You can’t complain too much about a defensive performance that gave up just 13 points to a Big Ten team, but I’ll give it a shot anyways. The UNC Tar Heels’ defense complemented its high-flying offense nicely but not without some scares against Minnesota on Saturday, and after three games, it looks like the demons of last year’s defensive debacle are firmly behind the Heels. Let’s do some grading!
Defensive Line: C-
After two decent-to-good games, the UNC front came back to Earth slightly against the Golden Gophers’ jumbo-sized offensive line. Minnesota’s rushing game was routinely successful, with lead back Darius Taylor averaging over 6 yards per carry on his 22 rushing attempts as the UNC line simply got washed out of the way on more occasions than not and didn’t record a single non-sack tackle for loss.