FSU football: Three North Carolina weaknesses benefitting the Noles
By Kelvin Hunt
Pass Rush
The pass rush is one thing Syracuse does better than North Carolina. The 3-3-5 stack is aggressive, and Syracuse brings lots of guys on blitzes.
It’s why they are among the national leaders in sacks and tackles for loss( they have also played some weak competition). North Carolina has played slightly better competition, but they don’t have near the sacks or tackles for a loss.
They come into the game with 11 sacks (No. 60 nationally) and 30 tackles for a loss (No. 56 nationally). Last year North Carolina only had one sack and five tackles for loss against the Noles.
It was their first time seeing Jordan Travis and Mike Norvell, so I expect them to be more prepared in 2021.
However, I think we can expect, or at least hope to expect, Mike Norvell and company will have some tendency breakers to catch North Carolina off guard. I expect more of the same from FSU football, flexing running backs in the slot and wide receiver stacks.
However, the lack of a pass rush could allow Jordan Travis to be more accurate when attempting their shot plays vertically. These aspects will also open up the running game, and we’ll touch on that more in a bit.