North Carolina Football: 3 takeaways from Tar Heels’ Military Bowl win

2. The North Carolina defense rendered Temple one-dimensional

The photo at the top of this slide is one of the few bright spots that the Temple running game put together in the Military Bowl. Re’Mahn Davis broke through the North Carolina front seven for a four-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. Davis also put together a 14-yard carry in the first half, but otherwise he struggled to gain much ground. The feature back for the Owls headed to halftime with 30 yards and that short score on 10 carries.

Davis struggled to find purchase in the second half, gaining only six yards on five carries after the intermission. In total, the Owls managed to gain just 78 yards on the ground as a team as they averaged 2.3 yards per carry.

That put pressure on the passing game to produce, and North Carolina was ready to thwart that productivity. Anthony Russo went 12-of-20 for 128 yards, throwing an interception in the third quarter that Storm Duck returned for six points the other way. Backup quarterback Todd Centeio, splitting time with Russo, did little better. Russo did throw a touchdown pass but finished 6-of-12 for 66  yards and a pick of his own.

All around, the Owls were stymied on offense. They finished with 272 total yards, but produced only 16 first downs as they lost by 42 points. That was a testament to the solid job performed by Tomon Fox, Chazz Surratt, and the rest of the Tar Heels defense all game long.