Tar Heels On Quest For Consistency In Run Game

BERKELEY, Calif. — North Carolina hasn’t had the easiest time running the ball consistently this season, but the Tar Heels strung together a solid performance on the ground against California in Friday’s 21-18 loss.

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UNC’s running backs averaged 4.5 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns in the run game, setting power-conference highs for the team in rushing touchdowns and yards per carry by running backs. Friday was the first time UNC managed more than 100 rushing yards against a power conference team in four meetings this season.

“The backs ran hard, and they ran with good ball security,” Bill Belichick said on Friday. “Cal blitzes a decent amount. They have some big linebackers. Thought the backs really did a good job stepping up and handling the blitz, too. So, that’s probably the biggest challenge we felt coming into the game was our linebackers picking up those blitzes. And I thought they were pretty competitive on that. So, yeah, running the ball is good. And when there’s holes, then those guys hopefully can make yards with the ball in their hands, extra yards beyond what’s blocked. And it looked like we did that a few times. So I thought they played (well) as a group.”

Benjamin Hall played his best game as a Tar Heel against Cal on Friday, running for 68 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Those 68 yards marked a career-high for Hall. Hall has now led UNC in rushing yards two games in a row, though the first of those two games was a 24-yard effort on five carries against Clemson.

Following Hall on Friday was Davion Gause, who picked up 31 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Demon June, who took the reins as the first-string running back earlier this season, rushed for 10 yards on four carries.

Gause led the way with 32 snaps, Hall played 26 snaps and June played 10 against Cal.

June leads UNC this season with 276 rushing yards on 42 carries, though his performance against Richmond, in which he racked up 148 yards, contributes greatly to that number. June didn’t play in UNC’s opener against TCU. Hall is second on the team with 136 yards on 34 carries, quarterback Gio Lopez is third with 80 yards and Gause is fourth with 75 yards on 23 carries.

Hall sustained a hand injury earlier this season, but he didn’t miss any games as a result. He didn’t receive a carry against Richmond but did play on special teams. Caleb Hood, who began the season as UNC’s starting running back, medically retired after five games.

“I like where we are,” Hall said on Wednesday, two days before the Cal game. “I like when we’re running the ball downhill. I think that’s a good point of our offense, when we’re running that ball downhill. And I think as we continue to grow as an offense, we can do more of that. Just hoping to continue to grow as an offense and continue (to run) the ball downhill. I think we have guys in the room that can do that.”

UNC ranks 14th in the ACC in rushing yards per game, averaging 105.2 per game.

North Carolina continues to look for consistency in the run game, as the quest for establishing a lead back is ongoing. UNC hasn’t rushed for 200 yards in any game this season, and against power conference teams, UNC is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry in four games.

The Tar Heels play mostly with a downhill running style, using a by-committee approach. With six ACC games approaching, they’ll have to find ways to effectively run the football and build on the improvements they made on the ground against the Golden Bears.

“I think we’re very versatile in that room,” offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens said on Wednesday. “We got a couple of guys that offer different strengths and weaknesses and things like that. And secondly, I like the room because they work their tail off each and every day. As far as getting more yards per carry, it’s just a microcosm of everything else. Everybody needs to do their job just a little bit better, communicate just a little bit better. And they would be the first to say that they need to do their job just a little bit better.”