Preview and Prediction: UNC Tar Heels

The No.1 ranked Clemson Tigers (4-0, 2-0 ACC) look to wrap up a busy first month of the season, that has seen the Tigers already play four games, as they travel for their fifth game to a place where head coach Dabo Swinney has yet to win a game—Chapel Hill, to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-2, 0-0 ACC).

Clemson enters the contest averaging 524.8 yards per game, the second-best mark in the ACC and just shy of last year's school-record pace of 527.2 yards per game. Last week, Clemson posted 466 yards in the midst of playing a school-record 111 players.

Through four games this season, Clemson has accrued 2,099 yards of offense, the team’s most through the first four games of a season, surpassing the 2,054 posted by the 2017 squad through four weeks. With 493 yards this week, Clemson can break the 2013 squad's mark for the most yardage through the first five games of a season during the ACC era.

Clemson's overall defensive performance in the first four games of the season has been yet another masterpiece drawn by Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables, who has produced Top 10 defenses in each of the last five seasons. This week, Clemson will attempt to hold a fourth straight opponent to 10 or fewer points for the first time since 2000.

Who to watch when Clemson has the ball:

Trevor Lawrence (QB): Lawrence posted five 300-yard games in his freshman campaign in 2018, including 300-yard efforts in both College Football Playoff games. He posted his sixth career 300-yard game in Week 3 of the 2019 season, throwing for a career-high 395 yards in a win at Syracuse.

While mild panic has emerged from national observers about Lawrence's five interceptions thus far in 2019, Lawrence still holds Clemson's career interception rate record and is the only quarterback in school history with at least 100 passing attempts to throw an interception on fewer than two percent of his passes.

Travis Etienne (RB): Since becoming Clemson's starting running back entering the 2018 season, Etienne has accrued 2,053 rushing yards and a national-best 28 rushing touchdowns. In that time frame, Etienne has single-handedly outrushed 17 FBS programs, including five Power Five schools.

Etienne concluded the 2018 season having scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of Clemson's final five games of the season. He totaled nine rushing touchdowns (plus one receiving touchdown) in those final five contests. He opened the 2019 season with a career- high-tying three-touchdown performance.

Myles Dorn (SS; UNC): Dornhas played in 37 career games, starting 24, and tallied 192 tackles, five INTs and 14 PBU during his career.

Dorn ranks 6th in the ACC with 8.5 tackles per games, had a season-high 12 tackles and two tackles-for-loss against App State and added five tackles, 1.0 TFL, two pass breakups and an interception at Wake Forest.

Who to watch when UNC has the ball:

Xavier Thomas (DE):The true sophomore made an immediate impact as a reserve in 2018, earning near-unanimous Freshman All-American acclaim … entered 2019 credited with 43 tackles (10.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks and two pass breakups in 304 snaps over 15 games … selected as a second-team Preseason All-American for 2019 by both Phil Steele and Athlon.

In 2019, Thomas picked up where he left off, as he has amassed four tackles (1.5 for loss) with a half-sack vs. Georgia Tech, added two tackles including a half-sack vs. No. 12 Texas A&M and made three tackles, including his first full sack of the season, at Syracuse … contributed two tackles (one for loss) vs. Charlotte.

Isaiah Simmons (LB): Athletic defender who transitioned from safety in 2017 to the starting nickel/sam linebacker position in 2018 … entered 2019 credited with 146 career tackles (12.5 for loss), 2.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception (which he returned 27 yards for a touchdown) in 29 career games (14 starts). He was selected as a Preseason All-American for 2019 by Phil Steele (first-team) and Athlon (second-team).

This year he tied for team-lead with nine tackles vs. Georgia Tech, sharing team defensive player of the week honors, recorded five tackles and a pass breakup vs. No. 12 Texas A&M and led Clemson with 11 tackles and a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss including 2.0 sacks at Syracuse, earning ACC Linebacker of the Week and sharing team defensive player of the week honors.

Sam Howell (QB; UNC): Sam Howell became the first true freshman in UNC history to start at quarterback in a season opener. He led the Tar Heels on a 70-yard scoring drive that resulted in a field goal on his first collegiate series. He finished 15 of 24 with 245 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Howell threw his first career touchdown pass on a 22-yard strike to sophomore Dyami Brown 33 seconds into the fourth quarter. Howell led his second-consecutive fourth-quarter comeback againt Miami after going 16 of 24 for 274 yards and two TDs and no turnovers.

Preview:

Clemson holds a 37-19-1 lead in the series with North Carolina that dates to 1897, the second year of Clemson football. The 1897 game was just the sixth game in Clemson football history, and the Tar Heels won that game, 28-0.

It was the first game for the Tigers against a team presently in the ACC.Clemson has won six of the last seven meetings between the schools, dating to the 2002 season. North Carolina’s only win over Clemson the last 17 years took place in 2010, a 21-16 Tar Heel win in Chapel Hill.

This week, the Tigers pick up Swinney's first win at Chapel Hill and run their current win-streak to 20 games.

Prediction:

Zach Lentz: Clemson-52 UNC-10

Jeremy Styron: Clemson-35. UNC-10

Susan Lloyd: Clemson-55 Sticky Heels: 13