UNC Must Exploit Key Area Against Louisville This Week

As the North Carolina Tar Heels get ready for a big game this weekend against the Louisville Cardinals, the team has been playing much better of late.

While North Carolina has dropped a few games, the offense has started to come to life, giving the team more opportunities to work with. The team is coming off a win over the UConn Huskies last week, giving them some extra confidence heading into the final few games.

The Tar Heels will be entering the game against Louisville with a record of 5-4 on the season, and this group is looking to add another ACC win to that mix. North Carolina is trying to become bowl-eligible in this game, with the team showing improvement from a year ago.

North Carolina went 4-8 last season under head coach Bill Belichick in his first season, but the team has shown more fight this year. Belichick has his guys ready to go, and this team wants to make a statement over the final few weeks of the season.

As the team prepares for Louisville, there are a few areas that the Tar Heels can exploit against the Cardinals. 

North Carolina has to take advantage of third-down conversions, with the team only getting 46 percent this season. However, the Tar Heels have also been a very good team on fourth down for the year, with them converting 77 percent on fourth down.

Of course, this can be a major risk for a team, but it seems that North Carolina has found a way to make it a success. Louisville has only stopped 51 percent of opponents' attempts on fourth down this year, giving the Tar Heels more to work with.

One reason for the success of the Tar Heels this year has been quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who has started to give more life to the Tar Heels' offense. Edwards has thrown for over 250 yards in each of his last three games this season, showing control of the offense.

Overall, Edwards has thrown for 2,127 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions for the Tar Heels. When North Carolina brought him over in the transfer portal, this was the type of production that they expected from the veteran signal-caller.

As the year has gone on, Edwards has looked more comfortable, with the Tar Heels playing better. This North Carolina team will need to get another strong showing from Edwards this week against Louisville to get the victory.