The Grades: UNC Game
Here are our position grades for the Tigers, in their 21-20 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels
Quarterbacks: B-
Trevor Lawrence was good, but not great, as he struggled to find consistency. The downfield passing game was hit or miss, as Lawrence missed some big chances to capitalize on some blown coverages with bad overthrows.
But at the end of the day, when the Tigers needed him to make a play with his arm, and legs, he came through.
Running Backs: C-
Travis Etienne and Lyn-J Dixon combined for 87 yards, but it was not just their lack of production that gave them a low grade.
Etienne put the ball on the ground for the fifth time in the first five games, and lost his second fumble of the season—after having lost two in his entire career heading into this week's game.
The running backs missed picking up the blitz on more than one occasion.
Wide Receivers: B+
The receivers, as a whole, caught the ball thrown to them—however, the overall grade was boosted by the play of Tee Higgins.
Higgins finished the game with six catches on eight targets for 129 yards and the Tigers' game-winning 38-yard touchdown reception.
Tight End: C
The tight ends get a passing grade because they were not a factor in either a positive or a negative way. Outside of J.C. Chalk, who for whatever reason, was targeted on numerous deep balls that left head coach Dabo Swinney scratching his head post game, the rest of the tight ends were a non-factor–both in a positive way and a negative.
Chalk finished with two receptions for 30 yards, including a key third down reception.
Offensive Line: F
This game left much to be desired from the offensive line, as they had four false start penalties in the game—with three of the four coming on third down.
It was not only the penalties, as the line allowed only one sack, but gave up seven quarterback hurries.
The untimely penalties, an inability to get any push in the running game and not giving Lawrence a chance to survey the field gave the line a failing grade.
Defensive Line: C+
The defensive line struggled to get much pressure on Sam Howell, against a much-maligned offensive line. The line's inability to plug up holes, led to the Tigers getting torched for 146 yards on the ground.
In fact, the Tar Heels two top rushers combined to average 6.2 and 4.9 yards per carry.
The line accounted for only 2.5 of the Tigers nine TFLs and only 17 of their 64 total tackles in the game.
Linebackers: B
The Tigers' grade was boosted by the play of Isaiah Simmons, who amassed 10 tackles, five solo, one sack and 2.5 sacks. However, there were too many missed tackles.
The same problem of missing tackles that has plagued the linebackers through the first four games snuck up and bit the Tigers numerous times this weekend. Once the running back broke the the line, numerous times linebackers were left missing tackles and leaving the back running free into the third-level.
Secondary: B+
The secondary kept true freshman Sam Howell in check for the majority of the game, as he completed only 15 passes for 144 yards—as, was stated earlier, the majority of the Tigers issues defensively came as a result of their inability to stop the run.Here are our position grades for the Tigers, in their 21-20 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels
