UNC wants longer drives

CHAPEL HILL – Last weekend, North Carolina faced Georgia Tech’s wear-you-down-with-the-run option. This weekend, it will try to defend East Carolina’s big-play, spread-it-out attack.

The offenses seem like polar opposites, but UNC (3-1) is emphasizing the same thing as it prepares for Saturday’s trip to Greenville: keep the Pirates’ (1-2) playmakers on the sideline, by keeping the Tar Heels’ offense on the field.

“We've got to sustain drives,’’ Carolina interim head coach Everett Withers said Monday. “You can't be in third-and-7-plus as much as we were in last week …. We've got to do a better job of keeping on schedule and getting in third-and-3 or less so we can convert on third down and stay on the field.”

During Carolina’s 35-28 loss at Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels were 3-for-8 on third down conversions. Exacerbating the situation was the fact that on every third down, they had at least seven yards to gain.

During their opening drive, when they scored to go ahead 7-0, quarterback Bryn Renner found receiver Dwight Jones on a third down play for an 11-yard gain. During the fourth quarter, on UNC’s game-tying drive, Renner connected with tailback Gio Bernard on third down for 19 yards. And when UNC was driving at the end, Renner passed to tight end Eric Ebron for a 24-yard gain.

(For another look at Saturday's matchup, check out 208 photos from the UNC game.)

But more often, those long third downs resulted in an incompletion or a sack – positions Renner (who was sacked seven times) doesn’t want to be in this weekend.

“Obviously, you want to gain as many yards as possible, but first and second down, just taking pride in getting half of 10 years is a big key we’re going to work on this week, whatever it takes,” he said.

Shortening those third downs could begin with the run game. Although Bernard finished with a career-high 155 yards, the bulk of that came on big breakaways. When UNC got in long third-down situations, meanwhile, it was usually because of some combination of a short run and an incomplete pass (or sack).

Withers said he’s been pleased with the play of Bernard, but he still wants to play senior Ryan Houston and sophomore A.J. Blue more, too. Finding the right combination out of the backfield could result in a more time-eating attack.

Meanwhile, Renner has vowed to start getting rid of the ball before the defense can bring him down.
“It really shouldn’t be that difficult, just because of the amount of reps I’ve taken the last three years,’’ Renner said. “So I really need to have that clock in my head.”

Anything it takes, he said, to eat up the clock, put points and the board, and keep the Pirates’ attack sidelined.

“It’s really going to rely on our offense to stay on the field to keep possessions going,’’ Renner said. “ It’s the same theme; the more time we can control the ball, the better we have a chance to win. And it’s going to be huge this week.”

INJURY UPDATE: Defensive back Jabari Price, who began practicing again last week after having hand surgery during training camp, is day-to-day, Withers said. Starting wide receiver Erik Highsmith (ankle) is also day-to-day, but he hopes to have them both available this weekend.

Kicker Casey Barth, who missed Saturday’s loss because of a groin injury, probably won’t play at ECU. “We want to make sure we take care of him, get him back and get him healthy,’’ Withers said.

Linebacker Zach Brown, who played only special teams at Georgia Tech because of disciplinary reasons, will also play defense again Saturday, Withers said.