The script, if not the result, of UNC’s game Saturday against Syracuse was inches away from being very different than it ended up being, thanks to a huge play on special teams. In a game that was otherwise dominated by the Tar Heels, that makes the third phase of the game by far the most interesting one to grade for this exercise. Without further ado, then, let’s talk a little about it, and also talk about what exactly goes into the team’s most complete win in a while:
Special Teams: B-
So, the big play: What I thought at the time was that the broadcast didn’t give Ben Kiernan enough room for doubt, because he took a while to actually touch the ground out of bounds and advanced his ball-carrying hand at least enough between getting hit and touching out of bounds to make it possible that he reached the line to gain.