The lights may have been a bit brighter than expected.
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Junior running back Sony Michel’s status for the North Carolina game remained uncertain as he continued to recover from a fractured forearm.
It’s normally hip-hop music rattling speakers while the North Carolina football team is practicing back in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels lost 33-24 to No. 18 Georgia in Atlanta on Saturday.
The speedster from Greensboro put the Tar Heels ahead 17-14 with a 95-yard kickoff return to start the second half.
Regardless of who you think should be No. 1, we need to figure out exactly what we’re doing at quarterback soon and name a full-time starter. “You can’t do that nowadays against anybody and have success”.
Luckily for No. 18 Georgia, Nick Chubb was wearing red again.
The North Carolina Tar Heels found themselves in familiar territory late Saturday evening.
There were 13 penalties that resulted in 101 yards of real estate. Not just to win 10 games – the Bulldogs did that the last two years and four of the last five and head coach Mark Richt still was replaced after 15 seasons.
However, Isaiah McKenzie has proven after game one that he is more than just a punt returner. “The penalties we got tonight were pretty crucial”.
The game was a battle between two disjointed, not-yet-ready-to-play teams – there were 21 combined penalties for a combined 271 yards, a weird quarterback rotation from Georgia, a safety that came on a completed pass from inside the end zone, and enough game management errors to fill a season. With the partisan Georgia Dome crowd sensing a turning point, the arena grew deafening, and on 2nd-and-10, right tackle Jon Heck was flagged for a questionable ineligible receiver downfield penalty.
“We had penalties everywhere, ” UNC coach Larry Fedora said.
“I felt good the whole game”, Chubb said.
This should tell you all you need to know: Early in the fourth quarter, Florida led MA by only three points. You did get pushed around against the run, though, giving up 159 yards I’m sure the defense will pay for in screams and hand slams during film sessions. (He just doesn’t make much good happen, does he?) The special teams will get cleaned up or Smart will throw a conniption.
“I don’t know that we made any plays, or created any plays”, he added. Georgia, Chubb 32-222, Herrien 7-59, Douglas 3-23, Godwin 1-6, McKenzie 1-4, Eason 1-(minus 7), (Team) 4-(minus 7), Lambert 3-(minus 11).
“I wasn’t supposed to catch it, though”, Hood said.
Even better for the Bulldogs, they can stop fretting over whether star running back Nick Chubb will overcome the severe knee injury he suffered last season against Tennessee.
The two seniors and their teammates have played their way into this position, rebuilding the North Carolina program from the low point of the postseason ban that cost the Tar Heels a chance to play for the ACC title in 2012 and the scholarship restrictions that drained the team of depth and talent. Chubb began to assert his dominance on the ground by rushing for 37 yards in a touchdown drive that he capped with a 2-yard run.
“We didn’t get the job done”, Jones said. There were a lot of doubters when they ball got kicked off and run back to start the second half.
That didn’t leave much action for the Tar Heels secondary. He also set the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game rushing record before the end of the third quarter when he hit 154 yards on 27 carries. After the Bulldogs missed a 42-yard field goal, Logan sparked a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive for the Tar Heels by outrunning Georgia defenders around the right side before diving into the end zone to complete a 21-yard touchdown run. “Give me the ball. It was a unique experience for me that I will build on and learn from”. Look at all the film and improve.
It’s cool, Nick, they’re new to this celebrating thing.
Fedora admitted his surprise that his veteran team would be so error-prone and inconsistent in this type of contest.
Georgia struck first on its second possession of the game.
“We knew what he was going to do”, linebacker Roquan Smith said.
Georgia had never opened a season with a win over a ranked foe away from Sanford Stadium, but Smart helped the Bulldogs accomplish that.
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To win games where Georgia has too often in recent seasons not measured up against their best opponents.
