UNC Football: Tar Heels drop season opener to California 35-30

The Tar Heels falter late and lose their third-straight season opener.

After opening up as 12.5 point favorites, the North Carolina Tar Heels found a way to blow another season opener.

In what was an up and down performance, Carolina just couldn’t put together a good string of drives to keep Cal down and out.

Getting off to a 17-7 start, the Heels were outscored the rest of the game 28-13, a last second touchdown coming for Carolina.

Senior grad transfer, Brandon Harris, got the start at quarterback but never really looked comfortable and finished the game 7-for-16 with 60 yards and two interceptions.

Redshirt freshman Chaz Surratt proved he was worthy of the starting spot, bringing the only touchdown drives to Carolina’s offense.

Look no further than the first quarter; Harris played two possessions and the offense had a total of three yards, while Surratt had three possessions and gained 103 total yards.

Eventually taking over full time in the second-half, Surratt finished with 161 yards on 16-of-28 passing and one touchdown. He also rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Another bright spot for the Tar Heels was freshman running back Michael Carter. A real spark plug in the first half, Carter finished with 11 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns (though only 4 carries came after halftime).

The defense, which only had one interception all of last year, had two today, but still didn’t improve on their inconsistent problems they had the last couple of years.

The play that changed the game was at the 1:20 minute mark of the second quarter when the Carolina defense stopped Cal on third down but was flagged for a late hit penalty when Jalen Dalton hit Cal quarterback Ross Bowers.

Dalton was ejected for targeting, and Bowers proceeded to throw a 67-yard touchdown to Vic Wharton on the very next play to cut the Tar Heels lead to 17-14.

Carolina had a chance to get points going into the half but after a good possession led by Brandon Harris, he threw an interception in Cal territory.

The Tar Heels found themselves with another opportunity to get points right out of halftime but failed to convert on a 45-yard field goal.

On what looked like a promising Cal drive late in the third quarter, Andre Smith took an interception 75 yards down to the Cal four yard line, resulting in a four yard touchdown from Surratt to Thomas Jackson.

To begin the fourth quarter, Cal converted on back-to-back fourth down plays that eventually led to a 20 yard touchdown pass from Bowers to Jordan Duncan to take the lead 28-24.

Surratt took the Tar Heels down the field the next possession but failed to convert on a fourth-down play at the Cal 30 yard line. Bowers made some big time third down plays on their next drive and led them 70 yards down the field, eventually leading to a one yard touchdown run for Vic Enwere to seal the Tar Heels’ fate.

One of the biggest problems all game long was Carolina’s offensive line, giving the quarterbacks very little time in the pocket.

Senior wide-out Austin Proehl had a very quiet afternoon, catching only four balls for 55 yards.

Jordon Brown, one of the more productive players on the field for the Tar Heels, had 13 carries for 54 yards and nine catches for 53 yards.

In his first career start, Ross Bowers finished 28-of-35 passing for 363 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Freshman All-American wide-out Demetrius Robertson was shut down all afternoon, catching just three passes for 12 yards.

Junior wide receiver Vic Wharton III had a career day, finishing with five catches for 156 yards and one touchdown.

The Tar Heels head back to practice needing to fix a lot of issues ahead of their week two home matchup with 2016 Heisman winner, Lamar Jackson, and the Louisville Cardinals.