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UNC tries to set up roadblock for No. 1 Clemson

Field Level Media

September 24, 2019 at 7:56 pm.

If there’s any danger for top-ranked Clemson, it could be that the Tigers are humming along so smoothly.

It has looked easy for the Tigers through the first third of their regular-season schedule.

The next task comes against North Carolina in a road game Saturday at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.

“You know they’re going to be excited to play Clemson and we’re going to get the very best of North Carolina,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. “We’ve played four games now. Let’s start to act like we’ve played four games. … It’s crazy this is Week 5. That’s how quick this goes.”

Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC) has won three of its games by at least 35 points. Overall, the Tigers hold a 19-game winning streak — with the past 14 victories decided by 14 or more points.

North Carolina (2-2, 1-0), which followed two victories with losses to Wake Forest and Appalachian State, has been involved in four games decided by six points or less. That has happened across the first four games of a season only once before for the Tar Heels.

“The first two weeks we made the plays to win at the end of the game,” coach Mack Brown said. “The last two weeks, we have run out of time and didn’t have a chance to do the things we needed to do.”

Clemson has sophomore Trevor Lawrence, who remains one of the most highly touted quarterbacks in the country despite modest stats so far — 66 of 106 for 925 yards, with seven touchdowns and five interceptions.

“This guy is the best in the business,” Brown said of Lawrence.

Clemson is averaging 42.3 points per game, with Travis Etienne averaging 7.5 yards per carry and Tee Higgins averaging 23.5 yards on 16 receptions.

North Carolina counters with true freshman quarterback Sam Howell, who directed fourth-quarter comebacks in his first two career games. Howell is completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,024 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

Swinney said it’s clear that North Carolina has demonstrated late-game determination.

“They’ve gotten down in some games, but they don’t go away,” Swinney said. “They keep coming back. … It seems like the bigger the moment, the better (Howell) plays.”

For Brown, who returned this season for his second go-around with the Tar Heels, this should be an ACC measuring stick to see how the program stacks up against a Clemson team that has been a giant in the Atlantic Division, the league overall and the country, winning two of the past three national titles.

“From our standpoint, we want to be the Clemson of the Coastal (Division),” Brown said. “With that challenge, there’s opportunity to see how we stand up to them. It sends a message to our team to what the best team looks like. Kids get excited about playing someone that good.”

North Carolina has been wounded along the offensive line, something that could be more troublesome when facing Clemson’s stout defensive front. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons has a team-high 32 tackles, including 3.5 for loss.

North Carolina is playing host to a consensus reigning national champion for the first time. The Tigers have played in Chapel Hill only three times this century (2000, 2002, 2010).

“It’s crazy, this is my 17th year (with the program) and I’ve been there one time,” Swinney said.

The teams haven’t met since the 2015 ACC title game, which was won by Clemson.

Brown went 3-7 against Clemson during his first stint as North Carolina’s coach, including victories in the last two meetings in 1996 and 1997. The 45-0 outcome in 1996 marked the most points for the Tar Heels ever against Clemson.