Know your Foe -- UNC

by HumanRobot , Cybertron, Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 06:18 (1364 days ago)

The big question on everybody's mind as Marcus Freemen takes the Irish to Chapel Hill, North Carolina is simple: Does UNC actually suck? My neighbors mused last night, 'Are they actually good? Don't they use up all their cheating juju for their basketball program? Wait, Julius Peppers went there, didn't he?' Well, the answer I have for you is maybe.

My most hasty, initial comparison is looking at the 2019-2021 recruiting rankings. UNC is actually in striking distance of ND: 15 v 30, 18 vs 14, and 9 vs 14. In particular, the UNC 2020 and 2021 classes are comprised of a similar volume of 5 and 4 star players. ND really only beat UNC on the recruiting path in 2021 due to volume of 3 stars. Overall, UNC has some nice talent on their roster in terms of a pool for Mack Brown to draw from.

They're led on the field by redshirt Freshman Drake Maye (11 TD, 1 INT, 930 yards on 97 attempts). Maye was a top 50 type recruit and towers at 6'5" and 210 pounds. The kid has a rifle for an arm and is an occasional threat to run, acting as their second leading rusher on the season. The Tarheels are led on the ground by Omarion Hampton, another top 150 type recruit who is a true freshman. UNC is talented on offense and a threat to put points on the board quickly.

The good news for Notre Dame is that North Carolina's defense is really bad. So far they've played App St, FAMU, and Georgia Southern and they're #119 (out of 131 these days) in points allowed at 37.7. Those power programs have elected to attack on the ground, racking up 193 yards per game (#111) at a generous 4.67 ypc (#101). What UNC lacks in terms of defending the run, they also apparently lack in defending the pass where they're #112 giving up 275 yards a game at 8.3 YPA (#111).

At a meta-level, this will be a very uncomfortable game for the Irish. The good news for UNC is that ND has struggled to overcome defenders -- as well as tripping over its own feet on offense. This game will be the first real test in terms of presenting an offense that has its act together, featuring a QB that can comfortably challenge the intermediate portions of the field where ND's defense is the weakest.