Over the weekend, the North Carolina Tar Heels dropped their second consecutive game, losing to the Miami Hurricanes, 38-35.
Falling to 4-4 on the season with only a handful of games remaining, and postseason play in potential jeopardy, Tar Heels fans will be biting their nails in the final four games of the regular season. With Miami ranked No. 1 in the country, the Tar Heels were expected to be blown out. However, they had the Hurricanes on the ropes, with an early fourth-quarter lead.
Ultimately, North Carolina fell just short in its upset bid. However, a major reason it was even in a position to pull off the unanticipated upset was quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. The veteran signal caller was excellent in the defeat. Without getting too deep, here’s an evaluation of his performance.
Edwards Jr.’s Stat Line
The Wisconsin transfer completed 28-of-34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns in Saturday night’s loss. It goes without saying that it was Edwards Jr.’s best performance this season. He was spectacular, connecting on four passes of 20+ yards, which hasn’t been a feature of the offense this season; explosive plays have been non-existent. Those types of plays were necessary to keep up with Miami.
Leading up to the game, everyone, myself included, was highly critical of Edwards Jr., following his lackluster outing in the loss to Syracuse. He was one of the main contributors to the Tar Heels coughing up a double-digit lead. Based on his underwhelming performances throughout the season, there was a chance North Carolina was run out of the building on Halloween.
Obviously, that wasn’t the case, and Edwards Jr. deserves a ton of credit. His fumble near the end of the game will be magnified, but otherwise, he was impeccable.
Who Helped Edwards Jr. the Most?
Heading into Week 9, North Carolina’s passing production was heavily reliant on Jordan Shipp and Jelani Thurman as the clear-cut top targets. Edwards Jr. connected with nine different pass catchers, a testament to how well he saw the field and navigated his progressions.
- Jelani Thurman: five receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns
- Jaylen McGill: six receptions for 69 yards
- Trech Kekahuna: three receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown
- Jordan Shipp: four receptions for 44 yards and one touchdown
Thurman leads the team in receiving touchdowns this season, adding two more against Miami. Meanwhile, Shipp had modest production. Kekahuna’s involvement in the offense was one of the more pleasant developments, as the Wisconsin transfer was expected to be a pivotal part of the passing game. That has yet to transpire, but the last two weeks have shown that could change in the final weeks of the season.
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