CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- While North Carolinas record-setting offense commanded headlines, the Tar Heels defensive improvement from awful to merely adequate was a key factor in matching a school record with 11 wins.For defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, the next step for that unit is obvious entering the opener against Georgia and beyond.We have to get better at stopping the run, Chizik said, and we know that.Its easily the biggest focus for the Tar Heels defense in training camp. They ended last year by giving up nearly 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in their last two games against high-powered offenses, and finished last in the Atlantic Coast Conference against the run.It was not a recurring thing of any sort, Chizik said. Sometimes it was (game) situation. Sometimes it might have been a missed tackle. Sometimes it might have been a guy that wasnt placed correctly in his gap. I think those are all the kind of scenarios you would encounter when youre not playing the run as well as youd want to.After building elite defenses at Texas and Auburn before winning a national title as the Tigers head coach, Chizik added another line to his resume in his first year in Chapel Hill just by getting the Tar Heels to stop giving up big plays all over the field.North Carolina surrendered more points and yards than any team in school history in 2014, allowing 497.8 yards and 39 points per game while also surrendering 11 touchdowns of at least 40 yards. Chiziks overhaul cut those numbers to 24.5 points and 435.9 yards with just five 40-yard touchdowns for a bend-but-dont-break unit.The biggest improvement came against the pass, where the Tar Heels ranked 12th nationally in pass efficiency defense, while the rush defense finished 121st nationally by allowing 247.4 yards per game.Those numbers were skewed by the final two games, first when then-No. 1 Clemson ran for 319 yards in a 45-37 win. Then Baylor ran for 645 yards -- the most ever allowed by UNC -- and seven scores in a 49-38 win in the Russell Athletic Bowl.The Tar Heels had allowed about 198 yards in their eight ACC regular-season contests.We played at a good level, but we have to step it up and play great, linebacker Andre Smith said. So we cant just keep settling for that but we have to raise the bar.Chizik pointed to other factors, too, such as time-and-score situations that sometimes had UNC playing conservatively while protecting big leads. Of note: Miami ran for 91 of its 99 yards after falling behind 45-0 in the third quarter, while rival North Carolina State ran for 265 of its 308 yards after UNC rolled to a 35-7 first-quarter lead.The Tar Heels will get an immediate indication of whether theyve improved in 2016. Theyll face star Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb in his return from a knee injury in the Sept. 3 opener in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta.If they can get 80 yards down the field and cant score, its not a big deal to us, cornerback Des Lawrence said of stopping the run this season. The yards are what the media is interested in. We dont really care about that.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college football site at http://collegefootball.ap.orgClearance Ray Ban Sunglasses . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Cheap Ray Ban Aviator Black Friday . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. http://www.cheapraybanchina.com/ . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Ray Ban Outlet . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Ray Ban Black Friday Deals . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70.CARDIFF, Wales -- The Welsh capital of Cardiff came to a standstill on Friday as Wales national team returned home to a rapturous welcome by an estimated 200,000 people after its historic run to the European Championship semifinals in France.After hundreds of supporters greeted the team at Cardiff Airport -- renamed Cardiff Bale Airport for the day in honor of Wales star Gareth Bale -- an open-top bus carrying Chris Colemans squad weaved its way through the streets of Cardiff for an hour.Players and supporters then re-enacted the viking Huh chant made famous at Euro 2016 by Iceland, the other feel-good story of the tournament.All those years of going abroad and hearing people say, `Wales, wheres that? Is it part of England? Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones said. Well, thats gone out of the window. In five weeks, theyve really shown where Wales is and that we are a country in ourselves.Competing inn only its second major tournament, and first since the 1958 World Cup, Wales topped its group ahead of England and beat highly fancied Belgium en route to the last four.dddddddddddd Portugal beat Wales 2-0 on Wednesday.The parade ended at Cardiff City Stadium, where Welsh band Manic Street Preachers performed on stage before players and staff were presented to the crowd. One player was missing, however, as midfielder Joe Ledley had earlier boarded a private plane in France to marry his fiancee Ruby May in Ibiza this weekend.Wales bus was emblazoned on the side with the words `Diolch (Thank you). Together We Are Stronger.This is what its all about, this is why the players work so hard to represent their country, Coleman said. They knew there was a nation waiting for them. ' ' '