As offense falters, defense steps up in UNC football's hard-fought victory at Miami

For most of the season, the North Carolina football team's defense was its biggest liability. But in Saturday’s nailbiter at Miami, when the high-scoring offense sputtered in the second half, big defensive plays sealed the Tar Heels’ 27-24 victory.

Up three with 1:14 left on the clock, UNC opted to punt on Miami’s 44-yard line rather than try to convert the fourth down. The decision was a show of faith in the defense that had showed promise at key points during the game.

It wasn’t an obvious call to make — the Tar Heels had forced several turnovers and were effective against the run, but Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke had sliced up the UNC secondary with over 450 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Starting on Miami’s 10-yard line, the Hurricanes began marching up the field with short gains. As the game clock ticked below 20 seconds, Van Dyke reached for the big play and launched the ball over the middle of the field, but the pass was softly tipped by junior defensive lineman Kaimon Rucker. 

There to meet the foolhardy throw was UNC defensive back DeAndre Boykins, who came down with the pick to stifle the Miami comeback attempt. Boykins’ game-ending interception was the finale of several lead-preserving defensive stands on Saturday.

“We definitely gained confidence with those big plays we made on the defensive end,” Boykins said.

Miami struggled to get on the scoreboard early, punting on the opening drive after UNC junior linebacker Cedric Gray stuffed a run play on third and two. Several minutes later, junior cornerback Tony Grimes and graduate linebacker Noah Taylor wrapped up Van Dyke on third down, forcing the Hurricanes to attempt a 53-yard field goal that missed wide left.

The increased pressure from the front seven kept the Miami offense at bay, even as UNC’s cornerbacks gave up big plays through the air.

Early in the second quarter, a 41-yard pass to Jaylan Knighton and two costly penalties on junior edge rusher Desmond Evans put Miami in a first-and-goal situation. But even with the Hurricanes just two-yards away from tying the game at seven, the UNC defensive line held strong to hold the Hurricanes scoreless.

Big tackles from Keeshawn Silver and Myles Murphy stopped three straight inside runs, and a quarterback hurry from junior Kaimon Rucker forced the turnover on downs. UNC proceeded to take the ball 99-yards downfield and score a touchdown to go up, 14-0.

“We got down to that goal line, and that was really nothing but passion,” Gray said.

The Tar Heels’ defense still had shaky moments, allowing Miami to score 17 points in the second quarter as a result of big passing plays. However, the unit stepped up after redshirt first-year quarterback Drake Maye threw two uncharacteristic interceptions on back-to-back drives.

“We let them catch back up towards the end of the half,” Boykins said. “We came out and did what we had to do to win the game.”

With UNC leading 21-17 in the third quarter, Boykins sacked Van Dyke to force another turnover on downs. Early in the fourth quarter, Gray stopped another fourth-down conversion attempt with a forced fumble that was recovered by senior defensive back Giovanni Biggers.

UNC didn’t score a touchdown in the second half, but ultimately it didn’t matter. For what seemed like the first time this season, it was the defense that made up for the shortcomings of the offense.

“How about that defense? They’re stepping up,” Maye said. “Credit to those guys… They won us the game tonight.”

Now at the halfway point of the 2022 campaign, the five-win Tar Heels have much to be optimistic about. Maye has brought his team atop the ACC Coastal Division and within one win of bowl eligibility despite being backed up by one of the worst statistical defenses in the country.

If Assistant Head Coach for Defense Gene Chizik can continue to foster the growth that his unit has shown over the past two games, this UNC team could hit its stride at the perfect time.

“We feel like we can keep this thing going,” Boykins said.

@LucasThomae

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