Bill Belichick and Dabo Swinney are two of the most accomplished coaches in the game, but their teams came into their opening ACC matchup with a lot to prove.
Two programs looking to quiet separate narratives.
The Tar Heels are hoping to show the Belichick experiment is working. There’s been a lot of off-field headlines in recent weeks, but coming into the Clemson game, the on-field results were positive.
The Tigers were embarrassed on national television in week one versus LSU and had an uninspired effort in week two versus Georgia Southern. Many questioned Swinney’s roster-building abilities in this new age of football, but he was insistent that his team would improve.
In the end, both teams left their meeting with many of the questions surrounding them still unanswered.
North Carolina got off to the better start, but a 2.5-hour rain delay was enough time for Clemson to regroup and steal the win in the final eight minutes, 28-20.
As both teams shift gear and prepare for a rough road ahead, there are a few lessons to be learned from this game that could help down the line.
Let’s take a look at some of the top takeaways for both teams.
Clemson’s youth fuels comeback
Tait Reynolds looked a lot more comfortable leading the Clemson offense as he had time to settle into the game.
The freshman finished 20-of-29 for 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He wasn’t perfect, missing a few throws and making some bad reads, but he got better as the game progressed and avoided mistakes on the closing drives.
“If you can’t see Tait Reynolds and be excited, I don’t know what you’re looking at,” Swinney said.
Reynolds wasn’t the only young star to shine.
Sophomore Gideon Davidson had his best game of the season so far, breaking the 100-yard mark and finding the end zone to put the Tigers ahead.
Juniors Bryant Wesco Jr., T.J. Moore and Christian Bentancur had a solid game as the leading receivers, combining for 150 yards.
With how dire things looked the first two weeks, Clemson can go into week four knowing there were positive signs of life on offense against the Tar Heels.
While still a far cry from their glory days, the Tigers can be a competitive ACC team by having competent offensive production.
UNC’s offense is too one-dimensional
On the contrary, alarm bells should be going off inside North Carolina’s locker room because they have a huge problem. The offense is too predictable.
It didn’t hold the Tar Heels back early, but Clemson’s comeback was in part fueled by UNC’s own failure to get anything going.
Quarterback Billy Edwards looked overwhelmed, finishing the game 13-of-30 for 135 yards, a touchdown and an interception. It was easily his worst game of the season, following two decent but far from exciting outings against TCU and ETSU.
The Tar Heels understood his limitations early and leaned on their run game, with a mix of quick, short passes.
This game plan helped UNC build a 17-3 lead about 20 minutes into the game, but Clemson’s defense adjusted accordingly. North Carolina earned 179 yards on its first four drives, but got just 63 on its next four.
Out of the delay, the Tar Heels moved into the red zone and could’ve gone up nine in the fourth quarter. The team tried three straight run attempts inside the 10, but failed and had to settle for three.
“We missed an opportunity down there. I’ll just leave it at that,” Belichick said.
Clemson took the lead, and the Tar Heels had no response, turning the ball over on downs and throwing a pick on the final two drives. The pass game just couldn’t get going and match what Clemson had.
The loss undermines a strong outing from running back Benjamin Hall. He surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time this season, averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
His efforts were not enough to overcome the rest of UNC’s offensive shortcomings.
The path ahead gets challenging
This meeting was just one of the first in a string of upcoming tough games for both teams, making the results of this meeting all the more important.
Clemson’s playoff hopes are still intact, as an early ACC loss to an unranked UNC team would’ve deflated any confidence the team could make it there.
The Tigers will travel to the West Coast next to play Cal. Then comes the most interesting stretch of the season as the team’s next three conference games are against No. 6 Miami, James Franklin’s Virginia Tech and Florida State.
To achieve what they want this season, Clemson will likely need to win at least two of those games.
North Carolina’s upcoming schedule is somehow even more difficult.
The Tar Heels’ season could quickly get away from them as the team travels to Notre Dame before jumping back into conference play with games against Pitt, Duke, Syracuse, Miami and Louisville. Excluding Syracuse, the other four teams are a combined (11-1) this season.
A once promising start to the year will either quickly sour or surprise. One thing that’s for sure, by the end of that stretch, we’ll have a better idea of Belichick’s future in Chapel Hill.
