Tar Heels Football: Takeaways from UNC vs. Miami

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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UNC got a much-needed win over Miami on Saturday to get right back in the ACC Coastal Division race

North Carolina defeated Miami 20-13 on Saturday to get right back into the race for the ACC Coastal Division title.

With this victory, it also helped North Carolina work their way back into the AP Top 25.

There is only one sad thing about the game against Miami. This game marks the last game for Mack Hollins as a Tar Heel. Hollins broke his collarbone against Miami. He will be out for the rest of the season.

Being ranked again and suffering a key injury among other things will be discussed in takeaways from the North Carolina vs. Miami game.

Oct 15, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels safety Donnie Miles (15) tackles Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Walton (1) during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. The North Carolina Tar Heels defeat the Miami Hurricanes 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

UNC’s Defense – ‘Nuff Respect Due

For all of the old heads, “‘Nuff Respect Due” is a classic hip hop jam by old school 90’s rapper Big Daddy Kane off the “Juice” soundtrack. This song fits the defense for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

UNC’s defense deserves respect; more respect than what they have gotten lately. The Tar Heels defense held Miami’s offense to 13 points. Prior to Saturday’s game, Miami averaged 41.4 points per game.

Currently, Donnie Miles, Jr. (pictured above) ties with Virginia’s Quin Blanding for most tackles in the ACC (49). In the game against Miami, Miles led North Carolina in tackles with eight including five solo tackles.

Moreover, North Carolina held Miami’s Mark Walton to 82 yards on 24 carries. In addition, Walton caught three passes for 23 yards. Walton did not reach the endzone against the Tar Heels. Walton ranks third in the ACC with 566 yards.

In the past three weeks, UNC’s defense has faced two of the top three ACC running backs in Walton and Dalvin Cook (Florida State). North Carolina did a good job limiting, rather ‘maintaining’ both running backs, despite Cook rushing 29 times for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Cook scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter against UNC.

With the exception of Virginia Tech, North Carolina has beaten two ranked teams from the state of Florida (Miami and Florida State). UNC’s defense has gotten through the toughest part of their schedule. If the defense continues to step up their game, North Carolina will surely be in the 2016 ACC Championship game.

Give Carolina’s D their props. They deserve a pat-on-the-back. Now, finish the season strong.

Oct 29, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Mack Hollins (13) reacts after scoring on a thirty-two yard touchdown pass with teammates wide receiver Ryan Switzer (3) and wide receiver Bug Howard (84) against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

No Return of the Mack (Hollins)

As stated earlier, North Carolina’s Mack Hollins will miss the rest of the season due to breaking his collarbone against the Miami Hurricanes. Hollins finishes his college career with 81 receptions for 1,667 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Hollins was North Carolina’s biggest deep threat. His combination of size and speed were difficult for defenses to cover. At 6’4″ 210 pounds, Hollins became an instant, impact player for the Tar Heels after walking onto the team several years ago.

Hollins’ absence will leave a void in Carolina’s offense. However, that void will be filled by several players. Ryan Switzer has had a spectacular senior season. He ranks second in the ACC in receiving yards (606). For the season, Switzer has 58 receptions. Switzer’s number will continue to be called a great deal. In the Miami game, Switzer caught nine passes for 17 yards and one touchdown. Despite his stats not being impressive against Miami, Switzer was one of the primary go-to guys on offense.

Bug Howard stepped up his game after Hollins was knocked out of the game. Against Miami, Howard had arguably his best college game to date. He finished the game with 10 catches for 156 yards. Howard’s frame (6’5″ 210 pounds) resembles Hollins. He will quickly become a deep threat for Carolina with his size. Do not forget about the game-winning catch Howard had against Pittsburgh. That game illustrated how his size poses problems for opposing defenses. In addition, Howard’s game-winning catch shows how much Trubisky trusts him.

Nov 28, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels receiver Austin Proehl (7) celebrates a victory over the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Carter Finley Stadium. North Carolina won 45-34. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

UNC’s new WR trio: Ryan Switzer, Bug Howard, Austin Proehl

The new “receiving trio” for the Tar Heels will include Switzer, Howard and Austin Proehl. Junior wideout Proehl has played well this season, also. He has shown a great deal of growth as a wide receiver who UNC can depend on, particularly during crunch time.

Against Miami, Proehl caught four receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Proehl has 24 receptions for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Proehl averages 12.6 yards per reception.

Proehl was raised to become a wide receiver by his father who is a retired NFL player with a Super Bowl ring. Proehl’s emergence this season will only heighten North Carolina’s arsenal that we refer to as a receiving corps.

Although Hollins will be missed, North Carolina’s offense will not miss a beat with this new trio.

Oct 15, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Joe Jackson (99) brings down North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky (10) during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The Big Trubisky

For several weeks, I have been working on nicknames for UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky. The ‘Big Trubisky’ is a play on words from ‘The Big Lebowski.’ Maybe it works, maybe not, but one thing we can agree on is this. Trubisky has come up big for the Tar Heels this season.

Trubisky led the Tar Heels with this stat line against Miami. He completed 33 of 46 pass completions for 299 yards and two touchdowns plus 13 rushes for 47 yards.

Trubisky threw no interceptions. For the season, Trubisky has completed 179 of 254 passes (70.5%) for 2,068 yards with 15 touchdowns and two interceptions. Trubisky ranks second in the ACC in passing yards (2,068) behind Syracuse’s Eric Dungey (2,197).

For the past few weeks, I have been on “Trubisky for Heisman” campaign. The campaign continues. Although Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson are extraordinary at the quarterback position, Trubisky has:

Call me biased if you want, but remember numbers don’t lie. Both Jackson and Watson deserve the attention and publicity, but Trubisky deserves just as much press as them. North Carolina has to continue winning games for Trubisky’s Heisman campaign to gain momentum.

The rest of the 2016 schedule is winnable for the Tar Heels. Other teams have to take notice of Trubisky. He has proven to become a force to be reckoned with.

Oct 15, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels running back T.J. Logan (8) runs the ball against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. The North Carolina Tar Heels defeat the Miami Hurricanes 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

UNC’s rushing takes backseat to UNC’s passing

Before you shoot the messenger, remember that old saying “Numbers Don’t Lie.” This past weekend, North Carolina’s running backs were not the focal point of the offense. Elijah Hood rushed 13 times for 31 yards and caught four passes for 28 yards. T.J. Logan had 15 carries for 84 yards and three receptions for two yards.

Although UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky ran 13 times for 47 yards, neither Hood or Logan scored a touchdown. In fact, Hood and Logan have not scored touchdowns since playing Florida State on October 1, 2016. Logan scored a rushing touchdown in the Florida State game whereas Hood did not. Hood has not scored a rushing touchdown since UNC played James Madison on September 17, 2016.

North Carolina’s rushing game use to be the center of their offense. Last season, Hood rushed for nearly 1,500 yards as a sophomore. This season, Hood barely gains 50 yards a game. Hood averages 52.7 yards per game. For the season, he has 80 rushes for 369 yards and four touchdowns.

Current backfield running mate Logan has 65 carries for 409 yards and five touchdowns. Although Logan has outperformed Hood slightly this season, Hood remains an integral part of UNC’s offense. His power running style will be significant as the weather gets colder and the closer it gets to the end of the season.

North Carolina needs their running backs to play better as the season continues. Opposing defenses will focus more on the wide receivers, the more UNC’s running backs underperform.

North Carolina’s next game will be an away game against Virginia. UNC has struggled playing Virginia away over the years and this weekend’s game will be another close game between these two division rivals.