Joel Klatt outlines if North Carolina has improved since opening loss vs. TCU

North Carolina‘s 48-14 loss to TCU made headlines for all of the wrong reasons during Week 1. Since then, the Tar Heels have won two-straight heading into their final non-conference matchup of the season on Saturday.

Joel Klatt joined Colin Cowherd on ‘The Herd’ on Wednesday, where Cowherd asked Klatt to explain what aspects of the game where the Tar Heels have improved. According to Klatt, North Carolina has gone back to the basics.

“They’re blocking better. They’re staying on blocks longer. They’re getting off blocks quicker on defense, they’re aligned quicker,” Klatt told Cowherd. “They’re aligned more foundationally. They don’t turn the football over. So, they’re not a good or great team yet, but they are clean.

“They’re cleaner than what they played against TCU early. And to expect that team to play clean with 70 new players and a new coach probably was an unrealistic expectation from all of us.”

During Week 2 and 3, North Carolina outscored its opponents 61-9 and haven’t allowed a touchdown defensively since the TCU loss. The Tar Heels’ most recent win came against Richmond, where they won 41-6. Before that, UNC defeated Charlotte on the road.

“Every single week, they get a little bit better with the things that they can control,” Klatt continued. “There’s an old adage in coaching is that the only thing you have 100% control over is your own effort level. And details within the system and taking care of those details fall under effort level. What I see is a team that is just cleaner from the effort and detail of the way that they’re playing.”

Looking ahead, the Tar Heels will look to take advantage of a favorable ACC schedule. Since Clemson dropped out of the AP Top 25, as of Week 4 North Carolina will not play against a ranked team this season.

North Carolina takes on Clemson on Oct. 4, but after a 1-2 start the Tigers fell out of the rankings. They completely avoid some of the better teams the conference has to offer. This includes Miami and Florida State — both ranked in the top 10 this week — as well as SMU, who made the College Football Playoffs one year ago, and Georgia Tech, who joined the Top 25 after its upset win over Clemson last weekend.

For now, UNC will turn its attention toward UCF for a true road matchup. Kickoff is slated for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air live on FOX.