Three takeaways as James Madison hands North Carolina football 70-50 loss

North Carolina coach Mack Brown hurled his hat in anger and frustration, perhaps bewilderment.

Defensive end Kaimon Rucker, out with an injury, gathered his UNC teammates around him on the sideline for a few choice words, pounding his chest.

Drake Maye, now in the NFL, could only watch helplessly, and the crowd thinned noticeably at halftime, especially a lot of the light blue.

For North Carolina and those who cheer for North Carolina, Saturday was a long, brutally tough and miserable day at Kenan Stadium as James Madison wrecked the Tar Heels in a stunningly easy 70-50 victory.

How bad was it for UNC? James Madison scored 53 points in the first half. No team had ever done that before, in any game, to a UNC football team.

Seventy points? That’s a lot to swallow. Only East Carolina had done that to UNC, putting up 70 in 2014, and JMU became the first to score 70 in Kenan Stadium

“Embarrassing day, shocking day,” Brown said. “You shouldn’t be at North Carolina and lose to a ‘Group of Five’ team, period. There are no excuses.

“The people who want to blame me, they should. I am at fault, one hundred percent,” Brown added. “I’m embarrassed for our whole program that we would put a product like that on the field. I feel really bad about that.”

JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett III, a sophomore who played at Greensboro Grimsley, had himself a day, accounting for a school-record seven touchdowns. Given time to throw and elusive enough, he was 22 of 34 passing for 388 yards and a career-high five touchdowns while running for 99 yards two scores.

Jacolby Criswell got the start at quarterback for the Tar Heels, and passed for 475 yards — third-most in school history — and three TDs. Omarion Hampton had 139 yards rushing and scored three times, but his were not easy yards.

James Madison (3-0), a 10-point underdog in the game, had an extra week to prepare and apparently used the time well. The Dukes, who had just one turnover in the game, scored TDs on five consecutive possessions in taking the 53-21 halftime lead.

“I think 53 points is ridiculous to score in a first half, but I thought we just kept executing,” JMU coach Bob Chesney said.

UNC (3-1) now must somehow recover from the humiliation of such a bad home loss to get ready for their ACC opener next Saturday at Duke.

Three takeaways from the game:

It’s Criswell’s team, for good or bad

The quarterback intrigue has ended at UNC. It’s Jacolby Criswell’s team to lead.

Criswell started Saturday and should stay QB 1 after doing all he could to generate points and keep the offense moving. He showed off a live arm and got his wideouts involved, something lacking in the first three games.

Earlier this season, Brown talked of the need for the team to embrace Conner Harrell as its quarterback after Max Johnson’s broken leg in the opener at Minnesota. Now, it’s Criswell, who started his college career at UNC, transferred to Arkansas, then came back to UNC this year as a graduate.

Criswell was out of shape and a distant third on the depth chart when fall camp began. Against Duke, he will again be the starter as ACC play begins.

Criswell does not have Harrell’s speed, but he’s fast enough, making a few nice runs against the Dukes. He has a much better arm and better touch on deep throws.

“He made some unbelievable throws today and he’ll just get better and better,” Brown said “He saw a whole lot of looks. They blitzed him a whole lot.”

One bad decision Saturday was a throw back across the field that Terrence Spence turned into a pick-6 in the first half with a 33-yard return -- Spence’s second pickoff of the game. Criswell later fumbled on a sack for another turnover.

At one point in Saturday’s game, Criswell had his helmet come off and had to leave the game for a play. In came Harrell, who then dropped the snap as JMU recovered -- a tough moment for the sophomore,

But if the Tar Heels found their quarterback Saturday, it came on a day when the defense went missing.

About that defense …

After their 3-0 start, the Tar Heels were touting a lot of good defensive stats.

UNC had held all three teams to fewer than 20 points. No one could run the ball on the Heels. A lot of players were getting into the games, keeping guys fresh.

The UNC defensive front was big, active and strong, even with Rucker out. Des Evans had been outstanding. Jahvaree Ritzie was picking up sacks. There were defensive disrupters everywhere.

“Everybody’s been bragging on them so much. And me, I’ve been bragging on them so much,” Brown said.

But the Dukes, with the extra week to game plan, had it planned out well, On the first snap of the game, Barnett went 38 yards on a keeper. That set the tone as a lot of other plays clicked just as JMU had drawn them up as the Dukes kept the Heels off-balance with their play-calling.

The JMU offensive line, with three seniors in the mix, rarely allowed Barnett to be hassled or pressured. The receivers got open. Running back George Pettaway, the former Tar Heel, added enough rushing yards to make him a threat.

Mainly, the Dukes passed. They had 288 yards at halftime as Cam Ross already had six grabs for 109 yards and Omarion Dollison two for 119, the damage done.

Man coverage, zone coverage, blitzes, eight-man drops … the Heels’ defense could not stop the bleeding in the first half, one of the worst in UNC’s football history.

“Our defense, which was outstanding the first three games, looked awful today,” Brown said. “We had communication problems, we had missed tackles, we had guys wide open for a touchdown. We didn’t do anything right.

“There were a lot of spiraling moments in this one.”

Special-team edge

Coaches have long bemoaned gaffes in the kicking game and on special teams, realizing the possibilities — many of them bad — during games.

Brown had insisted the Heels would, must, be better in that area this season. But the Dukes had the edge Saturday.

Spence blocked a punt that was returned for a TD — Spence’s seventh career block — and later had a 28-yard punt return. The Dukes recovered an onsides kick. Noe Reulas had a 50-yard field goal and punter Ryan Harrison a 57-yard punt.

UNC punter Tom Maginness never had a chance on the punt block. Spence, lined up to the left, took an outside route, raising his hands to bat the ball as Jayden Mines picked it up and scored.

“Special teams is the heartbeat of this team,” JMU’s Barnett said in postgame. “When you have a special-teams touchdown like that, especially that early, it really boosts your chances of winning.”

UNC answered with a block of its own in the third quarter, Caleb LaVallee getting the block and Davion Gause the touchdown on a 34-yard return.