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North Carolina College Football: UNC Falls Late, NC State Wins It’s Third.

By Joseph Ochoa

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 21: Thomas Hennigan #5 of the Appalachian State Mountaineers reacts after their win against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Mountaineers won 34-31. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 21: Thomas Hennigan #5 of the Appalachian State Mountaineers reacts after their win against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Mountaineers won 34-31. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Rounding Up This Week’s Action in North Carolina

Welcome to our college football roundup for the NCAA Football season. We are going to break down all the action that happened for some of the major football programs in the state during week four.

We had some teams righting the ship after a loss, and we had another dramatic finish for App State against a Power-Five opponent.

We also break down the issues that have been plaguing the teams as they reach the first third of their seasons.

Alright, lets jump right into it.

UNC Falters Late against App State

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels watches his team play against the Appalachian State Mountaineers during the second half of their game at Kenan Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Mountaineers won 34-31. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels watches his team play against the Appalachian State Mountaineers during the second half of their game at Kenan Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Mountaineers won 34-31. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

The University of North Carolina Tar Heels’ comeback attempt fell short Saturday as they fell to the Appalachian State Mountaineers 34-31 in Chapel Hill.

The Mountaineers were up 27-17 at the half, but the Tar Heels came thundering back and brought the game within three points and had the final drive of the game. The Tar Heels attempted a last-minute field goal to tie the game, but it was blocked by Akeem Davis-Gaither, sealing the win for the Mountaineers.

For App State, it was the team’s first major win over a power-five conference school since 2007, when the team famously went to the Ann Arbor, MI and took down the Michigan Wolverines in one of the most famous upsets in college football history.

For UNC, it is a crushing defeat, to say the least. Mac Brown seemed to fix the issues on offense, but the defensive issues that have plagued the team for the latter half of the decade are still lingering, which isn’t a good sign with a matchup against Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers coming up.

McKay Struggles in Victory

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: Matthew McKay #7 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack drops back to pass against the East Carolina Pirates during the first half of their game at Carter-Finley Stadium on August 31, 2019, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: Matthew McKay #7 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack drops back to pass against the East Carolina Pirates during the first half of their game at Carter-Finley Stadium on August 31, 2019, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Later Saturday, the North Carolina State Wolfpack took down the Ball State Cardinals 34-23 with the highlight of the game being a 76-yard punt return touchdown by Thayer Thomas.

A point of concern for the Wolfpack is the play of sophomore quarterback and Raleigh native Matthew McKay. McKay threw for 175 yards no touchdowns and one interception, which given that Ball State was middle of the road in defense, is a problem.

McKay also hasn’t thrown for more than 300 yards since the first game against a very suspect East Carolina Pirates defense., since then his yardage splits are 200 yards against Western Carolina, 207 yards against West Virginia and now his 175 against Ball State.

Despite the mediocre quarterback play, the Wolfpack are 3-1 going into the team’s conference schedule. There is a chance the team can win its first four conference games before hosting the Tigers, but they will have to take a road trip to Tallahassee to take on the Seminoles.

Pirates Return to .500

GREENVILLE, NC – SEPTEMBER 16: A general view inside of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium during the game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the East Carolina Pirates on September 16, 2017 in Greenville, North Carolina. Virginia Tech defeated East Carolina 64-17. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images)
GREENVILLE, NC – SEPTEMBER 16: A general view inside of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium during the game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the East Carolina Pirates on September 16, 2017 in Greenville, North Carolina. Virginia Tech defeated East Carolina 64-17. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images) /

Speaking of the Pirates, the team defeated the William & Mary Tribe 19-7. Sophomore quarterback Holton Ahlers was solid in the game, throwing for more than 200 yards for the first time this season.

The biggest issue the Pirates have had is consistency. When they win, they play lights out on defense, as they average eight points-per-game allowed in the teams two wins. When they lose, however, they look REALLY bad, giving up 38 ppg on defense.

The Pirates will have a matchup against Old Dominion before they get fully entrenched in their conference schedule, giving the Pirates another chance to tune up the consistency on defense.

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