Game #12: North Carolina

In Western Carolina's twelfth and final regular season game, the Cats travel to Chapel Hill for the first-ever meeting with the Tar Heels on the gridiron. This will also be the second FBS game of the season for the Cats..

Western Carolina will play the Tar Heels for a second time in the 2018 season, again in Chapel Hill.


When: Saturday, November 18 (Time - TBA)
Where: Kenan Stadium (63,000) - Natural Grass -  Chapel Hill, NC
Weather forcast:

SAT NOV 18

AM Showers

63°40°

40%

SW 13 mph

Radio: Catamount Sports Network
- Talent:  Gary Ayers (pxp), Daniel Hooker (color), Jeff Bryson, Greg McLamb (sideline)
TV / Video: ACC Network Extra
Head Coach: Larry Fedora (Austin College, ‘85)
Game Notes:   Western Carolina  -  UNC -  SoCon Weekly Review

Record at North Carolina: 42-33 (5 yrs)
Career Record: 76-52 (9 yrs)
Basic Offense: Spread
Basic Defense: 4–3
Lettermen Returning / Lost: 32 / 20
Starters - Returning / Lost (O/D/S): 15 (5/7/3) / 12 (6/4/2)
Series History: First Meeting

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.

Games played by UNC this season prior to the WCU game: (9) - 2017 Record: 2-8 overall, 1-6 conf., 0-6 home, 2-2 away
-Cal (home) Lost 30-35 to the Bears
-Louisville (home) lost 35-47
-Old Dominion (away) won 53-23
-Duke (home) lost 17-27
-Georgia Tech (away) lost 7-33
-Notre Dame (home) lost 10-33
-Virginia (home) lost 14-20
-Virginia Tech (away) lost 7-59
-Miami (home) lost 10-24
-Pitt (away) won 34-31


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 returned just 13  percent of their total offense (passing, rushing, receiving) from last year's team. They had to replace their top passer, two leading rushers and three standout wide receivers from last season.

The Tar Heels have had a significant injury problem this season, below is a partial list of players out for the season:
Corey Bell Jr., CB  - Junior
Antwuan Branch, TB  - Freshman
Jesse Cuccia, S  - Junior
Luke Elder, OL  - Redshirt Freshman
D.J. Ford, S  - Sophomore
Rontavius Groves, WR   - Redshirt Freshman
Tommy Hatton, OL   - Sophomore
Thomas Jackson, WR  -  Junior
Devin Perry, WR    -  Junior
Tyler Powell, DL   - Senior
Austin Proehl, WR   - Senior
Jacob Schmidt, TB  -  Junior
Andre Smith, LB   -  Junior
William Sweet, OT   -  Sophomore
Carl Tucker, TE    -  Sophmore
Noah Turner, TE   -   Sophomore

2017 UNC Statistics (thru 10 games):
Rushing Offense: 1695 yards
Yards per game: 133
Yards per rush: 3.7 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 68
TDs rushing: 14
Passing Offense: 2129 yards or 213 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 6.4 yards
Passing 1st downs: 102
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 332-180-14
TDs Passing: 13
Total Offense: 3464 yards or 346 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 14 - 6
Field goal attempts: 15 - 21
PAT-Attempts: 51 of 52 (98%)
On-side kicks: 0-1
Red Zone Scores: 23 of 29
Red Zone Touchdowns: 19 of 29
Punts - Yards: 50 - 2134

and lastly..... guess who is the quarterbacks coach  at UNC?   answer.......  Keith Heckendorf

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