Can UNC's defense bounce back against Louisville? ROBERT WILLETT

UNC at No. 19 Louisville
When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, Ky.
TV/radio: ABC or ESPN2/WRDU-106.1

Quick slant: Larry Fedora’s first non-conference road game of his tenure at North Carolina will be a difficult one. The Tar Heels go on the road to play 19th-ranked Louisville, which entered the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the Big East. The Heels will attempt to rebound from the 28-27 loss they suffered last week at Wake Forest, while the Cardinals hope to improve to 3-0. 

UNC QB Bryn Renner briefly left the game on Saturday at Wake Forest after a violent collision near the goal line. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner said on Monday that the hard hit he endured on Saturday at Wake Forest didn’t affect his play.

“I just want to clear that up for everybody,” he said, adding that any mistakes he made after that play weren’t a result of it.

The nasty collision happened early in the second quarter of Wake’s eventual 28-27 victory. On a 3rd-and-goal play from the Demon Deacons’ 1-yard line, Renner scrambled to his right and attempted to break through the goal line.

A.J. Blue played well in the absence of Giovani Bernard on Saturday at Wake Forest. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina sophomore running back Giovani Bernard said exactly one week ago that he felt “great.” This was after Bernard had left the Tar Heels’ season-opening victory against Elon with an apparent knee injury.

Bernard sat out the second half of that game, which wasn’t a surprise, anyway, given the lopsided score. And then he sat out the entirety of UNC’s 28-27 loss against Wake Forest on Saturday.

By then, Bernard’s absence wasn’t necessarily a surprise; rumors had spread on various Internet forums that suggested maybe Bernard wasn’t as healthy as Bernard and coach Larry Fedora were letting on. Plus, Bernard appeared to be limited in practice last week.

The question now, of course, is when will Bernard be back? This weekend at Louisville? The following weekend at home against East Carolina? Asked earlier today about Bernard’s status, Fedora said this:

Generating pressure on a the quarterback was a challenge for UNC on Saturday at Wake Forest. PHOTO: Robert Willett

WINSTON-SALEM — And welcome to the day after. North Carolina suffered a 28-27 defeat on Saturday at Wake Forest – the first loss of Larry Fedora’s coaching tenure at UNC.

UNC running back Gio Bernard amassed 203 all-purpose yards last week, but will he be good to go against Wake Forest? PHOTO: Robert Willett

WINSTON-SALEM — And welcome to BB&T Field, which will always be Groves Stadium to me. We’re a little less than two hours from North Carolina’s game here today against Wake Forest. And of course, it is the ACC opener for both teams.

As I look out over my laptop and out of the press box, I see puffy gray clouds and a pale blue sky. Rain and thunderstorms could be a possibility today, folks. Brace yourself for the possibility of the two most dreaded words for any college football beat hack: lightning delay.

Let’s hope not.

In the meantime, a couple pregame thoughts here from Winston-Salem:

Ramses will have to watch the Tar Heels on TV this weekend, when they travel to Wake Forest. PHOTO: Robert Willett

UNC at Wake Forest
When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
Where: BB&T Field, Winston-Salem
TV/radio: Fox Sports South/WRDU-106.1

Quick slant: After starting the season last week against FCS opponents, North Carolina and Wake Forest today open their conference schedule against each other. UNC has won just one conference opener since the start of the 2001 season, and that lone victory came last season against Virginia. The Tar Heels haven’t played at Wake Forest since 2007.

UNC offensive coordinator Blake Anderson (center) is wary of Nikita Whitlock and the Wake Forest defense. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — Media members earlier this week had a chance to catch up with Blake Anderson, the North Carolina offensive coordinator, after a practice. Anderson, of course, was happy with how the Tar Heels fared in week 1. But he still found plenty of flaws with the offense during that 62-0 victory against Elon.

Anderson’s offense will face a more difficult task this weekend at Wake Forest.

Here’s what he had to say about that, and a variety of other topics:

UNC coach Larry Fedora doesn't disclose much about injuries. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — Given it's playing a conference opponent on Saturday, North Carolina earlier today released its first injury report of the season. And, as you might expect, it was not all that revealing.

The Tar Heels listed five players who will be out for the game against Wake Forest on Saturday:

The UNC offense moved at a quick pace on Saturday against Elon -- but not quick enough for coach Larry Fedora and offensive coordinator Blake Anderson. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — If you’ve read even a little this week about North Carolina football, you’ve probably seen the word “tempo” or time or two. Or “pace.” Whichever. They both refer to the same thing: the speed of the Tar Heels’ offense.

Not necessarily the speed of running back Giovani Bernard or receiver Erik Highsmith or any other player. But the speed of the offense as a whole, related to how quickly it moves from one play to the next. The Tar Heels were fast in that 62-0 season-opening victory against Elon.

But not fast enough. At least, not according to coach Larry Fedora and offensive coordinator Blake Anderson.

UNC recorded its first shutout since 1999 last week against Elon. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — After North Carolina’s 62-0 victory against Elon on Saturday, coach Larry Fedora and others made it clear that the Tar Heels still had much work to do. The most glaring of those issues involved the pacing on offense, which Fedora and offensive coordinator Blake Anderson found far too slow.

But what about the defense? The Tar Heels on Saturday shut out an opponent for the first time. They allowed less than 3 yards per play. Was there anything that stood out there, like the pacing on offense, that clearly needed work? I asked Fedora that on Wednesday.

“No, not really,” he said. “Not really. You held them to 1.2 yards a rush. You created four turnovers. You did some really nice things. But there were a couple of third down situations we’d have liked to have got off the field and eventually we stopped those drives but you’d like to get off earlier.”

I wrote a story you can read here about what, exactly, UNC took from such a dominant defensive performance – but one that came against a clearly-overmatched opponent.