Quick Hitters - North Carolina vs. South Carolina (Duke's Mayo Bowl)

Isaac Schade presents Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 38-21 loss to South Carolina on Thursday afternoon in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

Author:
Isaac Schade
Dec 31, 2021 12:22 AM EST

Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 38-21 loss to South Carolina on Thursday afternoon in the Duke's Mayo Bowl

Highlights:

Condensed Game:

A disappointing end to what most people will deem a disappointing season for a Carolina football team that entered the 2021 campaign ranked 10^th in the AP poll with lofty team and individual goals.
UNC ultimately lost to South Carolina by 17 after trailing by 18 in the first quarter and by as many as 19 five minutes into the second half.
The loss saddles the Tar Heels with their first losing record of Mack Brown’s second tenure in Chapel Hill and just the third in his 13 total years coaching UNC. Coach Brown had a streak of 10 straight seasons coaching Carolina to a winning record. The only two other losing seasons were his first two (1988 & 1989).
Carolina ends the season having never won more than two games in a row, and they did that just once (games two and three). The Heels end the season also having dropped three of their final four. Of course, just a few plays in the other direction and UNC would have beaten both Pittsburgh and NC State and come into the bowl game having won four straight.
Garrett Walston caught just one pass in his final game as a Tar Heel, but it was a 37-yard touchdown reception (the fifth of his career) off a trick play.

That touchdown pass to Walston means that Sam Howell ends his Carolina career having thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 37 games he played as a Tar Heel (assuming he's finished with his time in Chapel Hill).
If Howell’s collegiate career is indeed over, in his three seasons as the Tar Heel quarterback he threw for 10,283 yards, 92 touchdowns, and just 23 interceptions with a 63.8 completion percentage (713-for-1117). Howell also had 369 rushes for 1009 (net) yards (remember that negative sack yardage counts against a quarterback’s total in college) and 17 touchdowns. 828 of those rushing yards and 11 of those rushing touchdowns happened this season. Howell also had four receptions in his career for 24 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior British Brooks (who is returning next season) had just four rushes for 10 yards and a touchdown through the first 10 games of the season. All of that came against Georgia State in UNC's second game. The final three games of the season though? 285 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 27 attempts. That’s an average of 95 yards and one touchdown on nine attempts per game. Carolina has a lot of backfield talent coming in next season but the coaching staff will want to at least give Brooks the opportunity to battle for the starting running back role.

Josh Downs finished his breakout sophomore campaign with his fewest receptions (three) and second-fewest receiving yards (62) of the season. After starting the year with a touchdown in each of the first seven games, Downs didn’t find the end zone in any of the final six. His three receptions did get him over the 100-catch threshold for the season, finishing with 101. Downs finishes with 1,335 yards and eight touchdowns on those 101 catches, good for an average of 102.69 yards per game.
As good as Downs was, one of the biggest emphases in the offseason will be raising up a second receiver to relieve some of his workload. The next closest receiver this year (Antoine Greene) had less than half of Down’s receptions (31) and receiving yards (612).
After making just 12 of 18 field goals in 2020, Grayson Atkins hit 19 of 23 this season. Three of the four misses were from 50+ yards (from which he also made two), meaning that Atkins was 17-18 from inside the 50 and a perfect 9-9 from inside the 30.
In his two years as a Tar Heel, Atkins was a perfect 115-115 on PATs. You can’t ask for much more from a college kicker.
Cedric Gray led Carolina with a career high 13 total tackles, had one of the team’s two sacks (Tomon Fox had the other), and was the only defender with multiple TFLs (two). Cam Kelly (12) and Power Echols (10) also had double-digit tackles.
Gray ends the season with a team-leading 99 total tackles, 24 ahead of Jeremiah Gemmel’s second-place 75. If Downs was the breakout sophomore on the offensive side, Gray was his counterpart on the defensive side of the ball. The Tar Heels will expect big things from their junior linebacker in 2022. That Gray led the team in tackles this season is all the more impressive considering he had just two in the first two games. Starting with his breakout game against Florida State, he had double-digit tackles in five of the final eight.
The defense finished the year allowing 32.08 points and 417 yards per game. For reference, those numbers were 29.42 points and 353 yards last season and 23.69 points and 308 yards in 2019.
It will be an interesting off-season as the Tar Heels look to correct the year's multiplicity of faults. Will there be coaching changes? How will the Tar Heels replace the best quarterback in program history? Will the offensive line be able to provide better protection for whomever that quarterback is? Will the defense, which gains even more talented depth, be able to hold opponents in check?

Box Score

Mack Brown postgame press conference

Players postgame press conference

Sam Howell

Tomon Fox

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina football game when the 2022 season rolls around. Stay tuned into All Tar Heels throughout the off-season for all your UNC football news and updates.

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