Following an Upset Loss to Duke, North Carolina’s Defense is the ACC Goat of the Week for Week 8

No one enjoys piling on when things go wrong. But nonetheless, we’ve got to call out the ACC players who were counter-productive in helping their teams grab a victory this weekend. On the bright side for them, they can always get off this list next week. And for their sake, let’s hope they do.

ACC Goat of the Week, Week 8: North Carolina Tar Heels Defense

Up to this point, North Carolina’s defensive numbers have been deceptive; the result of two poor opponents getting shut out as a means to lower their points-per-game allowed. On Saturday, though, the Heels were exposed. Duke, whose run game ranks among the worst in the nation, posted 234 yards on the ground. Coupled with the Blue Devils’ typically strong passing attack, UNC’s D was lit up for 510 yards in total. They were beat the entire game, and if not for Carolina’s offense mounting a strong comeback in the fourth, the difference in this one would become much more obvious. Though in a nutshell, the game comes down to that very last drive by Duke. Getting the ball at their own 13, they drove 87 yards in 14 plays over two minutes and 59 seconds. The final play, a converted fourth-and-two, showed Blue Devils’ QB Sean Renfree a wide-open Jamsion Crowder in the end zone for the go-ahead score. During the drive, Renfree had no trouble finding receivers at all, going 8-for-11, for 79 yards passing — an utter failure on UNC’s part.

Honorable Mention:

Logan Thomas, QB/Virginia Tech (306 total yards, 53.6-percent passing, 2 TD, 2 INT)

Kevin Parks/Perry Jones, RBs/Virginia (32 combined rushing yards, 2 lost fumbles)

Boston College run defense (391 rushing yards, 4 rushing TD allowed)

Andre Williams, RB/Boston College (51 rushing yards, 2 fumbles, 1 lost)

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