CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- For No. 23 North Carolina (1-0), there are plenty of potential obstacles standing in the way of the team reaching its potential. Youth, perhaps, is one of the biggest ones. That can't be helped -- at least, not right now.
But the Tar Heels do want to control the things they can control. And they don't want to continue a disturbing trend that's been ongoing under Larry Fedora's tenure (now entering Year 3) -- racking up penalty yardage.
In 2013, the Tar Heels finished last in the ACC in penalty yards per game (63.9) and 13th in penalties per game (7.4). In total, it was 96 penalties for 831 yards.
Fedora told reporters before the season began that he wanted to cut UNC's penalties in half this year. And he said that the media could hold him to that.
To cut that in half, it would mean the Tar Heels would have to commit just 48 penalties and/or get flagged for about 415 yards' worth. That would have put UNC at second in the ACC last year behind Boston College (47 penalties for 399 yards). Every other ACC team had more.
But if UNC can at least cut out 200 yards or so, it would be a vast improvement.
Even in 2012, Fedora's first season, the Tar Heels ranked last in the ACC in both penalties per game (7.5) an penalty yardage per game (64.3 yards). Not all that different in one fewer game than UNC had the next season; technically an improvement from that mark in 2013, but not by much.
Fedora said that he spent the off-season poring over the penalties to figure out how and why they were happening. He's said more than once that he's fine with "effort" penalties, or penalties that involve physicality. But dumb personal fouls or even procedural penalties all start to add up.
He had officials at as many of his team's pre-season practices as he could, and he said that he sat down and talked to them on many occasions to get tips on what the team needed to focus on to avoid flags.
It hasn't translated to success so far in 2014 -- admittedly, of course, UNC is just one game in -- as the Tar Heels were flagged 10 times for 60 yards in a 56-29 win over Liberty.
It's where and when the penalties have happened over the last few years that have made them feel bigger than they are, perhaps. Like UNC's substitution infraction in the second quarter against Liberty on defense coming out of a timeout. It was just a five-yard penalty, but Liberty had driven to the UNC 22-yard line and was facing a 3rd and 2. That silly mistake resulted in a first down without Liberty even having to run a play. The Flames would score a few plays later to take the lead.
"Oh yeah, it's frustrating. Yeah, no doubt about it," Fedora said. "Coming from the sideline, that's definitely frustrating. I'll take it because Tim (Scott) wasn't sure if he was playing the corner or the safety in that situation. If we would've had our normal starters in the game (four defensive backs were suspended for the opener), I don't think that would've happened."
The defense, actually, has not been the issue. It has averaged 1.9 penalties in 26 games under Fedora so far (49 total -- 21 last season, 26 in 2012 and two so far this year). Yes, the defense has at times committed silly, ill-advised penalties that have kept opponent's drives alive. But that happens on almost any team to various extents.
The substitution infraction on Saturday was one such silly one, but senior linebacker Jeff Schoettmer is not concerned. He says the team pays a stiff price for penalties.
"The guys yesterday who had a penalty, they had to stay after practice and do 100 yards of up-downs," Schoettmer said. "Coach, he's really stressing that hard."
Fedora is most well-known for his high-powered offensive attack. But in the last two seasons (plus one game of this season), his offense has averaged 3.8 penalties per game -- double the defensive penalties.
Those penalties have not often been significant -- a 5-yard false start here, an illegal procedure there -- in fact, 42 of the 100 penalties in 26 games under Fedora have been false starts. But those can add up. Try getting a false start on a 3rd and 2 in a key road game, for example, and see how much more formidable a 3rd and 7 looks.
With a young offensive line, there are probably going to be some growing pains as the more inexperienced ones settle in.
But this team doesn't have time to wait, and Fedora knows that.
"(Penalties were) cut way down during camp, it really was. I talked to those officials every single day at the end of our practices -- anything that they wanted me to know, anything I need to know," Fedora said.
"I think we got much better throughout camp. Now, I didn't want to see us have five false starts and three illegal procedures, I can assure you. Because that's simple. We want to be no pre or post-play penalties on offense. That's one of the goals that we have. And they had five right there, so."
Tight end Jack Tabb is taking over that spot from the uber-taletned Eric Ebron, a first-round NFL Draft pick who's with the Detroit Lions. Ebron was a bit penalty-prone himself, in spite of his talent, and once committed multiple false starts in back-to-back games as a sophomore.
But Tabb is the only senior starter on UNC's offense (one of just two seniors on the two-deep at all), and he knows he wants to avoid penalties. It's different with each position group for how penalties are punished, but he doesn't want any part of it.
"I definitely know I try not to get a whole bunch of penalties. It's not something you look forward to on Sundays," Tabb said. "For us, we do running. It's not something you look forward to, I'll put it that way."
Unless UNC only commits 38 more penalties total the rest of the season, it likely won't hit that mark of halving last year's penalty total. But the Tar Heels can't worry too much about that at this point.
If UNC is going to reach its potential, it will have to cut out its penalties. But for Tabb and the rest of the Tar Heels, what they're concentrating on right now is playing fast and physical, two of Fedora's three tenets (the other being smart, which is obviously still coming along).
"Mistakes happen. That's just part of the game. I definitely think -- obviously eliminating them is the goal, but as long as we play fast and we're physical, some of those mistakes won't look so big if you just play hard," Tabb said.
"A bunch of young players, every game they're going to be more experienced and every game they're going to get better. I think they're just building blocks."
