Offense: F
Quarterback: FRunning backs: D
Wide receivers: F
Tight Ends: F
Offensive Line: F
What more needs to be said when the offense puts up zero points and 189 yards of total offense? Nothing went right for Idaho, and the only question to ask is why. This is the same Vandal team that drove over 75 yards for a touchdown against LSU, yet couldn’t find the end zone against a likely ACC squad.
Dominique Blackman had his worst game since becoming an Idaho Vandal. The touted junior completed less than 60 percent of his passes for the first time all season, only tossing 109 yards on a measly 3.1 yard-per-attempt average. Then there were the four interceptions. Some of them were clearly poor reads by Blackman.
The running backs gave the offense just a little bit of life…on one play. James Baker had a 22-yard run that helped him finish with a 6.3 yard-per-carry average, but as a team the Vandals rushed for 3.7 yards-per-carry, excluding quarterback carries and sacks.
Wide receivers were off all night. Najee Lovett had problems taking the ball up field after the catch, instead choosing to dance laterally that prevented first downs.
Defense: F
Defensive Line: F
Linebackers: F
Secondary: F
Five North Carolina touchdowns were 30 yards or longer. Three of those were passing plays, including the first touchdown of the day less than two minutes into the game. North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner averaged 12.2 yards-per-attempt, which basically means every time he dropped back, the Tar Heels got a first down.
There was one lapse in which he overthrew a receiver and was picked off by Idaho corner Solomon Dixon, but the Tar Heel defense quickly erased that.
The lack of speed showed for the Idaho linebacker unit. Sua Tuala may not have been 100 percent after dealing with a hamstring problem earlier in the week, and Matt Willis may have been a little bit overwhelmed with playing snaps after being not much of a factor the first four weeks of the season.
Special Teams: D
Trey Farquhar: A+
Bobby Cowan’s blockers: F
Bobby Cowan: C
Returners: F-
The barometer for just how awful a game this was for Idaho is located within the special teams unit, which is usually stellar for the Vandals.
Trey Farquhar kicked off. He did it only once, at the beginning of the game. The score was tied, so those were good times.
Bobby Cowan had two punts blocked, one of which set up the Tar Heels for first and goal, and they scored. When Cowan did have time to get punts off, he only averaged 38.6 yards-per-punt. However, he did down two inside the 20 and had a long of 52.
Returning was a sore spot. Justin Veltung had one punt return for -11 yards. The kick returners averaged 18.7 yards-per-return on ten returns.
Sean Kramer can be reached at [email protected]