The performance wasn't exactly flawless by North Carolina's defense on Saturday against Georgia State. But it was a significant step forward on that side of the ball that propelled the Tar Heels to a 35-28 win in Atlanta.
A defense that the week before surrendered 40 points and more than 300 yards of offense in the fourth quarter against Appalachian State overcame early issues to hold the Panthers to 58 yards and scoreless over the final 15 minutes at Center Parc Stadium. The effort came after Georgia State (0-2) had pulled even with UNC at 28-all near the end of the third quarter.
Junior defensive lineman Kaimon Rucker, who had six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the game, said the fourth-quarter turnaround was all about leadership.
"There were a couple of times we had our backs against the wall and (safety) Cam'Ron Kelly, (linebacker) Power Echols and some others got us together and said 'We can't focus on the scoreboard. We've got to focus on us.' I felt once we established that and were able to lock in, we were able to shut them out in the fourth quarter. It was a way better performance today than last week.''
The Tar Heels (3-0) had to thwart a two-point conversion play in the final 31 seconds to pull out the 63-61 win against Appalachian State. But despite the victory, the fourth-quarter breakdown loomed over the defense all week as it prepared to play Georgia State.
"We had the biggest chip on our shoulders today,'' Rucker said. "We were embarrassed at Appalachian State. That's not our standard and not what we want to do. So we focused all week on being physical and technically sound, and it showed today.''
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Now the Tar Heels turn their attention to perhaps the most challenging portion of their 2022 schedule. After an open date this week, they'll host Notre Dame (Sept. 24) and Virginia Tech (Oct. 1) on consecutive Saturdays before playing Miami on the road (Oct. 8).
UNC coach Mack Brown said the open date will hopefully allow his team to get some injured players back on the field. Junior receiver Josh Downs has missed two straight games with a knee injury, while offensive right tackle Spencer Rolland and running back Caleb Hood also sat out the Georgia State game with lower body injuries. Receiver Antoine Greene has also missed the first three games due to a shoulder injury.
"The biggest thing we've got to do is get healthy, and get some guys back out there,'' Brown said. "When you lose your best two receivers, that's tough. And your best player on offense (Downs). So we've got to get them well and get them back on the field.
"I saw Antoine Greene running, catching balls last week, so hopefully he will be able to get back and play. They haven't told us that, but he is out running and catching. Spencer Rolland needs to get back. And then you've got two or three guys banged up on defense. So we'll have to be smart.
"But overall, I'm happy to be 3-0, and happy to have two wins on the road. Both of them were tough wins, which really helped us grow up and put us in position where we can have two weeks here to fix a lot of things.''