North Carolina stresses sudden changes in possession so much on defense that it gets its own segment during practice. It's the equivalent of a school or office fire drill. No matter how much it is simulated, there's no way to equate it to the pressure of the real thing. And the problem for the Tar Heels is too many times this season they've been getting burned.
"We haven't done a good job with sudden change all year," UNC coach Mack Brown said. "Meaning when we turn the ball over offensively, we've got to go out there and put it out or at least hold him to a field goal defensively. We haven't done that, we've been giving up touchdowns."
It happened twice in the Heels' 44-41 loss at Virginia on Saturday. A fumbled punt gave UVA the ball at the UNC 20-yard line and a fumble by quarterback Sam Howell gave it the ball at the 30. That made for short fields, but if they held the Cavaliers to a field goal on one of those possessions instead of allowing two touchdowns, it could have changed the game's outcome.
UNC co-defensive coordinator Jay Bateman called sudden change defense "one of our biggest issues."
"When you get put in that situation, you have to go out and rely on your training and your fundamentals and do it exactly right," Bateman said Monday. "We've pressed too much. After the drop punt on Saturday, I would have bet $100 we were going to defend perfect and we just we were too aggressive on the routes."
There was the Florida State game when the change wasn't exactly sudden — UNC was punting the ball away — but the defense faced an adverse situation. The Seminoles blocked the punt and took possession at the UNC 23. They scored a touchdown on the ensuing play when quarterback Travis Jordan ran 23 yards untouched for the score.
Make no mistake, there's nothing easy about sudden-change defense. Usually a turnover gives opponents a boost of adrenaline that is difficult to immediately quell. There are times, like against Boston College, where Carolina's defense has been put in virtually an impossible spot. The Eagles intercepted a deflected pass from Sam Howell and took possession at the UNC 5. BC scored a touchdown off of that turnover.
Carolina's season-opening win over Syracuse proved that it can come up with stops on sudden changes. Three times, the Orange took over possession in UNC territory off two fumbles and an interception. But all they could manage was six points off two field goals and they turned the ball back over to the Heels on downs.
Brown said for Carolina to change the results of those plays, they had to change their mindset of defending them.
"I don't think it's play calls, I mean, you are who you are defensively and Jay's done a tremendous job everywhere he's been," Brown said. "I'm not concerned about that. But it is a mindset. And that mindset, sometimes we stage it in practice. 'Sudden change, sudden change, put the fire out,' just to get them understanding."
It could come into play against Duke, as the Blue Devils' defense has 13 takeaways this season. Only Syracuse (17) and Wake Forest (15) have had more.
Bateman said the Heels have spent a lot of time discussing their approach since the loss. He said a team with more veteran personnel wouldn't make the mistakes they have been making because they tend to focus on just doing their job. Confidence hasn't been a problem for the Heels, Bateman said it's players who are trying to do too much and that's how the breakdowns happen.
"We've got good enough players, they need to just go out and do their job," Bateman said. "We tell him all the time the ball will find you if you do your job."
