2017 Football Preseason Preview: North Carolina

Throughout this preseason, Purple & Gold has previewed all of Western's 2017 football opponents., here's the final preview.  


In the Cat's twelfth and final regular season game of the season, Western Carolina travels to Chapel Hill for the first ever meeting with the Tar Heels.


The Cats will also play the Tar Heels in the 2018 season in Chapel Hill.









University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  

When: Saturday, November 18 (Time - TBA)

Where: Kenan Stadium (63,000) - Natural Grass -  Chapel Hill, NC

Radio: Catamount Sports Network

TV / Video: TBA

The Series: First meeting on the football field between these two UNC sister schools.

Last season's Record (Tar Heels):  8-5 overall, 4-2 home, 4-1 away, 5-3 ACC - The Tar Heels ended the season losing 3 of their last 4 games.

Head Coach:  Larry Fedora - North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora, who is entering his sixth season at UNC, has built a program in Chapel Hill that provides his student-athletes the chance to excel on the gridiron, in the classroom and in the community. Over the last five seasons, the Tar Heels have set records in bunches, electrified fans with their special teams play, produced numerous professional prospects and finished first in the Coastal Division on two occasions. Fedora, who already ranks fifth all-time at UNC with 40 victories, signed a new contract extension in May to keep him in Chapel Hill through the 2022 season.


Starters Returning/Lost: 13 /  12

Offensive starters - Returning/Lost: 5  /   6

Defensive starters - Returning/Lost: 7  /  4

Specialist - Returning/Lost: 3   /   2

Key Offensive losses: C - Lucas Crowley, OT - Jon Heck, TB - Elijah Hood, WR - Bug Howard, WR - Ryan Switzer, QB - Mitch Trubisky

Key Defensive losses: DE - Mikey Bart, S - Dominquie Green, DT - Naz Jones CB - Des Lawrence

The Tar Heels return just 13  percent yards of their total offense (passing, rushing, receiving) from last year's team. They must replace their top passer, two leading rushers and three standout wide receivers from last season. One of the biggest names to transfer in is ex-LSU signal caller Brandon Harris. After a turbulent career with the Tigers, Harris hops to run Fedora's offense for his final collegiate season.

The Heels began camp in 2017 with two grad transfers, Florida's center Cameron Dillard and USC's Khaliel Rodgers. Dilliard started 19 games for Florida before having a season-ending knee surgery in 2016 and maybe the front runner for the starting center spot. Rodgers however recently departed from the team.

2016 UNC Statistics:
Rushing Offense: 2174 yards
Yards per game: 146
Yards per rush: 4.7 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 96
TDs rushing: 21
Passing Offense: 3811 yards or 293 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 8.3 yards
Passing 1st downs: 168
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 313-459-6
TDs Passing: 30
Total Offense: 5707 yards or 439 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 14 - 10
3d Down Conversions: 75 of 165 (45%)
4th Down Conversions: 6 of 15 (40%)
Field goal attempts: 15 - 21
PAT-Attempts: 51 of 52 (98%)
On-side kicks: 0-1
Red Zone Scores: 46 of 55 (84%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 36 of 55 (65%)
Punts - Yards: 50 - 2134
Penalties-Yards: 99-797



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