And the streak goes on.
I am not crazy about the coaching decisions made late in this one.
For starters how do you not make a few attempts to move the ball with 47 seconds left? As a matter of principle I despise it when coaches sit on the clock to end the half and especially at the end of a tied game. Granted it is risky but there is a good chance UVa is going to sit back in a prevent which ought to give you something. I realize UNC was out of timeouts but I feel much better about things if you at least take a stab at it.
Secondly, someone please explain to me why this defense cannot stop a two minute drill. I was listening to the radio and Rick Steinbacher inexpicably says the “cover two” defense UNC was using “served them so well in the past versus Miami and Notre Dame.” What? I seem to recall both Miami and Notre Dame driving the ball straight down the Heels’ collective throats only to have both victories saved by Trimane Goddard via INT and fumble recovery respectively. This one topped it, especially given how inept the UVa offense was for most of the day. UVa went into the final drive with less than 200 yards and only six first downs. Yet the Heels give up an 82 yard drive for a TD then allow the Cavaliers to score on a handful of plays in overtime.
The odd aspect of that is UNC did what it had failed to do so far this season and that was limit a team from moving the football. UNC did not force any turnovers which was not a huge deal since UVa was severly limited in moving the ball. The problem with UNC lay in the turnover margin which UNC had done a great job of controlling. Not so this game as a UNC offense not prone to mistakes made plenty in the form of two INTs and fumble by Hakeem NIcks. That was bound to happen eventually but what is annoying is the fact UNC was in position to win the game except for their stark inability to stop teams running a two minute drill.
Aside from the turnovers the offense was decent. Shaun Draughn ran for 138 yards and Sexton passed for 166 on 24-38 passing. For whatever reason the Heels could not find the endzone and it wasted a strong defensive performance. How much did they miss Brandon Tate? That is not really clear. Nicks had 90 yards receiving with Brooks Foster, Anthony Elzy and Cooter Arnold sharing 69 yards between them. Couple that with the two INTs you have to believe that either the UVa defense did a bang up job shutting down the passing game or the loss of Tate had a profound effect. You would think given the way Draughn was running the football, the passing game would have had more chances. Things did not break that way, though I am thinking it might take awhile to factor in or adjust to losing Tate. At any rate, it would appear there is a running game after all for UNC, if the passing game can work through losing Tate, UNC is still plenty dangerous.
So this was a frustrating loss but not a season ender by any stretch. UNC can still manage 8-9 wins, unfortunately the division title is probably out of reach now. Still plenty of football and success to be had, just as long as we aren’t playing in Charlottesville or any team from Virginia for that matter.
![[Bloglines]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
We just aren’t that good. We have trouble beating fringe top-25 teams.
McNeese State? Rutgers? Those weren’t worth much as wins. Miami was losing to Duke last time I looked today, but I am not sure what happened in that game. Maybe UConn and Notre Dame were decent wins, but let’s not kid ourselves. These are not the 1981 Heels, who were actually pretty damn good. The Heels have had some bad injuries, but once again everything gets delayed. Last year was supposed to be a winning season. Now this one is looking to be that and not much more, maybe some bowl with a forgettable name.
The Tar Heels could easily be undefeated but you have to hold on to the ball and you have to want to win, not just try to avoid losing, not that being undefeated would mean that much given the level of our competition. It’s like that year Wake went to the Orange Bowl and they basically sucked. I think they beat GIT 9-6 or something in the “ACC Championship Game.”
I enjoy this site so much during basketball season that I still comment some during football season, but it does appear that with the exception of C. Michael and a couple of others, most of the basketball posters are still not into the football bit. It has been over 50 years since UNC was a football school and I just don’t see it happening. The last real chance was with Dooley and Crum but then after the basketball successes of the early 80’s, football basically imploded except for a couple of years under Mack Brown. Oh well. I would rather UNC be the best at one sport than very good at two different ones.
If you had told me at the beginning of the season we’d be 5-2, with both of our losses by 3 points in games where we were ahead for most of the game, I’d have said the chances were slim. But here we are. Yes, this loss sucks, but we still have a chance to play in a good bowl and win at least 8 games. Considering our recent past, I’d say that would be great. I just hope the players can pick themselves up, focus on the positives (solid defense for 55 minutes and a resurgent running game), and get back to business next weekend against BC.
I think I’m beginning to understand a little how Clemson fans feel when the Tigers come to Pulpit Hill to play basketball.
Wake shutout by Maryland; BC leading VaTech. Can anyone explain the conference this year?
With five more games and given who the ‘Heels have left, I think they could finish 5-0…or 0-5. Good grief!
Whats the moal to this loss? Well i don’t know, we’re Va’s B!TCH…
William. I understand your frustration. I really do. I have a little optimism left though. Some may say “Well, what is your optimism grounded in?” I say, it is grounded on what we have already accomplished this year. One more game to go to a bowl. It is better than last year. And maybe next year will be better than this. Our losses were CLOSE losses. Our injuries have somewhat depleted us. In spite of that, we could have won today. Not too bad at all in my opinion. I still feel your pain William. I am borderline feeling exactly like you.
William, I vote to have your priviledges as a Tarheel fan stripped. Shameful.
Took a glance at the roster…a lot of FR / SO / JR on that listing. This is still a very young team, lacking 2 KEY offensive players yesterday at a critical spot on the schedule. Cam Sexton was running the scout team 2 months ago. I would’ve NOT guessed 5-2. Butch & his staff deserve a lot of credit, turning a losing mentality into one that plays all quarters.
If you don’t believe me, just roll the lowlights from our last visit to Charlottesville in 2006. Disastrous. Butch has got em on the way up. As I mentioned to someone yesterday…you are pissed about UNC losing a football game in October. We should be…but it’s been a long time since I personally could say so.
I dare say the last two seasons at mid-October, a good number were (myself included) were gearing up for a national-title contending team in hoops.
Note to “The Great Butino” – there are NO Tarheel (sic) fans on this website, but a heck of a lot of Tar Heel fans.
I look at my previous post and I see nothing negative or disparaging about UNC, except for the way our schedule turned out. Obviously, Rutgers and UConn looked to be much tougher games when the schedule was made, as did VPI, even though Tech has only lost once.
We have had some bad breakdowns in our three close games, losing two of them. We could have won all three or lost all three, but I don’t see how that necessarily makes us a better team.
We have had some bad injuries, but both of our losses were winnable and yesterday’s end of game tactics were deplorable.
A curse is a curse.
Let me begin by saying that Scott stadium is a beautiful place to watch a football game. With the exception of the cold wind (and UNC’s loss) I really enjoyed myself.
I am trying to move past this loss, looking at the season as a whole and enjoying football relevance again, but I am having a hard time with this one. In seasons past, we would just get run over by better teams, making the sting a bit easier to accept. Yesterday we were the better team, but beat ourselves and lost.
The defense played a solid game, holding the Cavs in check for most of the game, helping us overcome 3 turnovers to stay in relative control. The offense looked great to start the game, but something started bothering me as the game progressed. The play calling was bizarre in spots – passing on 3rd and short, halfback pass on 3rd and short. Draughn had over 130 yards on the day, but we didn’t trust him to get us a first down with short yardage? There was no “rhythm” developed on offense after that first drive, and it kept UVa in the game.
But that was OK, as we were in position to win the game with 2 minutes left. Then the coaching staff, as much as I respect them, decided not to win the game. Playing “prevent” defense with 2 minutes left? Not even trying to move into field goal range with 45 seconds left? The players gave a good effort, and almost pulled it out. But I have to put this one on the coaches – they need to show more moxie and confidence in their play calling and decision making, which will then be reflected by the players.
I still feel good about this team – they should bounce back and finish strong. The guys fight hard and seem to have fun out there. It’s a refreshing change. As hard as this loss is to accept, I’m thrilled to be at 5-2 and competitive again. Go Heels!
And a streak is a streak.
I honestly believe at this point, that our Charlottesville hex is just the equal and opposite reaction for our play at home against Clemson in basketball. And honestly, if everyone here had to choose between 54 straight at home against Clemson or losing 14 straight in Hooville, which would you pick?
As for the assessment, that we’re “not that good,” I have to disagree. If we weren’t that good, we would have folded like a house of cards against Notre Dame, Miami and McNeese State. This is a good team that is still young and suffering from injuries at crucial positions. If TJ was on the field Saturday, with his cannon arm, do you honestly believe we would have kneeled the ball with 47 seconds? I don’t think that for a minute. While I didn’t like it, I can understand where Butch was coming from. Cam has been a good caretaker of our offense, but asking him to march us 50 yards in 47 seconds while likely facing 8 or 9-man deep coverage is a lot to ask of a guy who has a decent arm, and only decent accuracy. I’m not saying TJ would have won the game, but he would have changed the dynamic, as would have Pianalto instead of Greg Little at H-back and Brandon Tate returning punts.
I think we all need to take a page from HeelYeah’s book and sit back and realize this: We’re 5-2 with five winnable games left on the schedule in a year when we were supposed to be content with getting bowl eligible. I’m more than happy to see us in the position we’re in, and I look forward to what we can do next year when we’re healthy with another solid batch of recruits coming.
Been a while since I’ve been on the board here. Hope everyone’s been doing well.
After watching the game yesterday with my dad and brother (who happen to be DIEHARD UVA fans) I can say this much. Our defense, while getting a lot of INT’s, gets their collective butss handed to them in chunks of yards. It happened against Miami, Notre Dame, and Virginia. While these kids are fast and can swarm to the ball, this scheme of not applying pressure on the QB except with the defensive line just maddens me. It seemed like we got decent penetration up front, but with no linebackers or DB’s applying pressure we gave up a lot of completions on busted plays where their QB had to run for his life. The tackling was also poor yesterday. Peerman was stopped in the backfield on UVA’s OT touchdown drive and our defender couldn’t even wrap him up. That was pathetic. If we keep up with this “drop seven or eight” back in coverage, then it’s only a matter of time that the opposing team finds the soft spots in the zone and can exploit them.
As far as the offensive side of the ball, the play calling left a lot to be desired. On 3rd and five in OT, UNC ran that quick screen for like the 12th time in the game and the Cavs were waiting for it. I saw a few times when Sexton would hand the ball off to Draughn and roll out and no defender was within 10 yards of Sexton. It should also be noted that Sexton is quite mobile (he’s no Eric Crouch with running speed but he sure as hell throws a lot better) and we should use that to xploit the defense. I understand we don’t want to get him inured either, but that could be an extra thing opposing defenses need to think about.
The last thing about this game was that UVA just got plain lucky at the end of regulation. Out special teams got a hand on the PAT and the football barely knuckled through the uprights. If that didn’t happen, we would be 6-1 and have a a .500 record in the conference.
Sexton is the same QB who led UNC to a great come-from-behind victory over Miami just a few weeks ago. His comment is heartfelt and genuine. He didn’t point fingers or bitch and moan. Give him some credit for exhibiting good character following a tough loss.
william,
i’m checking in too. in regards to the negativity, i think some were pointing to your on comments such as how there are not many unc football fans yet, and that you’d rather be best at one sport rather than very good at two.
i would have to disagree with your assessment. there are a lot of fans more excited about this football team than i’ve seen since mack left. and i can see the fever hitting some basketball-only fans, albeit at a lesser degree than some might wish for. but a few seasons of solid winning football, and we’ll see a lot more of the converts.
also, you say last year was supposed to be a winning one and this year a better one. i don’t know about anyone else’s timeline but i always thought that by the 4th year, when coach davis’ recruits are seniors and RS juniors, we would be solidly contending for the ACC crown. plus, our season is not entirely lost yet. best case scenario, if VT loses 2 more (i know, unlikely) and we win out (again, unlikely), then we should still be heading to the ACC championship game, i believe. even if that doesn’t happen, as someone else mentioned, we may be headed to a respectable bowl game (peach, perhaps?).
as for some others’ comments on the coaching staff. coach davis has been criticized in the past for being a bad in-game coach. and he (and his staff) showed it against UVA. but if we were to credit coach and his staff for the UVA loss, we also need to credit them for wins in miami and against notre dame, and for the other blow outs where they didn’t need to make adjustments because the players were so well-prepared.
we’re fortunate to have this coaching staff and to have the team in the direction that they’re headed. despite this painful loss, it’s great to be a tar heel right now with the football team on the up and up and the basketball season ready to start off.