Clemson at UNC: 2nd Quarter Review

Not many were expecting this Clemson team to get tested in Chapel Hill last weekend. The Heels had lost two straight and were coming off of a home loss to App State, but they were pushed to the brink and fortunate to come out with the win. The shaky performance continues a trend we have seen in recent years in which the Tigers have not played well in games leading into a bye week. With a week off before an improving FSU team comes to town, the coaching staff has plenty of film it can use to teach from, and hopefully get things on track for the stretch run of the season.

We pick it up at the start of the 2nd quarter with the Tarheels up 7-0. Clemson has the ball at its own 28 facing a 3rd and 4.

UNC 7 Clemson 0

Clemson Ball, 3rd & 4 CU 28, 15:00

• 3rd & 4- Lawrence to Higgins for 16; Back shoulder throw to right sideline, Dixon with nice job picking up the blitz

• 1st & 10 CU 44- Dixon with the carry, picks up 9; Chalke with a good block and Simpson seals off his man allowing Dixon to get around the left side
• 2nd & 1 UNC 47- Etienne picks up 6; IZ runs it right between Pollard and Cervenka
• 1st & 10 UNC 41- Lawrence to Ross for 31 yards; Ross runs a deep crosser across middle of the field

• 1st & Goal UNC 10- QB Keeper loss of 3; Lawrence pump fakes, then runs. Miscommunication, Lawrence and Higgins not on same page. One of many plays Surratt makes on the day
• 2nd & Goal UNC 13- Etienne TD; ETN goes untouched. Great block by Cervenka

UNC 7 Clemson 7

UNC Ball at UNC 25 12:43

• 1st & 10 UNC 25- Howell sacked by Jordan Williams, loss of 7; Williams easily gets by the RT
• 2nd & 17 UNC 18- Carter gains 8 on an inside run
• 3rd & 9 UNC 27- Howell to Brown incomplete; tight coverage by Terrell. Better throw probably draws the flag for PI, Heels punt

Clemson Ball at CU 28 11:09

• 1st & 10 CU 28- Etienne gains 9; ETN runs to the left behind a pulling Carman, good block
• 2nd & 1 CU 37- Etienne fumbles; Good gain on the play but ETN uncharacteristically has the ball stripped out of his hands by Surratt. Terrible timing as it looked like the running game was about to get going. Big momentum shift.

UNC Ball at CU 42 10:33

• 1st & 10 CU 42- Carter picks up 31; Counter, huge hole. Chad Smith gets to easily pushed out of position and Kendrick takes bad angle and falls

• 1st & 10 CU 11- Howell hits Corrales for 4; Quick hitch to the left. Nice open field tackle by Terrell
• 2nd & 6 CU 7- False start
• 2nd & 11 CU 12- Carter picks up 2; NIce, hard tackle by Skalski
• 3rd & 9 CU 10- TD, Howell to Corrales; Bust. Either Muse or Simmons fails to pick up Corrales over the middle and he is wide open

UNC 14 Clemson 10

Clemson Ball CU 25 7:55

• 1st & 10 CU 25- Etienne picks up a yard; Tries to bounce it around the left side, nowhere to go
• 2nd & 9 CU 26- Lawrence to Rodgers incomplete; out route to right sideline, thrown to high and double covered
• 3rd & 9 CU 26- Lawrence sacked; Surratt blitzes around the left side, untouched. Well timed blitz, Heels had the numbers, loss of 9. Tigers punt

UNC Ball UNC 40 6:16

• 1st & 15 UNC 35 (after false start)- Williams carries, loss of 1; Muse met him in the backfield
• 2nd & 16 UNC 34- Howell with a swing pass (lateral) to Brown, gain of 2. Brown looked as if he wanted to throw downfield, but everyone was covered.
• 3rd & 14 UNC 36- Howell to Newsome incomplete; Newsome was open over the middle, but the throw was low. Good throw picks up the 1st down, Heels punt

Clemson Ball CU 22 5:01

• 1st & 10 CU 22- Lawrence to Overton, no gain; WR screen well defended
• 2nd & 10 CU 22- Etienne gains 5; IZ ran behind Carman and Simpson
• 3rd & 5 CU 28- Lawrence keeps, gain of 16; Heels come on delayed blitz and middle of field was open for Lawrence to take off
• 1st & 10 CU 44- Lawrence to Higgins, gain of 28; pretty back shoulder throw down left sideline off play fake

• 1st & 10 UNC 28- Lawrence keeps, no gain; Faked the WR screen , then had to scramble
• 2nd & 10 UNC 28- Etienne for a yard; just no push, and nowhere to run
• 3rd & 9 UNC 27- Lawrence to Higgins 17 yards; delayed blitz, Lawrence scrambles to his right and throws a laser
• 1st & Goal UNC 10- Lawrence gains 6 on the keeper around right side
• 2nd & Goal UNC 4- IZ Etienne only gains a yard
• 3rd & Goal UNC 3- QB Keeper, TD Lawrence, runs it right behind H-Back Luke Price

Clemson 14 UNC 14 0:33

The Heels hand it off twice and run out the clock. The Tar Heels came in with an excellent defensive game plan and executed it very well. The Etienne fumble in the 2nd quarter was huge. Just as the Tigers were gaining some traction in the running game and had a little momentum, they turn it over and UNC makes them pay for it by scoring a TD four plays later. The teams headed into halftime tied 14-14.