North Carolina football vs. NC Central first look: Key matchups, player to watch

Talk about a rough start to a football game. On North Carolina’s first possession Saturday against Charlotte, quarterback Conner Harrell was hammered to the ground by defensive end Dre Butler for a 12-yard loss.

On the next possession, UNC faced a third-down play from its 11-yard line. Harrell scrambled, running in and out of the end zone, moving to his right and buying some time before throwing back across the field toward wideout J.J. Jones as he was falling.

Jones outfought cornerback Dontae Balfour for the ball and a first down. It also lowered the heart rate for UNC coach Mack Brown.

“That’s one of those plays where you go, ‘NO! NO! Don’t throw! Oh, good job, great play,’” Brown said after the 38-20 victory over the 49ers in the Heels’ home opener at Kenan Stadium.

Brown shouted out the words so loudly after the game that Harrell might have been able to hear them in the locker room at the Kenan Football Center. The sophomore also could hear them a few more times as his learning process as a starting quarterback continues this season.

Brown has had a pair of quarterbacks in Sam Howell and Drake Maye who were adept at making plays “off schedule,” as coaches like to say. In other words, successfully improvising when things break down.

Harrell did that to pick up the first down and it also seemed to settle him down. The Heels took the ball on a 94-yard scoring drive, Harrell making a nice throw to tight end Bryson Nesbit for a 30-yard TD, Nesbit bowling over Balfour, a former Tar Heel, at the goal line.

“There were definitely some nerves today,” Harrell said. “My first start in Kenan. It was awesome but there was nerves for sure.”

In his first start of the season, Harrell had a 16-of-25 worksheet for 219 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.

“The one interception he had, he got hit,” Brown said. ”That’s our fault. But he’s tough, he’s smart, he can throw it.”

With transfer quarterback Max Johnson out for the season with a broken leg, it’s Harrell’s team to lead. There will be good plays and bad, some that have Brown antsy and shouting, some that leave him clapping his hands and celebrating.

The Tar Heels (2-0) face N.C. Central (1-1) on Saturday at Kenan Stadium, with the Eagles coming in following a 41-19 loss to Elon. Again, a lot of eyes will be on No. 15 at quarterback for UNC.

“He knows we got a chance to have a really good team,” Brown said. “We’ve got to have a quarterback step up. There’s a tremendous amount of pressure, and we’ve got to take that pressure off of it and really help him.”

Key game matchup

The Tar Heels should have a decisive edge in depth and talent this game against NC Central, an FCS school in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. UNC got a lot of players into the game Saturday and will be looking to do the same against NCCU, keeping players fresher and again allowing younger guys to play.

An early test for the Eagles will be their offensive line and its snap-to-snap battles with the Heels’ defensive front. UNC will again be lacking rush end Kaimon Rucker, out with an injury, but end Des Evans and tackle Jahvaree Ritzie have stacked together back-to-back games against Minnesota and Charlotte that have drawn the coaches’ praise.

“Des Evans is playing his tail off and playing so hard,” Brown said. “I thought Travis Shaw played good again tonight. The interior people all played good. Josh Harris has added so much to us just because of depth. Kevin Hester doesn’t have to play tired anymore.”

The UNC defense calls third down the “money down” as the 49ers were 2-for-14 on third-down conversions. If the Eagles offense can’t stay on the field – Central was 3-of-11 on third down Saturday against Elon — it will make for a long day.

UNC player to watch: Jahvaree Ritzie

The senior defensive tackle is on a tear, with five sacks in the first two games. This from someone who had 2.5 sacks in his career before this season.

Ritzie was named the Outland Trophy national player of the week after his six tackles and three sacks against Minnesota in UNC’s 19-17 season-opening win. He’s the first UNC defender since Kareem Martin in 2013 to have five sacks in two games.

“Last year, I played a lot of positions,” Ritzie said Saturday. “I feel like me focusing on just the one has allowed me to just change my game.”

One of Ritzie’s sacks resulted in Max Brown, the 49ers starting quarterback, leaving the game with an injury. After his second, in the fourth quarter, he quickly broke into a brief sack dance.

Betting odds

As of Sunday night, betting was off on this matchup.

How to watch

The game will be shown on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) through ESPN.com/watch and the ESPN app. Those without cable can access ACC Network through a live TV streaming service including fuboTV, Sling, Hulu + Live and YouTube TV.

North Carolina (2-0) vs NC Central (1-1)

When: 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14.

Where: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill.

TV: ACC Network Extra.

Series: It will be the first football game between the two UNC system schools.