by Sharon Thorsland
After another awful loss, North Carolina fans have broken out the “wait ’til basketball” chant. The Tar Heels put up a terrible performance at Georgia Tech, which has been their personal house of horrors for the past 24 years. That dropped them to 6-2 on the season, a record which usually would make UNC fans pretty happy. But after starting the season 6-0, people had started dreaming of ACC titles and a possible playoff berth. Not anymore. But the season goes on, and the Tar Heels are looking to bounce back against Campbell, a team they’ve never played before. The Fighting Camels are 4-4 on the year coming off a loss to Richmond. Kick-off is set for noon at Kenan Stadium.
Campbell has a veteran roster coached by former Panther safety Mike Minter. The Camels are averaging over 331 yards and 34 points per game, and they feature a dangerous dual threat quarterback in senior Hajj-Malik Williams. He’s thrown for over 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns with five interceptions, and rushed for another 322 yards and four scores. Williams’ top receiver is VJ Wilkins, he leads the team with 43 catches and has four touchdowns. Jalen Kelsey is a deep threat averaging over 17 yards a grab, while Chaney Fitzgerald has picked up 390 yards and two scores. And keep an eye out for 6’5 Ezeriah Anderson – he’s only got 19 catches but four of them are touchdowns.
The Camels have a three-headed monster at running back, with NaQuari Rogers, Lamagea McDowell and Chris McKay Junior combining for over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. Throw Williams in the mix, and that’s bad news for a UNC team that gave up a whopping 348 rushing yards to Georgia Tech last week.
On the other side of the ball, the Camels are allowing over 175 yards rushing per game. Their pass rush has been ineffective, they’ve only managed six sacks on the season. Linebacker Georgie Wilson has three of them. He teams with CJ Tillman and Monchovia Gaffney, they’re 1-2 in tackles and each has a pair of forced fumbles. Cornerback Ed Dennis leads the team with two interceptions. They’ll have their hands full with a UNC offense that is number one in the league and has Drake Maye under center, he leads the league in passing.
After two meltdowns in as many games, it’s safe to say no one on this team is looking past Campbell. This should be a “get right” game for the Tar Heels, and if they play to their potential they should easily beat the Camels. Will they come to play after a pair of disappointing losses that knocked them out of the Top 25? I think they will. Go Tar Heels!
