up to the challenge and were able to force a punt.

With the Tar Heel defense on the field, it didn't take long for them to force a fourth down and get their offensive counterpart back on the field. With the first drive over and done with, Settle got the game plan clicking with both Harris and backup halfback Barrett James getting touches on the drive and getting the chains moving. After seven straight runs, redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Payne dropped back for his first pass of the season. Finding sophomore tight end Jason Williams streaking free down the seam, Payne fired a bullet, hit him in stride and saw the first points of the season on the board for the Tar Heels...and there were plenty more to come!

While Coach Jackson believes that the team was ready and up to the challenge of stopping the ODU offense, Rizzo wasn't all that thrilled with their performance. There was a lot of bending from his defensive unit with the Monarchs able to eat up yards both on the ground and through the air throughout the game. Senior runningback Casey Perkins was able to bust off a couple nice runs, knifing through the Tar Heels' front seven and churning out first down yardage. His backfield counterpart, senior quarterback Jarrett Brown, was also a threat with his legs and his ability to extend plays allowed his receivers to break free of coverage and keep their drives alive.

Quote: Originally Posted by Coach Rizzo

You hear about this whole 'bend but don't break' mentality and it's all good and all when you're playing championship caliber teams. No offense to Old Dominion, but when a team is ranked in the top-15 in an elite conference, you shouldn't be bending much at all on defense. Now I understand this was our first game as a coaching staff and players alike and things will continue to get better, but I think we can be content - not please, not happy, but content - with our defensive efforts today.

On the game, North Carolina's defense allowed 324 total yards - 89 on the ground and 235 by way of the forward pass - but only surrendered four field goals. Old Dominion reached the red zone on four different occasions and weren't able to punch it in for six, allowing UNC's offense time to establish its identity and get rolling from the second quarter on.

Speaking of that offense, once the second quarter began the run game - headlined by that bad man Josh Harris - really started asserting itself against an over matched defensive line. Five yards here, eight tough yards up the middle, a wide receiver reverse for nine, a toss for seven; the rushing yards began to pile up. The Tar Heel ball carriers were able to make the routine play, but it was time for someone to make something happen. Just call 46's number and watch the greatness...

Josh Harris took the handoff and went off tackle to the left. Bursting through the front seven, it seemed like senior free safety Austin Wood (#26 depicted above) had Harris lined up for tackle by taking the perfect angle. With Harris seemingly looking to string this out as wide as he could before getting cut off by the sideline, Wood was in a full sprint on a collision course with the big junior back. In what some described as "flawless, effortless and making it look supernatural", Harris stopped on a dime, spun back towards the middle of the field and accelerated away from a flailing, diving tackle attempt and sped off to the endzone! This was Harris' first of two scores on the day, but a run that will certainly catch the attention of defensive coordinators across the ACC.

The second half continued just as the second quarter had played out: ODU churning out yards but stalling out in the red zone on too few drives, North Carolina's run game pounding away at the Monarch defenders and Payne hitting Williams for their second touchdown toss of the game. With Harris sitting out the entire fourth quarter after toting the rock 26 times for a whopping 189 yards and the aforementioned two touchdowns, backups Barrett James and Jon Bryant handled the rushing load in the final quarter as they combined for another 122 yards on the ground on the game. The final nail in the coffin for the Monarchs was when Brown tried to push the ball down field early on in one of their fourth quarter drives, looking for senior wideout Amari Colbert down the sideline. With Tre Shaw - the senior preseason 2nd Team All-American and 1st Team All-ACC - playing trail technique knowing he has the acceleration to make up ground with his legs, the shutdown corner was able to grab his first INT of the season and sixth of his career at Chapel Hill.

The coaching trio of Adam Rizzo, John Settle and George Jackson logged their first win in their first career game together on the sideline. While this isn't some sort of milestone victory over a college football blue blood, it's hopefully the first of many for a program that has its sights set on an ACC championship that has eluded them since 1980. Next week will see the team head out west to take on Colorado in Boulder against a potent Buffalo offense. For now, the Tar Heels will take the rest of the night and Sunday morning to enjoy their work. Once Sunday afternoon's film review begins, the win will be put in the rear view and preparation for Colorado will begin.

Old Dominion Monarchs at North Carolina Tar Heels
Sep 2, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Old Dominion Monarchs (0-1)	3	6	3	0	-	12
#14 North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0)	7	14	7	13	-	41

Team Stats Comparison
	OD	UNC
Total Offense	324	435
Rushing Yards	89	318
Passing Yards	235	117
First Downs	15	20
Punt Return Yards	14	27
Kick Return Yards	50	58
Total Yards	388	520
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Conversion	2-11	5-11
4th Down Conversion	0-1	1-2
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-0-4	4-3-1
Penalties	2-25	0-0
Possession Time	14:50	21:10

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		OD	UNC
2:55	(UNC) TD UNC: J. Williams, 29 Yd pass from B. Payne (J. Allen kick)	0	7
0:36	(OD) FG ODU: J. Brown, 17 Yd FG	3	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		OD	UNC
5:03	(UNC) TD UNC: J. Harris, 19 Yd run (J. Allen kick)	3	14
2:12	(OD) FG ODU: J. Brown, 24 Yd FG	6	14
0:49	(UNC) TD UNC: J. Williams, 12 Yd pass from B. Payne (J. Allen kick)	6	21
0:02	(OD) FG ODU: J. Brown, 29 Yd FG	9	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		OD	UNC
6:13	(UNC) TD UNC: J. Harris, 24 Yd run (J. Allen kick)	9	28
1:33	(OD) FG ODU: J. Brown, 28 Yd FG	12	28
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		OD	UNC
7:14	(UNC) FG UNC: J. Allen, 25 Yd FG	12	31
6:03	(UNC) FG UNC: J. Allen, 46 Yd FG	12	34
0:33	(UNC) TD UNC: B. James, 17 Yd run (J. Allen kick)	12	41

Old Dominion Monarchs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Brown 20/29 235 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. Perkins 15 76 5.0 0 J. Brown 10 4 0.4 0 M. Woods 1 12 12.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Woods 4 27 6.7 0 A. Brown 4 33 8.2 0 C. Perkins 4 47 11.7 0 A. Colbert 3 85 28.3 0 J. Herron 3 22 7.3 0 D. Parrish 1 11 11.0 0 M. Hill 1 10 10.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD K. Wilson 13 0 0 0 J. Benjamin 8 1 0 0 J. Meeks 3 1 0 0

North Carolina Tar Heels PASSING C/A YDS TD INT B. Payne 6/13 117 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Harris 26 189 7.2 2 B. James 16 88 5.5 1 J. Bryant 5 34 6.8 0 B. Payne 5 1 0.2 0 C. Brown 1 6 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B. Corrales 2 63 31.5 0 J. Williams 2 41 20.5 2 C. Hawkins 1 11 11.0 0 C. Johnson 1 2 2.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Drew 8 1 0 0 B. Sowell 7 0 0 0 D. Williams 3 1 0 0 T. Shaw 1 0 1 0

[R1zzo23]

[R1zzo23]

[SilverBullet19]

I dig this. I've always had a thing for North Carolina, but have never committed to a dynasty with them. I always stop after 1 game...if I even make it through one lol.

I have family in NC, and have played 4-5 year dynasties with Duke, Wake Forest, and NC State, but for some reason can never commit with the Heels.

I'll be following!

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by SilverBullet19

I dig this. I've always had a thing for North Carolina, but have never committed to a dynasty with them. I always stop after 1 game...if I even make it through one lol. I have family in NC, and have played 4-5 year dynasties with Duke, Wake Forest, and NC State, but for some reason can never commit with the Heels. I'll be following!

Thanks for the comment and the follow. Hopefully this will fill the UNC void in your NCAA gaming history. Pretty strange that you were able to get into dynasties with those other three schools but not the Tar Heels. Honestly, I wouldn’t have the least bit of interest to play as any of those other three schools haha.

Go Tar Heels!!!


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[thefoxatnight]

I'm an NC State fan and I hate to admit how much I actually like this.

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by thefoxatnight

I'm an NC State fan and I hate to admit how much I actually like this.

If I’ve got a Wolfpack fan admitting how much they are liking my dynasty then I must be doing something right. Hopefully I can convert you to a Tar Heel fan - at least in my digital world - and hope you enjoy the ride!


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