Clemson and North Carolina met last season in Charlotte for the ACC Championship game, which turned out to be the coming-out party for Cade Klubnik. Clemson won the game 39-10 behind a stellar performance by Cade Klubnik where he went 20-24 for 279 yards, 1 passing touchdown, and added 30 rushing yards with 1 rushing touchdown.
This season’s matchup between the Tigers and the Tar Heels will be the penultimate game of the regular season. There is a chance that this late in the season this game could have major implications on the ACC race, possibly the playoff race, and even the Heisman race for one or both of the quarterbacks in this game.
North Carolina Offense:
North Carolina will be replacing their offensive coordinator Phil Longo, who went on to be the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin. Stepping in for the Tar Heels is Chip Lindsey who will be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Lindsey is a coaching veteran of 26 years and is known as one of the nation’s most innovative offensive minds. Chip Lindsey was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCF.
Chip Lindsey is jumping in to coach one of the best quarterbacks in the country, Drake Maye. Any time you have an elite quarterback you should be in a position to win a lot of football games. North Carolina is returning 6 offensive starters and 62% of their total offensive production. Drake Maye was not only the leading passer but also the leading rusher for North Carolina last year. The Tar Heels will be bringing back their top three rushers Drake Maye, Elijah Green, and Omarion Hampton. The biggest loss for UNC will definitely be wide receiver Josh Downs, and their second-leading receiver Antoine Green who are both now in the NFL.
North Carolina is expected to be starting JJ Jones at one of the wide receiver spots who had 24 catches and 434 yards last season. At one of the other starting wideout spots will be Nate McCollum who has played the last three seasons in Atlanta for Georgia Tech. The biggest question for this offense will be centered around transfer wide receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker. We are less than a week away from the opening game for North Carolina and as of right now, Walker will not be eligible to play. North Carolina is still holding out hope that the NCAA will overturn the decision, but for now, they have to move forward with the next man up.
North Carolina Defense:
It is no secret that the North Carolina defense was abysmal last season. The Tar Heels finished the season ranked 102nd in total defense. However, UNC will be returning 8 defensive starters and 68% of their total defensive production. Nine of the eleven projected starters are juniors or older, and this defense is led by senior middle linebacker Cedric Gray. Last season Gray led the team in total tackles with 144, and he added one sack and two interceptions. In order for North Carolina to make a second straight trip to the ACC Championship game this defense will have to take a major step forward, so they can start to play complimentary football and make life a little bit easier for Drake Maye and the offense.
Gene Chizik is still the defensive coordinator in Chapel Hill, and he will certainly need to show some improvement this season for them to have a big season.
I tend to think that North Carolina WILL take a step forward on the defensive side of the ball, but how big of a step? That will be the big question this season for the Tar Heels.
What Will Happen This Year?:
This game will take place inside of Death Valley, and everyone knows how hard it is to come in and knock off the Tigers at home. I think that Drake Maye will have a bigger game this time around against Clemson than he did in the ACC Championship game. On the flip side of that, Cade Klubnik is the starter this year and won’t be coming in from the bench this year, and will have a lot more experience than he did when these two teams met last season.
I expect this to be a comfortable win for Clemson, and a statement win to put an end to the ACC portion of the Tiger’s schedule.
