#119 R.P.I. Virginia Tech vs. #56 R.P.I. North Carolina:

Today’s word of the day is… far·ra·go

/fəˈräɡō,fəˈrāɡō/

noun.
Latin.

1. A confused mixture.
2. Mid-17th century: from Latin, literally ‘mixed fodder’, from far ‘corn’.
3. Fodder? Mixed fodder? A confused and mixed-up {sic: cannon} fodder come 8 PM Saturday?

North Carolina Head Coach: William Mack Brown: age=71, (93–64–1 at U.n.c.; 268–14o–1 overall); has a rep’ for stellar (pun intended) recruiting, FLIPPING-recruits, offense, Wr’s, and Pitch-n-Catch development in particular.
$3,500,000.oo

Baller Brown was a three-sport star at Putnam County High School, playing football, basketball, and baseball. After his senior season, he won All-State as well as Prep All-America honors and was selected one of the nation’s top running backs by Scholastic Magazine his senior year. The Tennessean selected him as the state player of the year.

Baller Brown accepted a football scholarship to Vanderbilt University., where his brother Watson Brown was the starting quarterback. In his time playing for the Vanderbilt Commodores, he played for Bill Pace and rushed 82 times for 364 yards and three touchdowns, as well as catching seven passes for 50 yards and a touchdown during the 1970 season.

Brown then transferred to Florida State University. Brown played for Florida State under head coach Larry Jones. At Florida State, he had 31 rushing attempts for 98 yards and 10 catches for 76 yards in the 1972 season. Lettering twice as a running back for the Seminoles, he started his coaching career as a student coach after five knee surgeries ended his career prematurely (may St.Nikon penta-bless).

Brown.edu graduated F.s.u. in 1974. He later received a graduate degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1976. PROPs on this!

Coach Mack broke into the clipboard for hire ranks at So.Miss and has made a buncha big-name tour stops along the way. Among them would be: Florida State, L.s.u., Oklahoma, of course, Texas, and a previous stint at U.n.c. (1988-97). Coach Brown started out with three negative seasons in his first six campaigns. Then he began a much more positive ascent upwards through the more rarefied coaching ranks. As he got things rolling at Chapel Hill in 1990 and has suffered only one L’ing season ever since. (Although he had been retired/outta coaching since 2013). Since returning to Chapel Hill, Brown has started a tradition of lighting the Bell Tower blue after every home win.

Coach Mack has picked up a few trinkets along the way. Among them would be: the B.c.s. or D-1 National Championship (2005), 2 Big 12 crowns (2005, 2009), and six Big 12 South Division titles (1999, 2001–2002, 2005, 2008–2009). Accordingly, he has been awarded a few things along the way as well. Among them would be: the A.c.c. Coach of the Year (1996), the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award (2005), the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (2008) and he is a 2× Big 12 Coach of the Year (2005, 2009). Coach Mack also sports a winning post-season mark at 13-8 when bowling. And thespian Brown made several T.V. Friday Night Lights appearances/cameos.

Additionally, Coach Brown has authored an 18-year bowl streak, with 20 straight winning seasons. This with a mere 192 consecutive weeks ranked in the Coach’s Poll to boot. Coach Brown is one of only three head coaches in D-1 history to coach players who recorded a 2,000-yard rushing season, a 1,000-yard receiving season, and a 3,000-yard passing season in the very same year (Tx, per V.Young). When combined with his brother (Watson Brown), they compose the pair of brothers with the most combined wins in college football history. And he is already enshrined in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. And he and his family have done more than a lot of community/charity work… in particular in regard to abused children. (God Bless!)

Mack-daddy’s wife is named Sally. They have four children:
Matt Jessee, Katherine Ryan, Barbara Wilson, and Chris Jessee

U.n.c. 2021 record: 6 up 7 down and 3- 5 in the A.c.c.

North Carolina Defense: (starters back=8)

• 126th in Total D!!!
• 123rd vs. the run!!
• 113th vs. the throw!
• 127th in Passing Efficiency D!!!
• 5 in 1o in dLine Havoc. One of the recruiting bonanzas U.n.c. does court is best found in Dt1 and Dt1 or in Myles Murphy and run-stuffing Ray Vohasek (who has a history of dings and dents alike (Coach God Bless)) upfront. The Heels have got two terrific Tackles to work around. They are both legit cinderblock-looking 300-pounders who can get penetrate northward into opposing backfields. M2 in particular is nearly a bull-o-da-woods; in pass-rushing when he decides he wants to be. Kinda like a Carlton Powell+++ or so. And both Dt’s put in surprisingly alighted looking pass-defense in Zone-Blitz last year. Wild; and it shows you how many goodies they do bring to the table, again, when they want to. The (in)eligibility declared (substances) of stud-De1 (Tomari Fox) does not help in bookend terms. Although U.n.c. should be excellent and tall/towering (all at last 6′4″, expect tip-drill/deflections here) at De overall; what with Virginia transfer edge rusher Noah Taylor (169 tackles over the last three years with 12.5 sacks and 28.5 Tackles for Loss) and veterans Kaimon Rucker and Chris Collins in the rotation. (Rucker and Collins are Lb/De hybrids of a sort; as U.n.c. posts up in a forty-three and then toggle into a more exotic thirty-four from time to time). However, in a schematic way… this is a good U.n.c. front-3 or front-4, again; when they decide to be. IF, not? Things could stay pretty halt-unit fubar at U.n.c. And savant portaling Dlineman: Jacolbe Cowan (from: 2021 team: Ohio State) is a real nab. As Cowan was only the No. 125 prospect in the entire 2o2o National class and merely the No. 11 Dt out of North Carolina itself. This is a bit get, and this is a pretty dang deep & Talented front line for it to boot. Upperclassmen lurk here, Ng and Dt1 are lumpy mashed potatoes; De1 is right-sized. No small guys are to be found. There are some dings here, in particular on the bookends (De’s); Coach God help!
• 5 outta 1o in Linebacking Havoc. linebacking corps. Cedric Gray left the team with 100 tackles, he is a self-made man as an Lb5 up to now Lb1. Gotta love a self-starter or human jumper-cables kid like that. Power Echols is coming off a good freshman season. Ditto Sophomoric Rara Dillworth. Both seem to operate in/around the football and produced multi turnovers each, in pass and rush-defense alike. Gather up some $1-bills as these are strippers here. These two Sophomores make plays even when they get beaten downfield before they ultimately do. The 2nd-layer guys are really tallish and well-built as well. Including their ‘Jack’ hybrid baller. Their Mike is the only guy even close to an average build. Eye suppose the MLb or inside guy(s) are a little stouter here, ‘stouter’ being a relative term on this user-friendly D however. And this middle layer is an eager one, eager to overpursue and get outta place. Some backside crossbucks could prove tasty here.
• 3.5 of 1o in Secondary Havoc. Starting Experience is not wanting here. This is a well-seasoned secondary to be a tertiary line of defense. As Cb1 Tony Grimes and Cb1a Storm Duck (when healthy, as he sure has been beat-up off/on for his career; Coach God Bless) have next-level talent on the edges, and the Safety tandem of Cam’Ron Kelly (who has a nose for the ball, part bloodhound here), and Giovanni Biggers combined for 117 tackles last season –this placed them third and fourth on the team in stops, respectively. Which is typically not the best front-7, sign. Safety3 Ja’Qurious Conley, is a versatile playmaker who oozes athleticism, though who is also recovering from a torn ACL and MCL (St.Nikhon twice, bless). Depth is kinda okay, though Safety is clearly the thinner spot here and you could see someone taking some midfield shots vs. the U.n.c. 2’s accordingly. Chizik comes with a play the ball, not the man tag… though Eye needs mo’ data points here… Same as above, everyone is really well sized both height & strength-wise. No obvious pick-on targets exist. And I say this in all candor, S’s or Cb’s? It is hard to determine who is more inviting in film study? Both are available mid-range and downfield so far in ’22. And this is a Gorilla Monson (bad pun) defensive backfield, they will dig for an international object(s) in their trunks and take a few inexpensive shots from time to time.

• D overall: 15 of the top-19 guys, all who tallied ≥200 ’21 snaps all ’22 returns. So, that’s seemingly rosy enuff… tho’ 115th in defensive rushing success rate is not. Nor is the tag of being ‘squeezably soft’ or a set of All Charmin Conference defenders vs. the runs.
  (Film-Study): D -same as O down below- does a lotta cutsie thingys. They do not always align well pre-snap and they flash or pose with bogus pre-snap looks. This does leave guys a step or three outta place getting to their final spot at times right at the snap. They cross, X, twist, and do all kinda thingys upfront. Will police a throw-and-go S.W.A.T. team. Will activate and deal blitz from all over. Clearly, they trust their athletes to get there fast enuff as some are off the ball a bit for it. Tho’ athletics they gots, more than a few. Very kinetic D when it actually bothers to try to be. Tho’ also very anti-Gestalt Theory or less than the sum of their halting parts. D will chirp, D will try to hit, and this D will take liberties. They also maroon edge guys in single or Match.com coverages when they deal guys from all over including off of your Offensive Slot-man or Y-receiver. Again, clearly, they trust their T&F testing numbers. Lotta high-risk plays here. D will miss tac’s on tape and same as the O, has some bent or angular shapes to it. Lotta old-school ‘pinching’ looks. N.Dame made them pay here, and frankly the U.n.c. secondary guys had a tough time not catching blocks. Finally, the F’n Irish hit them good along the medium sidelines, several zones or evacuated man openings to be found here. Ditto, what appears to be miscounted on rules or just pure-blown assignments in the hind-4 or 5 of U.n.c.
• ∑ (summary): returning D production=78% (25th). Anyone who shows up is your conflict defender here. Or, maybe a De who wants it. Let us suffice to say the defensive unit could stand to be a wee bit better. It was not (actually) the worst in the A.c.c.; although it allowed 418 yards and 32 points per game. Therefore, now in comes former Auburn national championship head coach –and Texas defensive coordinator for a time under Mack Brown mind yah– or one well thought of: Gene Chizik to try to patch kit this leaky defensive shebang back up. Yes, there are individual Sunday prospects here, granted; and yet after allowing over six yards per play for the first time since 2o14 this patch kit had better be pretty dang collectively adhesive. As North Carolina was abysmal on third downs, allowing teams to convert on 42% of their chances. And they pretty much went Bob & Doug and got ‘steamrolled’ upfront by anyone with a rushing 2o21 pulse, “eh”. Last season’s defensive collapse, from 53rd to 1o1st in defensive SP+, was brought about in part by youth and injury. The “youth” part will mature and should be better; (as nineteen players recorded at least 2oo 2o2o1 snaps, and 16 returns); health is Coach God’s call. And the Talent does seem willing, in particular, closer to the LOS (line-of-scrimmage) and in trench fighting terms. If the 2nd layer improves/advances this should be an improved halt-unit overall. The only 1o1st question is… just how much? As the 60-year-old Chizik returns to coaching after five years as an S.e.c. Network analyst. Per SP+, he has n0t been part of a top-4o defense since 2oo6! (Chizik’s last season as Brown’s coordinator at Texas no less).
  D seems to play outside itself at times to me… like striking out on teamwork big-plays allowed while going for the all-in individual gusto.
  Clearly, mo’ was expected here!

Defensive letter-grade:
Talent is at least a sprite B+++, everything else however is a chopshop D–-.

North Carolina Offense: (returning starters=5)

• 16th in Total O!!
• 33rd in ground O.
• 19th in aerial O!!
• 6th in Passing Efficiency O!!! (Remarkable with the Qb1 exchange).
• O overall: Qb?: Jacolby Criswell or Drake Maye or Conner Harrell? “Hoooooowellllllll” said the lone wolf. Or, who is the next U.n.c. Qb1 now that slammin’ Sammy Howell is gonzo? NOTE: Mack Brown has a history of alternating quarterbacks within the same game when he lacks a clear starter, and that scenario could occur in 2022. So, a platoon or two-headed-Qb1 should surprise none here. Accordingly, Maye was an ESPN top-5o prospect in the 2o21 recruiting class, while Criswell made it into the ESPN 3oo for the 2o2o class. Criswell has an extra year in coordinator Phil Longo’s offense, playing behind Howell, although Maye has some edge in measurables, namely size at 6′5 ″and 216 pounds.

  

  Cue/enter one #10, now number Qb1… (now 224 lbs.), Mr. Drake Maye. D.Maye is a 2nd-Freshman or r-Fr. He has only debuted as Qb1 and only gone for a mere: 69.0%, 1,231-yards passing, 9.5 ypc, a virtually perfected and therefore near stellar 16:1 passing ratio, with a long of 80-yards and a truly lustering 188.5 Qb-rating. That is all, he sucks; cut him STAT (pardon the pun). Now mix in closing in on a near bicentennial (188-rushing) for 6-points and you have one handsome and hard-to-key rookie year Qb1. Truly. I mean, unless he parks cars and pops popcorn what mo’ could you 1st-year starter ask at age 19? Maye was a VeeTee offer and had a huge-named East Coast S.e.c. riddled offer list. He did flip to Carolina from ‘bama. Said to be strong-armed, big framed (with room to build upon the same). Pure pocket Qb1. Not a pure Spread guy. Said to have come up in a rather literate high school set and could be a bit mo’ advanced for it than his I.D. suggests. 247’s 8th ranked baller in the Nation. The only knock might be he will take shots to take a longer look downfield. He is not a real rollout or sprint-out guy. Getting and keeping his feets set however and he can lacerate you if given time. Tallied 6,713 yards and 86 TDs on 398-of-581 (68.5%) passing over his two prep seasons. Did not win a whole high-end lot, was a curiosity to me. Tho’ is said to have ‘gone off’ in showcase 7×7 skeleton competitions. Was awarded N.C. Player of the Year; so, he musta been on scholastic point at some point. Maye was a modest hoops recruit (17 ppg & 11 rpg) and his old man (Mark) played football at U.n.c. from 1983-88. His big brother, Luke, was a Tar Heel basketball great from 2015-19. His other big brother, Cole, won an NCAA baseball title at Florida. His mum is a T.Heel to boot. So, the Family Genome Project projects very sportily here. As his Splits go so far… pretty consistent guy Home:Away; which is a very precocious statement itself. 74, 72, 68, and 57% passing 1Q to 2Q to 3Q to the 4Q. So, you’d better disrupt him early even if he tails off a bit accuracy-wise later on. The caveat was… he hits some 4Q home-run throws; like they loosened you or set you up early on. Does run more in the top of the 1st inning (1Q), this too appears to be to set something up deeper later on. Again, really upperclassman looking high mature strong RTG and the stricter QBR digits to his credit; kinda makes you wonder where this Maye will be, come May of ’24 or of ’25?

• Rb1: Leading rusher and 1K+ gainer Rb1 Ty Chandler is done, and Howell was the No. 2 rusher. With them, 24 of the team’s 30 touchdown runs are finito in 2o22. British Brooks or D.J. Jones. The Brit’ kid is a curious one when he frees up in space; per his slick-looking 9.5 ypc or nearly a 1st-down for every handoff in 2o21. Whispers do say that: freshman George Pettaway has star potential as a legit takeover Rb1.
  And yet now we find upstart Omarion Hampton taking the Rb1 work. O.Hampton was the nation’s 1o6th best player per Rivals. N.C. Gatorade Player of the Year. A two-time academic all-conference honoree as well. Also did well in H.S. T&F terms. Did just break a laser-timed 4.4o barrier; so, he has speeds to burn. 4.38 time if you need it. Said to be one of the ‘hardest workers’ on the team, pure football 25/8, eat, sleep, drink; burp; repeat guy. 375 bench which is the running back and linebacker record. He only squatted 59o. Whispers say he had mo’ in him ferrous or weight-plate wise too. Strapping kid with speed is a big big ask. A story goes… Omarion is so strong he broke the 100m starting block in state testing on his push-off. wow! The only glitch I found is he did get a few scholastic (football) dings and missed several games for it. Tho’ beyond that, this Rb1 is a thoroughbred stud. Make no misQ here and he can and did catch a bit in H.S. behind all of that (tho’ not a U.n.c. so far). And as soon as I keyboard all of that in… they have D.J. Jones listed as Rb1: (5′10″, 205 lb., Junior). Has not done a whole whole lot this year (77-yards) and a career-high of 253-yards per year). Appears to be mo’ of a pass-catching threat, kinda a jitterbug-flavored Rb1a.
• Wr(s)/Te1: Josh ‘1st’ Downs is back. He is said to be a thoroughbred, stud. Batterymates: Wr2 Antoine Green (alluring outside-Wr prospect) and Wr3 Emery Simmons are back as well. Ditto Te1: Kamari Morales. In Downs, however, there’s a (potential) superstar on the other end (get it?) in All-America caliber Talented target or in one Mr. Joshua Downs. Downs is pretty close to being a Michael Jackson Wr1 or a… thriller. As 3 of the Top-4 2o21 Receivers are back for the T.Heels. And yet it is Downs who needs to get the ball in his hands 100 times again. This crossover possession guy with mo’ kinetics than a prototypical Charlie Joiner had needs touches. As this guy does a lotttttta shorter+++ to medium pass-point damage; with just enough kicks in his sneaks to house one here-n-there. As Joshua courted 10 games with at least 8 receptions last year, go’on and expect him to get a buncha looks vs. VeeTee this year. (Zero, as in (o) carries is a curiosity though…). Wr’s less one of ’em is a little bit downsized, both light in the pants (only one guy is north of 18o lbs.) and not entirely skyscraping either. Like to see some physical play test those catch cadre metrics and see how they respond? As these grabbers have been nursing some ‘dings’ for a couple of weeks (Coach God Bless). m.s. (mid-script): there are also whispers of dingy Rb’s as well… not as sure on that one though…
• oLine: The ’21 Heel offensive line did enough to help the team crank up all the big yards, yet it was also among the worst in the nation in pass protection (third from worst!) and put a number of knots on po’ Sammy’s noggin to show for it to boot. The coaching sewing circle whispers are all square here… as this is supposed to be an “overhaul” year upfront for U.n.c. Ot1, Asim Richards is the bell cow veteran at odd or left-Ot; and there is enough experience among last year’s reserves to step up and possibly be better –as it is hard to be worse– at keeping teams out of the backfield (12oth best in Tackles for a Loss (TFL) allowed in ’21)! Yikes. As that’s tough shedding in reverse, even if Sammy did have a rep’ for holding the ball too long or trying to run too early at times to boot. As U.n.c. must replace three starters from an offensive line that struggled in pass protection. This year’s unit will feature several seniors (good) and graduate students (not bad) who have unremarkable credentials but can play multiple positions. So, experience and utility are the party lines (pardon the pun), here. That said, with 1.5 full-time returning ones, and some greenwood on the early ’22 fire? Just how colorful will this sky-blue-blocking-crew look before 2o22 is all said-n-done? As this U.n.c. front-5 must at least execute a lease with an option to buy… and evict opposing teams from living rent-free in the ‘Heel backfield in ’22. (NOTE: …there is a newbie oLine coach in tow here too). Front-5 on O features a staggering 28 years’ worth of collegiate blocking experience among the starting-5. They are on point physically. Good blend of strength and movement to boot. Better at the V-shaped passing-cup than run-shapes, which seem polygonal at times upon breaking tape.

• Air Raid basics: Coach Mike Leach Signature O that got tabbed by Sonny Dykles and Franklin along the way… tho’ still owes its roots to B.y.u. and Lav.Edwards/Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, and Ty Detmer; of all the things. Anywho… it is basically a spread system designed out of a shotgun formation with four wide receivers and one running back. The formations are a variation of the run-and-shoot offense with two outside receivers and two inside slot receivers. The offense also uses trips formations featuring three wide receivers on one side of the field and a lone single receiver on the other side.
• Heavy pass stagger: 65-75% via design; and most “audibles” are away from Runs via the same.
• Fast/up-tempo: shifty/movey pre-snap O that is post-snap designed to wear D’s and keep favorably matched {sic: up} defensive personnel ON the field.
• Wider splits: to make you run the outside loop at your H.S. Track to get to the Qb. This affords in situ/altruistic (passing) Lines of Sight and the quick zippy short hits are designed to negate blitzing through the wider splits themselves.
• ⇐⇒ and ⇑ stretching O… loves Posting (routes) with 2 pickings or at least angular/crossing routes (show: above); and then slipping an Rb safety-valve outta backfield, late.
• This is a SNEAKY O! Gotta mind the store here for 60-minutes. As an assignment slip is almost assured a 1st-down is allowed. (Maybe, mo’). This is also not as much of a talent-centric O as it is an O that schemes openings. (Comeback routings, digs/curls). It is in a word… a: “telepathy” offense. A gridiron Disco-Spock.

• ∑ (summary): returning O production=49% (115th!): (film-study): O will look shorter on normal down-n-distance situations; tho’ there are break-it-off and go make a vertical play here when facing press-man or anything that jams them up. These Wr’s are very good ad-lib artists. Make no mistake on that. O truly has multiple looks, including flooding short side and countering plays back behind the overload short side strengths. Then the oLine will block down and create a scissors look in the opposite direction of the pulling-trapping Te1/H-back guy. O wants to create lotta angles for quasi-Iso, Wham looks. Very geometric, Coach Euclidean would be, proud. NOT an easy O to key for this sense of countering, and you have to mind the backside store assignment wise least they pop clean if you over pursue the seemingly strong or play-side look. Ditto play-actions that may play-side bait-n-switch. A purist might have me say this is a cutsie O; they’re not ‘rong. Although it is pretty dang cute. Qb1 gets upfield pretty quick, like one of his hot-reads is a pure “go” call on the keeper up the gut. Does break a tackle here-n-there to look kinda lean to me upon breaking tape. One #10, this Qb1 (Maye) hurls a very catchable deft-touch ball— kinda a j.Montana feathery lyte.
• 53% run:pass 47% mix. The new Rb1 is your secret sauce offender here. The ’21 U.n.c. big-O finished tenth in the nation overall in Total O, scored 35 points per game, and it cranked up the hard-to-key balance and the pop; and yet it was not quite enough. ’cause it is not the O’s fault the D was so sieved, and yet that was the raw deal. ’cause in spite of being 17th in offensive Big-Plays, AND in spite of being #-freakin’-1 in Rushing P.P.A.; North Carolina went a truly staggering o-7 against F.B.S. teams when scoring 34 points or fewer. Eye say again, nil vs. 7 when tallying enuff points on average to rate 19th best in all the D-1 land in scoring O and yet skunked on an o’fer up on the final analysis you call… “scoreboard” itself. A cruel mistress this oblong spheroid, n’est-ce pas?

Offensive letter-grade:
This O is legit, if they run it at all they are batting eyes at ‘unstoppable’ or a potential big-O(rgy) of offense itself. A. (Could be more, possibly).

T.Heel Special Teams: (return)

U.n.c. is 3rd best in Net Punting and so is Juniorific Dublin Ireland native Ben Kiernan.

Well, unless this is the world-famous C.n.n. type historian Ben Kiernan? Although I could not biographically speak to this— there is a resemblance; tho’ I tangent…

Second-year Ben Kiernan is a 6′-none (or 5′11″), 2o5 lb. Dublin Ireland imported punter. ‘Aye’, he was merely the 11th ranked P in America two years ago by 247Sports. This after winning the pretty prestigious: Sailer’s 2018 Vegas Punt Champion competition to boot. Ben kicked off and only punted in H.S. i.e., not the typical meta-leg-game P, K, KO all-in-1 specialist. In college Ben’s punting average is about 3-4 yards off of his scholastic mean. Tho’ he is young, he was not ranked ≤33rd best in the nation, and starting out middleocore as a newbie leg-swing guy is not the worst thing I’ve ever special teams seen. Neither is starting out with an early career-long of 64-yards and no punts blocked in his Chapel career to date. As this P prolly only gets better and better, given time.

• U.n.c. is 26th in Punt Returns | and 70th in KO returns. (Downs is a threat when inserted here).
• U.n.c. is 96th in punt coverage | and 119th in suicide squad.
• U.n.c. has blocked 1 kick and allowed o kicks to be blocked.
• U.n.c. has blocked o punts and allowed o punts to be blocked.

Noah Burnette is a 5′1o″, 174 lb., r-Freshman K1 for U.n.c. And kinda a mild surprise here with Grayson Atkins gone when he was thought to be in K1 grad’-school return.

Anywho… this Noah is arky enuff… 24 2o22 leg-swings perfect for 24 2o22 makes thus far says so.

Although only attempting two FGA’s so far (makes of: 44 and 47-yards) does not a lot of collegiate data points make. (Tho’ his leg strength seems at least willing enuff).

In scholastic greater data point terms, Noah was only rated a five-star kicker and the No. 2o kicker in his class by Chris Sailer Kicking. In high school ball, he converted 39 of 50 field goals over three seasons, while also playing Wr. So, some kinda fake has gotta be in the playbook here. Burnette led Leesville Road to a state runner-up finish. He earned the 2019 state championship offensive team MVP award; which would seem to hint that he might just ride clutch. Noah did graduate Magna Cum Laude. .edu props for that. Other than that… and the fact that he and his itchy feet pimp Dr. Scholls, I do not have much on him beyond that. Seems okay to start, where is he come November as a rookie year voter, however?

(BONUS: North Carolina kicker Jonathan Kim, who had been used primarily on kickoffs, has left the program after four games this season. Brown said Kim intends to enter the transfer portal with two seasons of eligibility remaining).

Special Teams letter-grade: U.n.c. does have a kick(s)-blocking tag under Mack the knife. They also carry an underwhelming everything S.T.’s tag under Brown. As there is way mo’ Talent here than discipline or follow-through on the same would suggest. Legs are pretty good… coverage is not. C+++ or B— and it should be higher to be sure.

Unit Rankings:

1. U.n.c. O.
2. VT D, (close).
3. VT O.
4. U.n.c. D, (close).

X-factor(s):

• motive: …who knows where VeeTee is after getting Black Diamond Trophied? U.n.c. is up-n-down like a Smothers Brothers yo-yo routine week-to-week. EDGE=indeterminate.
• weather: God Bless the East Coast. EDGE=I was hoping it was the better D, that’s for sure. Or, whichever oLine has the best run-fit day. Or, betting the under. Tho’ this looks passable to me. EDGE=U.n.c.
• health/off-field: Injuries are close to nominal or evenly split. Tho’ unless m.Thomas is 100% back at Tb1? You just gotta nick the EDGE=U.n.c. here. (We need him like a dead man needs…)
• penalties: Mack touts a very liberal recruiting label and a very liberally penalized label alike. And yet not many named Prybar and Co. are actually statistically any worse. EDGE=”ChapStick” again.
• intangibles: Brown is the first to admit he failed at keeping his players accountable throughout the course of the season… that is just not a good Career stAGE look. Both teams are underwater or submerged with negative turnover margins, VeeTee being just a quarter turnover worse than pretty suspect U.n.c. VeeTee however is up over 3-minutes in TOP (time of possession). So, the de facto EDGE=VeeTee. (Via no real credit of their own).
• fatigue: VeeTee is actually up +2 in R&R for their Thursday nite start. That kan’t hurt anything restive. EDGE=VeeTee.

 

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Heels who could shoo-in @Tech=14’ish if they went hard in the paint.

the takeaway:

The Tobacco Road recruiting has been great, and the games have been wild fun; yet 24-18 in three seasons isn’t exactly how this was all supposed to go considering the hype going into last season, yet…

It has been forgotten in a big hurry that North Carolina was 5-2o in a 25-game run before the guy took over.

He’s Mack Brown.

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He is in the College Football Hall of Fame with 268 total wins and a national championship at Texas as part of a phenomenal stretch of nine straight seasons with ten or more wins in the 2000s. But there was always the knock that his teams had all the talent in the world and could not quite come through outside of that one magical 2005 season. Since taking over North Carolina in 2o19 after leaving Texas in 2o13, he has put together teams as talented as any in the A.C.C. outside of Clemson.

24-18. Again, the Tar Heels went 2-9 the season before Brown stepped in, but the bar was set a bit higher after what he was able to do to turn things around.

And there are those who nag that the born W’s do not equate to the conceived W’s…

You do the maths…

***

xxx’s & ooo’s
VeeTee is 1-play (or just one tackle maybe even one flag) removed from a reasonably outside in looking 3 up and 1 down.

U.n.c. is (seemingly) 1-play removed from being 2-2 or .5oo overall. As Georgia State and Appy State out-rushed them by nearly ≅150-yards combined.

formulae here favors… what happens if U.n.c. had not gone butterfingers or Tb1 Bart Simpson and actually held onto the ball? As –3 in fumbles really hurt them and dang near upset them in those two contests.

That and 131 years combined. (Mack Brown and d-Coordinator Gene Chizik).
To me, in the Game of Life itself: two things always win and the 3rd is tough to beat…

1. Coach God! (Duh).
2. Fr.Time. (Sadly).
3. …sex.

These two are not gonna have any better time vs. 2. above…
…nor will any of us as time runs, out.

⌛️

Game Ball or mag·num o·pus:

…whatever team patches or at least hides a few of their foibles or issues.

As both are the enemy of themself right now.

permutations:

1. Δ1=69%, they have more Talent. Both sides as recruiting rankings go; and they are of course not as nascent as reforming VeeTee is. It would be a gross distortion to say the home team is not the rightful favorite in this contest here.
2. Δ2=31%, “water water everywhere…” and that could be our life-preserve of a lifeline here folks. We need any help that we can gets and a soggy-bottom Tobacco Road day might just truncate or even turn U.n.c. over a few times right into our get-well-soon laps. Not umpossible at all.

#ChallangeA.c.c.epted… there are 1,440 minutes in a day and VeeTee will yet again need nearly all 60 of ’em to pull the near 10-point underdog upset on Saturday.

the optics…

…being Owens Dining Hall sammwiched between much-vaunted Notre Dame and the upcoming Coastal Divisional showdown date @Miami, prolly does make for something of a clinical so-called: ‘let-down’ trap game for the Heels. I will take it… won’t you?

(…however, just how Black Diamond Trophied let down are, we?)

the skinny…

U.n.c. is pretty fat on VHTs (very highly touted) and chippers, and that’s typically where wins are at. What with the little factoid that the T.Heels have collected bucu talent from three consecutive top-15 recruiting classes! Trust me… lottsa D-1 gridiron America wishes they had U.n.c.’s, problems.

Lo.FM (Long-field Management©)

• The t.Heels are a pretty sharp 26th best in 1st-down starts on O | while the Gobblers are a partly static 39th best in 1st-down allowed D.
• The Hokies are a truncated looking 96th best in 1st-down starts on O | while the t.Heels are a turnstile looking 125th best in 1st-down allowed D!
• The t.Heels are a nearly golden 9th best in 3rd-down conversions on O | while the Gobblers are an even saltier 4th best in 3rd-down D allowed!
• The Hokies are a lowly 1o4th best in 3rd-down conversions on O | while the t.Heels are a pretty inviting 99th best in 3rd-down D allowed.
• Lo.FM. Analysis: well, the only maybe edge to be found here would be if the O&M O could do a bit more with the rock on 1st-downs. (As the t.Heel D cannot do much less). Tho’ this one is splitting hairs or oranges to tangerines. EDGE=PUSH or maybe VeeTee by just a scosche, maybe?

TTT (Time To Throw©)

• U.n.c. is a just below average 81st best in Qb sacks allowed on O | whilst V.P.I. is a kinda sporty 35th best in Qb sacks inflicted on D.
• V.P.I. is quality at 21st best in Qb sacks allowed on O | whilst U.n.c. is a modest 82nd best in Qb sacks inflicted D.
• U.n.c. is, again, a modest 82nd best TFL (tackles for a loss) allowed on O | whilst V.P.I. is a northward 36th best in TFL inflicted D.
• V.P.I. is actually a now improving 71st best in TFL allowed on O | whilst U.n.c. is a mere 1ooth best in TFL inflicted on D.
• TTT Analysis: well, bizarre as this may and prolly will read? VeeTee went 4X4 and won all four checkmarks here. Did not feel like it, tho’ the more dynamic sets belong to the Techmen. EDGE=V.Tech. (Seemingly mo’ than a little bit too!) This is a curiosity…

3-game splits…
So, here we saw that both O’s are slipping on rushing (–10 ypg VT and –40 ypg U.n.c.). Both O’s are trying to keep up the aerial pace. Tho’ U.n.c. has cooled more in total yards in the last three than VeeTee.

On the other LOS (line of scrimmage) side… VeeTee has nearly been steady in defensive ypg allowed. Both airwaves and ground-chuck wise. Although U.n.c. has slipped by just over –5o ypg surrendered and that is the one prime mover from either halt-unit here.

EDGE=VeeTee (more so on D, tho’ just a smidgeon on O as well).

H/A spits...
On O, VeeTee is just slightly better (earlier on) as the visitor and U.n.c. is just slightly homey worse. Tho’ it is right on the 1st-down margin of change or Δ, so not a metric ton to see here pro or con from either offensive side either way.

On the other LOS (line of scrimmage) side… it was U.n.c. that pretty surprisingly bettered by nearly ≈45 ypg fewer allowed when warring @home. Nearly all of which was courtesy of tightening up on down on the ground. With VeeTee only off by 5-yards alike in aerial and trench warfare terms or a non-plus mover here.

EDGE=U.n.c. (as they are somehow someway 29 spots better in rushing D allowed in their own backyard; go fig’ here?)

Our handy dandy friend, the so-called: Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is merely calling for a fortnight’s ask back.

BONUS:
Virginia Tech has won five of six and seven of nine meetings with UNC. The Hokies are 38-1o all-time against teams from the state of North Carolina… did that help?

the call…

…tough one to call.

As same as last week, this one is strength (U.n.c. O vs. VeeTee D) on strength and yet again weak (VT O vs. U.n.c. D) on weak crime.

And frankly, I’d have to favor the more offensive team @home pitching-n-catching away in their own backyard; way more often than not.

Nevertheless, does God want a weathering word or three with that?

💦

the sportlight…

…here in the sportlight… we are first 30-minutes really concerned; aforementioned weather Allowing of course…

…that S1, Jalen Stroman being shut down and shut out for the first half due to targeting rules vs. w.V.u. As in you just gotta think they are gonna touch our juggled secondary line-up as a primary looksee early, midway, and late in the first half of play.

Now we hear that Cb1 CB Dorian Strong (hand, St.Julia bless) may be unavailable as well.
That’s no small ask vs. the aerial flying circus of U.n.c. gents.

Meaning… do we have the firepower to hang in there (for the 1st two) period(s)?
Never mind if we open up having to chase by more than 1.5 full plays.

U.n.c. Projected S&P+: 47th.
U.n.c. Projected S&P wins: 8.1 W’s.

♥  ♣  ♦ ∪

Stunningly enuff… guess who is actually up ≅ +70-yards per game of Total Yards year-to-date? (And therefore, in they are supposed to win by about 1-full-play)?

Yup.
Eye did not guess it either, tho’ the Prybar Defense is leveraging things in V.P.I.’s favor just like dat.

However, then we see that against the two D-1 name teams we have played and split against you ask? Our O is averaging just over two-fiddy (256 ypg). Would you honestly say that that is enough to summit Chapel Hill?

Or, rather, do we need some special special-teams play(s) or some
non-offensive scores to keep the likely pace?

The closer…

So, methinks the key is the opening couple or three series…

…VeeTee must maintain boxing’s ‘contact’ and not chase vs. such vastly higher-powered O out on the A.c.c. road.

–oOo–

"I think we press and we kind of get out of sorts,"

"Sometimes I look out there and it's like a panic. We're not playing together."

Then we found ^that^ from Pry himself.
And that just cannot read or encode well, can it?
Even reads a bit confused or mixed as in up, does it not?

Ergo, therefore, to Whit… the start=the finish here.

VeeTee starts slowly or outright outgunned poorly?
VeeTee could get swamped.

VeeTee makes a play, pops trickeration, or just somehow is within 1-play at Intermission and the good guys do have a shot to steal this one vs. one of the few big-name teams that they will enjoy a couple of science-fact match-up advantages against this campaign.

Tho’ Eye warn you again…

1. the first step in rebuilding a culture is to learn how to win @home.
2. The 2nd step in rebuilding a culture is to learn how to win on the road.
3. The final steps are showcased in beating the breaks off heavy underdogs and in finding a way to win when you do not play your best.

If you ask me -and you did via reading these very words- if you ask me that is two steps ahead of where we R.A.T.T. currently slot. Although we prolly do have a middleocore N.b.a. 3-point shooters’ shot at mixing it up in this one nonetheless.

The Calculus here however reads: …four.

As in…, VeeTee does not seem capable of breaking the 4-score barrier on O; every bit as much as U.n.c. does not seem capable of disallowing the 4-score barrier to be broken on D.
A.c.c.ordingly, something suspect has gotta give here.

So, that is your in-game barometer or millibars of Mercury (Hg).
28-points. The first squadron there wins.

2o or 3-scores if we are on the soak cycle.

Admittedly, as farrago and non-sequitur as this will surely read…

Nobody wins this one folks…

As methinks one of these 2 suspect units (VT O, U.n.c. D) gives this game away in the slop.

🙏>>>🏈

upset Index=32%

#wimps!

Virginia Tech=2o, North Carolina=39

“LETS GO!“

Please support the VT F.C.A.!

“HOKIES!“

bourbonstreet**