Maryland on 3rd down: 9-18, on 4th down 1-3, four of those on the final drive.
Add to that:
UNC on 3rd down: 1-11
Cam Sexton: 10-24, 166 yards, two turnovers. 59 of those yards came on one play which in itself was a badly thrown ball that was tipped into Cooter Arnold’s hands.
A missed 28 yard field goal that would have at least forced Maryland go for a TD.
A non-existent running game as well as a non-existent Hakeem Nicks which is a credit to the Terps’ defense.
All of these were factors in the loss which looked eerily similar to the other losses this season with the lack of points, failure to control the turnover margin and a whole cache of missed opportunities. In general the Heels’ play on the field was very much like the weather, a few rays of sunshine but mostly rain and clouds.
The maddening aspect of this game was the defense essentially playing well save the failures to stop the Terps on 3rd down. Maryland had the ball for 2/3 of the game yet only scored 17 points. The defense did a great job despite the time they were forced to spend on the field. On the last drive UNC was presented with four chances to stop the Maryland drive, three times on 3rd down and once on fourth down. Each time they allowed Maryland to eat up a huge number of yards to get to the marker. When the Heels finally stopped the Terps on 3rd down, it was on the nine and Maryland got the eventual game winning FG out of it. In the end you can probably chalk up the failures on the last drive to fatigue. As was the case with Virginia Tech and Virginia, the number the defense permitted on the scoreboard should have been enough for the offense to win the game. In all three instances that simply was not the case.
Unfortunately, this one will really rest more on Cam Sexton and also some on the coaching staff for at least not trying to change the game by putting TJ Yates back in the game. Butch Davis, in his own words, has indicated he will play the QB that will give UNC a chance to win. I think it was clear by 2nd half that Sexton was not that QB and Yates should have been given some snaps just to see if he could get the offense moving. This is not intended to trash Sexton nor am I interested in throwing him under the bus like the message board crowd has probably been doing for four hours now. However, in a game where the running game was effectively bottled up, the QB needed to be the one to step up and make plays.
On one hand Maryland did a great job keeping the Heels in check and the absence of Brandon Tate was felt today more than it has at any point since he was injured. On the other hand, I think today illustrated that Sexton, while having done an adequate job, still lacks a certains something. Before this game I had been unable to put a finger on it, but watching Sexton pass in this one it is clear he simply does not throw the ball as well as Yates does. Sexton’s downfield passes are slower and tend to float/wobble too much. On other throws the ball does not hit the target quick enough. Yates is a better passer in terms of the accuracy, speed and strength of his throws. Given the offensive struggles, the coaching staff bears some culpability for not recognizing the need for a switch. With Yates available, Davis had the luxury of turning to a good QB who could have given the offense a boost. Sexton has been great and deserves a ton of credit for keeping the ship right. However the time has come to let Yates take back over as a starter knowing you have a capable backup in Sexton.
So after a tough loss, it helps to look at the upside and while the Coastal Division is likely out of reach it does not change the fact this has been an incredible season of progress. While the larger goal of going to Tampa is essentially lost, there is still pertinent business left to be done. Taking care of the two local rivals in NCSU and Duke to get to 9-3 is incredibily important. If the Heels can do that, then they will likely go to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl with a shot at a ten win season for the first time since 1997. I will take it because progess is progress and while UNC has lost some very close games it does not change the fact this season is plenty to write home about.
![[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)
All in all, you have to be pretty happy with this season and the progress since last year. It is frustrating that all three losses seemed pretty self-inflicted – they felt less due to an opponent being outright better on the day than us and more about missed opportunities and execution by the Heels. But hey, in sum, there’s more to smile about than reason to frown.
Nitpicking perhaps, but Sexton was 10-24 rather than 11-25 passing.
I read the total passing line….Rome did have one pass.
I posted this on an earlier on the “blowout” topic, but is time to go back to T.J. Yates. Cam Sexton has been a good back up, and he has shown us the past games that is what he is. If Yates is truly healthy and ready to go, he must start against N.C. State, Duke and our bowl opponent. Sexton has had good plays, which are the result of being an o.k. qb and having excellent receivers and very good backs. Most important to Cam’s success has been the D. The D did not play well at Virginia, we lost. The D played well since, especially GT and we have won. Our D was once again in “bend don’t break mode” today and while they didn’t break, it surely didn’t help the team out. Sexton has helped us have a good season, but he is showing his true colors, and now it is time to go back to Yates.
The defense did what is has done most of the season and held the other team to a reasonable number of points even though they did fail to make one last stop. 17 points is a good enough defensive effort for the offense to win the game. So was 20 against VT and 10 in regulation versus UVa. The opposing teams’ defense is part of the equation but Sexton is the other part.
THF or others: any comment on the “lost” 20-25 seconds after Maryland’s 3rd and 9 (last drive, 4th QTR) was whistled as a drop? I think the clock read 2:05…Maryland kicked off with 1:45 remaining. In the end, not too large a deal.
Two games left with a very good chance to finish 9-3. I would never had guessed this possible outcome in August.
I saw several issues with this game.
I give the defense a ton of credit, because they were on the field for a vast majority of this game, but I still don’t udnerstand why we didn’t blitz or bring more pressure more often. In the UVa and Maryland losses, both QB’s were able to attack the soft spots in the zone and kill us. Turner also had a lot of running room late in the game because our LB’s were dropped back. I give the players a lot of credit for swarming to the ball and making plays, but the scheme they are running is counterproductive.
The second issue is the offensive line. No holes for Draughn, and too much pressure on Sexton. This line was supposed to be one of the better ones in the conference, and they’ve been under-performing all season long.
The last issue was way too many dropped passes. Greg Little’s especially killed us. Granted the ball was just a touch underthrown, but that one could have gotten us some points. Little has been somewhat of an enigma to me; he gave us huge hopes last year with some breakout performances, but now it just seems like his head isn’t in the game right now. Part of that could be that the coaching staff really doesn’t know where to put him right now, but he just seems like he’s not interested sometimes.
Ugh. Three wins by a total of eight points. This team could potentially be undefeated right now, and now we need sme serious help to win the division. I know that a lot of football fans had some low-to-moderate expectations, but winning the division (even the conference title) wasn’t out of the question. We need to win these last two games, and hope Miami and Virginia Tech stumble along the way to get to Tampa.
Andy, good points on Greg Little. You really do have to shake your head and wonder how he isn’t more of a contributor. With all the injuries on the team that you would think would open up opportunity for him – and a coaching staff that has proven it can maximize talent – it’s just really strange.
What’s the deal with Carolina losing so many close games? They lost all of the close ones last year and I guess they have lost 3 of 5 close ones this year, but it feels worse than that since they were ahead much of the way in all three losses. You have got to have a killer instinct, especially when you do not have a field goal kicker who can confidently make anything besides an extra point.
Remember the great debate about how a 35-yard extra point should be a gimme? Apparently, a 28-yarder is no gimme for us.