Much of the issues can be blamed on offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, one of the few members of former head coach Mack Brown’s staff that Belichick retained. On the first drive of each game, UNC looks comfortable. The offense knows what the scripted drive is and seems confident in it.
But after that, when the Tar Heels start to rely on Kitchens’ play calling, it all starts to fall apart. The whole offense looks unprepared and lost. It puts North Carolina in unwinnable positions. Even against UNC Charlotte, the offense stalled in the second half, picking up only three first downs and scoring just three points.
UNC ranks 132nd in total offense in the country and averages 263.5 yards per game. That’s third worst in the nation, only better than Northern Illinois (248.8) and Massachusetts (225.8). Against Power Four teams TCU and UCF, the Tar Heel offense recorded just 222 and 217 yards, respectively.
Another glaring problem is the defensive line. The unit has struggled to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks all season.
Through four games, the Tar Heel defense has recorded just four sacks. None of those came against TCU or UCF. The eventual return of UConn transfer redshirt senior defensive lineman Pryce Yates should help UNC on the defensive front, but without him, North Carolina needs to find a way to force negative plays.
While the secondary has had flashes of promise — most notably redshirt senior defensive back Thaddeus Dixon, who has been great — the Tar Heels are getting beat too often on short passing plays. Against Charlotte, North Carolina gave up 250 passing yards.
The defensive unit under defensive coordinator Steve Belichick allows opposing teams to rack up just over 344 yards per game, 59th in the country. In all fairness, that’s not entirely on Steve Belichick. The UNC offense averages just 26 minutes with the ball, 125th in the nation, placing more responsibility and pressure on the defense.
North Carolina has a lot of work to do.
On Saturday at noon at Kenan Stadium, North Carolina has the chance to show any signs of improvement against a Clemson team that has significantly underperformed this year.
And if the coaching staff took the bye week off to at least help fix some of the problems, it might not be another embarrassment against a Power Four team.
But don’t count on it.
To get the day’s news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com