Not again.
On third-and-short against Louisville on Sept. 9, the North Carolina offense ran a handoff to freshman Michael Carter. He got the ball from redshirt-freshman Chazz Surratt, but tried to cut back around the defenders.
Tackled. Fourth down, cue the punt. Carter made the same mistake against California the week before, and it ended in a fumble recovered by the Golden Bears. The Tar Heels couldn’t afford another missed opportunity.
After the loss to Louisville, offensive coordinator Chris Kapilovic met with sophomore running back Jordon Brown and Carter. On a third-and-short, first-and-goal down, he said, don’t go for the big play – go for the first down.