Several sections of Kenan Stadium were sparsely filled nearly 10 minutes before kickoff on Saturday. PHOTO: Andrew Carter

CHAPEL HILL — If you watched North Carolina’s dominant 62-0 victory against Elon on Saturday at Kenan Stadium, you probably noticed a couple things: For one, the Tar Heels looked quite impressive against a clearly-overmatched opponent.

Two, Kenan was far closer to empty than full. At least in the second half, when uncomfortable heat and an uncompetitive game drove people out of the stadium. By the end, when the final seconds were ticking away, there might have been only a few thousand left in Kenan Stadium. 

UNC running back Giovani Bernard returns a punt 70 yards for a touchdown in the Tar Heels' 62-0 victory against Elon on Saturday. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina returned nine punts in its 62-0 victory against Elon on Saturday, and the Tar Heels returned those nine punts for 260 yards total – an average of 28.9 yards per return.

One thing to note before we go on: Elon is not a good football team. At least it wasn’t on Saturday. And the Phoenix, an FCS team from the Southern Conference, struggled on punt return coverage like it did in no other area, which is saying something.

That said, the Tar Heels had an all-time punt return performance on Saturday. To put it into perspective …

UNC quarterback Bryn Renner wasn't satisfied with the Tar Heels' pacing on Saturday. Neither was coach Larry Fedora. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — If you haven’t already, be sure to give the story I wrote for today a quick read. It’s about North Carolina’s offensive tempo during the Tar Heels’ 62-0 victory on Saturday against Elon – and how UNC coaches and players weren’t all that happy with it.

To recap, UNC on Saturday ran 74 plays – about 12 more on average than what the Heels ran last season – and accumulated 524 yards. But even when they ran 43 plays for 336 yards, offensive coordinator Blake Anderson described that as “slow” on Saturday.

UNC running back Gio Bernard says he's good to go after leaving the Elon game with an injury. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — So much for the Giovani Bernard injury watch. Bernard, the North Carolina sophomore running back, amassed 203 all-purpose yards during the Tar Heels’ 62-0 victory against Elon on Saturday but left the game not long before halftime with an apparent knee injury.

At least, that’s how it was described on the Tar Heels’ radio broadcast. Bernard wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of his injury on Monday, but assured reporters that he feels fine and that he’s over whatever it is that forced him out of the game on Saturday.

“I feel good, I feel great,” he said. “[It was] just a little precautionary kind of thing – I feel good.”

UNC coach Larry Fedora had much to be pleased about after his team's 62-0 victory against Elon. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina cruised to a 62-0 victory in coach Larry Fedora’s first game. Here’s a breakdown of the Tar Heels’ victory.

Three things to take away from UNC 62, Elon 0: 

CHAPEL HILL — During the days leading into his first game as North Carolina’s head coach, Larry Fedora expressed doubt. He said he didn’t know what to expect out of the Tar Heels in their season opener against Elon. 

UNC on Saturday at Kenan Stadium might have exceeded even Fedora’s most optimistic hopes. The Tar Heels scored on seven of their nine possessions in the first half and cruised to a 62-0 victory against the Phoenix, a lower-division FCS team from the Southern Conference. 

CHAPEL HILL — It’s here at long last: The first game of Larry Fedora’s coaching tenure at North Carolina. The Tar Heels’ first game of the 2012 season begins here at Kenan Stadium in a little less than an hour.

While I made the short half-mile walk from my place over to Kenan, I did feel a bit of a buzz in the air. Feels like something new is starting.

To get you ready for kickoff, here’s a story I wrote about UNC quarterback Bryn Renner and running back Giovani Bernard, who are the first 3,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rushing combination to return in the ACC since 2003 (N.C. State’s Philip Rivers and T.A. McLendon).

UNC coach Larry Fedora knew Elon was in North Carolina, but said earlier this week he didn't know exactly where. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — College football season is here. Games start tonight. The team that North Carolina fans love to hate (N.C. State) plays tomorrow night. And then the Tar Heels and most of the rest of the country begin play on Saturday.

Elon is visiting Kenan Stadium in a game that will begin at 12:30 (and be televised on the ACC Network or, as I like to call it, The Artist Formerly Known as Raycom). Elon, of course, is a 1-AA school (or FCS, if you prefer) from the Southern Conference.

But you already knew that. Here are some other things to know about the Phoenix:

Vic Koenning and Dan Disch (not pictured) have shared equal responsibilities in installing UNC's 4-2-5 defense. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina has utilized a kind of co-defensive coordinator approach with Dan Disch and Vic Koenning, both of whom have similar titles and similar roles in leading the Tar Heels defense.

Disch is technically the team’s defensive coordinator. And Koenning is the associate head coach for defense.

So who’s going to be calling the defensive plays for the Heels?

North Carolina's first depth chart of the season has been released, with few surprises. PHOTO: Robert Willett

CHAPEL HILL — And oh, yes. North Carolina’s depth chart for the season-opener against Elon is out.

Here it is: