Welcome to another edition of What We Are Hearing!
The top-ranked Defending Champs are in as good a spot as
they could have hoped for with a third of the regular season behind them,
having dominated all of their first four opponents, including their two biggest
threats in Texas A&M and Syracuse. The Tigers set a record last week
against Charlotte, playing over 100 players
in the 52-10 win. As Dabo has repeatedly said, the team is still a
work-in-progress, but they are improving weekly and have 3 months until they are
likely to be tested again.
This week, the Tigers go to Chapel Hill, where they lost
their last trip in 2010 when Nuk Hopkins was a freshman. Hall of Famer Mack
Brown, of course, came out of retirement to return to Chapel Hill where he had
the Tar Heels ranked in the top 10 before leaving for Texas. For the past two
weeks, Mack has been just one win short of tying the all-time UNC record but
has come up just short. He has been a friend and mentor to Dabo over the years.
In fact, Texas was the first program Dabo visited back in 2009 just after his
interim season, and the Longhorns went on to play Alabama in the National
Championship that season. If the Tigers win on Saturday, Mack Brown will be the
10th National-Championship-winning head coach Dabo has beaten in his
11 years. That is remarkable, considering there are only five active head
coaches, including Dabo, that have won national titles. If you’re scratching
your head trying to figure out who the nine are, you’re probably forgetting
that Larry Coker won a title with Miami, and Gene Chizick with Auburn.
On to this week’s matchup!
MISCELLANEOUS
Clemson and UNC first met in 1897 but have only played 57
times. Clemson leads the all-time series 37-19-1…Last Saturday was Dabo’s 150th
game as head coach, and this is the 150th season of college
football…. Clemson has not lost a game before October since 2014, an overtime
loss in Tallahassee….Clemson is now 28-3 in its last 31 night games. Two of the
three losses were to Alabama, and the third was at Syracuse without a starting
QB or starting kicker…Clemson made its 440th appearance in the AP
Poll this week, which is 20th all-time….Clemson and Alabama are tied
for the most consecutive weeks in the AP Top 10 at 64 straight weeks. Georgia
is 3rd at 33 weeks… Clemson has won 18 straight in Death Valley
going back to the last-second loss to Pitt in 2016. Prior to that, the Tigers
won 21 straight, so the Tigers have won 39 of their last 40 home games, losing
only on a last-second field goal….Clemson has won 21 straight regular season
non-conference games….Clemson is 12-2 all-time as the No.1 ranked team, with
both losses to Alabama….Clemson has won 33 of its last 36 games away from home
and 21 of its last 22 true road games….Clemson has won its last 33 straight
Saturday games, the longest streak in the nation….
UNC SYNOPSIS
The Mack Brown revival got off to an auspicious start, with
upset wins over South Carolina and Miami, and it looked as if the Heels might come
into this game 4-0 and ranked. However, they have taken a step back as many
teams with newfound success do, losing close games at Wake and against App State
in the last two weeks. They found themselves down 21-0 in the first quarter at
Wake but battled back and had the ball with a chance to win at the end of the
game. They should have beaten in-state foe App State last week, but Sam Howell
had 3 costly turnovers, including a sack-fumble scoop-and-score, and the Heels
missed a last-second field goal to tie the game.
Despite the turnovers last week, true freshman quarterback
Sam Howell has played extremely well, showing why Dabo and the Clemson staff
thought enough of him to offer a scholarship. The 6’1, 225-pounder was the
North Carolina Player of the Year last year and was headed to FSU before Mack
Brown took the UNC job and convinced Howell to stay in state. Howell has
completed 64% of his passes this season for 1,024 yards and 9 touchdowns with 2
interceptions, both last week. He has only rushed for 43 yards and one TD, but
he can be tough to bring down when he tucks it and runs. He’s a little like
Texas QB Sam Ehlinger in that regard. More importantly, Howell has the moxie
you look for in a quarterback. He was sensational with the game on the line in
that 4th quarter against the Gamecocks.
The Heels have a few good running backs, and Dabo said this
will be the best group of backs the Tigers have seen this season. 5’10, 215-pound
sophomore Javonte Williams (#25) and 5’10, 200-pound junior Michael Carter (#8)
have carried most of the load so far this season. Williams has rushed for 299
yards and a touchdown on 5.6 yards per carry, and Carter has rushed for 220
yards on 4.6 yards per carry. 5’11, 215-pound senior Antonio Williams (#24)
only has 63 yards but averages 7 yards per carry. The Heels like to throw to
the backs often on check-downs, so the Tigers will have to be ready for that.
Carter has a TD catch in each of the last two games.
6’1, 195-pound sophomore Dyami Brown (#2) is the Heels’ best
big-play receiver. He has 15 receptions for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns this
season. 5’11, 190-pound junior Dazz Newsome (#5) has 19 catches for 270 yards
and 2 touchdowns. Junior Beau Corrales (#15) has the best size of the group at
6’4 and 210 pounds. He has 10 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown this season.
Offensive Coordinator Phil Longo held the same position at
Ole Miss for the past two seasons, where the Rebels had a top-20 offense.
Before that, he led the top-ranked offense in the nation at the FCS level in
2016 when he was OC at Sam Houston State. He is a disciple of Mike Leach’s air
raid offense, but in his first year with the Heels, he has run the ball more
than he’d probably like to due to his personnel.
Defensively, the Heels are led by Defensive Coordinator Jay
Bateman, who held the same job at Army for the last 5 years. The Black Knights
were 11-2 last season, setting a school record for wins. You may recall they
held Oklahoma to just 21 points in regulation at Norman last year before losing
in overtime. They held Houston’s high-powered offense to just 14 points in
their bowl win. The Heels are averaging 25.8 points per game this season, which
is No.67 nationally. They have allowed 394.8 total yards per game, which is
No.76 nationally. Bateman uses a 3-4 defensive scheme, and the Heels have 10
sacks in their 4 games this season. 3.5 of those have come from 6’3, 260-pound
junior LB Tomon Fox (#12). LB Chazz Surratt and NT Aaron Crawford have each
added a pair. 5’11, 205-pound junior strong safety Myles Wolfolk (#11) has 3 of
the Heels’ 4 interceptions this season, but he was injured in the second half
of the App State game this week and is questionable for Saturday. Injuries have
been a problem for the Heels, who will be without starting corner Patrice Rene
and starting center Nick Polino. Their best offensive lineman, left tackle Charlie
Heck, is also questionable after missing last week’s game with a broken hand. The
offensive line last week had just 10 combined career starts coming into the
game. Finally, starting defensive tackle Jason Strowbridge played hurt last
week and was very limited. His status is questionable as well.
Sophomore kicker Noah Ruggles is solid but doesn’t have a
huge leg. He is 7-10 this season with a long of 49, and he’s perfect from
inside 40 yards.
CLEMSON STATUS
Dabo told us on Tuesday that OL Blake Vinson would have
patellar tendon surgery and miss the season, but the Tigers are otherwise in
great shape. It will be interesting to see how deep in the game Trevor Lawrence
goes after Chase Brice came in three minutes into the 2nd quarter last
week. It’s a shame that the Tigers’ dominance will probably cost Trevor a
Heisman because he simply won’t be able to pad his stats like the other
candidates will all season. All the more reason they shouldn’t vote on the
Heisman until after all the games have been played. Maybe if Trevor shines in
the playoff again like last year, they will give him the Heisman next year
regardless of his numbers. As long as they refuse to move the voting to the
time it should be, we will continue to see the Heisman go to the wrong player
like it did with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
Trevor is playing well in his limited time on the field,
though. Many want to focus on his 5 interceptions this season, but Trevor set a
career record with 395 passing yards at Syracuse despite playing less than the
entire game. He has also run the ball well and already has 3 rushing touchdowns
after just one all of last season. There’s a good chance you’ll see him rush
for another TD in Chapel Hill.
The Tigers have developed a nice one-two punch at running
back with Etienne and Dixon, and the two true freshmen—Dukes and Mellusi—are starting
to get their legs under them, each rushing for his first career TD in the last
two games.
As for WRU, Trevor Lawrence has his pick of weapons all over
the field. Justyn Ross had a hip flexor last week and could have played, but
they decided to hold him just to be safe. He and Tee Higgins will have plenty
of opportunities on deep balls this Saturday, and the return of Amari Rodgers
will really spread the UNC defense horizontally. He is like a running back at
the slot receiver position, and he has come back from his ACL surgery even
stronger and faster than he was before. I got a good look at Amari after
practice on Wednesday while he was catching balls from the jug machine with one
hand and on his back like it was nothing. That guy is as solid as a rock with
tree trunks for legs! True freshman Joseph Ngata caught his first career TD
last week, and fellow true freshman caught his second at Syracuse. I look
forward to seeing those two contributing more and more regularly as the season
progresses. Cornell Powell also caught his first TD of the season last week.
Sophomore kicker B.T. Potter has 18 touchbacks in his 21 kickoffs this season, and that is an extremely undervalued asset that no one talks about. If the Tigers had Potter in 2015, they might have won that National Championship against Alabama. The Tigers have an excellent coverage unit as well, but it's a nice luxury to be able to completely erase an opponent's big-play potential on kickoffs. That will come in handy this week, as the Heels' Michael Carter can be dangerous. He ran the opening kickoff 75 yards last week, setting up a TD on their first play from scrimmage against App State.
The Tigers are No.13 in total offense (524.8 yards/game), No.17 in scoring offense (42.3 points/game), No.20 rushing offense (247 yards/game) and No.40 passing offense (277.8 yards/game). Defensively, they are No.4 in scoring defense (10 points/game), No.5 in total defense (246.5 yards/game), No.23 in rush defense (94.5 yards/game), No.13 in pass defense (152 yards/game) and No.6 in sacks (4/game).
DABO PC AND PLAYER INTERVIEWS HERE
PREDICTION
Mack Brown has imbued his team with belief and confidence.
His players have fully bought in and are playing hard for him—even in their
close losses in the last two weeks. They have rallied in the second half in all
four of their games, so they will not give up and roll over, even if the Tigers
lead by more than 20 points. In fact, the Heels have outscored their opponents
in the 4th quarter this season by 36 points. It’s impossible not to
like freshman QB Sam Howell, and they have some very capable backs.
However, as banged up as the Heels are, it will be tough for
them to keep pace with a team that already has them overmatched at every
position. I think Brent Venables will have a field day with that inexperienced
offensive line and do everything he can to confuse the freshman quarterback
with looks and post-snap movement he’s never seen. The Heels will need to win
the turnover margin by at least 3 to have a chance, and that might not even be
enough. Stranger things have happened—like the 2016 home loss to Pitt—but I
wouldn’t bet on it. The Tigers dominate another nameless opponent, extending
their school-record and nation-long active win streak to 20 games. They become the
first team in 73 years to win 15 straight games by 14 points or more, tying the
1945-46 Georgia team for the second-longest such streak in the poll era.
The Prowl toward a 5th consecutive ACC Title, a 5th
consecutive College Football Playoff appearance and 4th National Title
continues…..
CLEMSON 48 North Carolina 13
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