extra points
EXTRA POINTS
FOUNDED AND PUBLISHED FROM 1990-93 BY THE GENERAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Vol. XIII, No. 2, September 2, 2002
SAY WHAT? Nine Turnovers Spell Heels’ Doom. CHAPEL HILL
How much of an aberration was it? That’s to be seen, of course, as the season progresses, but suffice it to say there were enough good his wasn’t the first time an extended things on display for the Tar Heels that one drought expired with a weekend assumes that a) QB Darian Durant cannot monsoon, a squishy field, footballs play any worse and b) the positives shown on jumping like popcorn from the hands of a retooled defense will blossom when the unit runners and a team prevailing that wasn’t isn’t asked to play two-thirds of the game supposed to win. Go back 34 years, when the because the offense cannot protect the Piedmont of North Carolina was football. At least in golf, the computer parched by a long drought, only to have throws out your worst 10 scores of your Hurricane Gladys come to a soupy last 20 in determining your handicap. rescue over the third weekend of At least in tennis, you duff one serve and October. you get another. In baseball you get John Bunting said Saturday that in three strikes. Too bad the Heels can’t all his years of football he’d never seen throw this one in the wastebasket. anything like what he’d just witnessed— “It’s amazing the game was so close his Tar Heels committing nine turnovers and we had a chance to win at the end,” and losing a season-opening game to Bunting said, recognizing it could have Miami University, 27-21—but the truth been a massacre when more than 50 is he had. He’d just forgotten that game percent of your possessions end up as in Kenan Stadium his freshman year in gifts to the opposition. “It’s a tribute to 1968 when the seventh-ranked Florida the way our players think, the way our Gators fumbled eight times in the rain coaches coach, the way our training staff while losing 22-7 to the Tar Heels, a works. That’s a positive. That’s a good game that ranks among most anyone’s thing. The bad thing is losing the top 10 moments in the venue’s 75-year football game the way we did. I hope I’m history. never around it again. It certainly caught It can, apparently, happen to anyone. me off-guard to have that kind of Small consolation, however, to performance.” Bunting, his staff and players who’d After properly serving his penance hoped to christen year two of the at second-team last spring and the Bunting Era on a merrier tone. “I can’t beginning of fall camp for his aborted even tell you what I’d like to say,” departure from Carolina football last Bunting said, apparently biting his February, Durant moved ahead of junior tongue in the same breath. “I really am transfer C.J. Stephens in the quarterback furious.” pecking order as the opener neared. How freakish was it? Consider that Though Stephens has a sharp mind and most of North Carolina had endured obvious physical skills, his instincts and three months of miniscule amounts of polish in reading defenses and finding rainfall since May, with local water receivers suffered when compared headsource Cane Creek Reservoir 40 percent on to the more experienced Durant. below capacity in late August. Only the Stephens is prettier. Durant’s more occasional late-afternoon thunderstorm effective. That’s why Bunting and saved the Triangle from turning into the Downhill from here: Miami picks off firstoffensive coordinator Gary Tranquill Dust Bowl as August wore on, but period pass, the first of nine UNC turnovers. officially promoted him to the first team finally when game week arrived a sixreturn, suffering through two QB-center one week before the Miami game. day covering of clouds and rainfall set over exchanges and watching the quarterback lose When Durant met with the news media North Carolina. “Be careful what you wish one ball when he said he was trying to pass. last Tuesday after being anointed the starter, for,” Carolina Athletic Director Dick Baddour The Tar Heels endured a black hole of a he appeared more confident, more comfortsaid before Saturday’s game. “You just might second quarter, mishandling the ball on five able, more mature than he had at any point get it.” Certainly no one looking at the big during his record-setting freshman season in straight possessions. That surreal stretch had picture will complain about the weather, but Bunting flailing his arms as he walked 2001. He’s 10 pounds lighter than a year ago. it made football difficult and culled the through the rain to the field house at halftime. His teammates have accepted his return as a opening-day crowd to less than 40,000.
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How bizarre was it? Consider that only one team in the history of the ACC, now at an even half-century of age, had ever lost nine turnovers in one game. That was Wake Forest, yielding nine to Duke in 1956. Carolina matched that Saturday, tossing three interceptions, dropping two balls on routine running plays, having a mix-up on a kick-off
JEFF CAMARATI
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EXTRA POINTS
Lewis Emerges As Toast Of Tailbacks.
J
ohn Bunting hinted at various times throughout the Tar Heels’ August training camp that sophomore tailback Jacque Lewis was on the brink of emerging as Carolina’s go-to guy in the running game. It was obvious Saturday that Lewis has some special qualities. One, he did not fumble the football. Two, he broke three tackles en route to a three-yard TD run in the first quarter. “Jacque is a tough cookie, we know that about him,” Bunting said. “He displayed out there when he gets into a key situation that he’s a guy you can depend on. We made a decision at halftime—‘Let him play.’ The other guys can’t hang onto the ball. So let him play.” Running backs coach André Powell entered the game intending to give each of three tailbacks a chance to mix it up—juniors Willie Parker and André Williams and Lewis. Whoever if anyone got the hot hand would play more as the game developed. Parker and Williams, unfortunately, coughed the ball up on consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Lewis played all of the second half and finished with 31 yards on eight carries. Bunting said that while Lewis gained an edge on the other backs on Saturday, he still expects each to get an opportunity to improve as the season progresses. Jacque Lewis “It was very difficult holding onto the ball,” said the 5-10, 184pound Lewis. “The coaches told us to put two hands on the ball after a couple of fumbles. I just tried to do that and hold on.” His first-quarter TD was a thing of macho beauty, coming as it did from only three yards out but requiring yeoman’s work amidst the chaos of the line of scrimmage. “The strength training program with Coach Connors has really helped my legs and upper body,” Lewis said. “Coach Powell has worked with me on not going down on one hit. I just kept driving my feet and got into the end zone.” Another sign of Lewis’s development as a blocker and a leader is his assignment as the “upback” or “personal protector” on the punt team. It’s his job to call the right blocking assignment based on what the opponent shows and to hang tough in being the last man between the punter and a man intent on blocking the kick.
fellow human who admitted a mistake and welcomed his return as a quality ballplayer. “Both quarterbacks are very good, but the offense is a little more fluid with Darian,” guard Jeb Terry said. Those words were dripping with irony, though, when Durant took the field under a steady shower Saturday afternoon. He underthrew an early pass into double coverage for an interception. He tried to throw another ball away under duress, but didn’t heave it out-of-bounds far enough and a Miami player made a leaping catch. Things got worse as the day wore on. Still, he completed 24 passes of 37 tries for 279 yards and one TD on a nice improvisation throw to tight end Bobby Blizzard. Bunting said that he and Tranquill considered pulling Durant, but the weird nature of his performance added to the weather prompted them to stick with him. “Getting C.J. into the game was the plan,” Bunting said. “When the weather’s like this, you begin to say, ‘Maybe that’s not the best idea.’” Stephens entered the game late and led Carolina on a quick TD march to cut the Miami lead to six points, and after a perfectly executed onside kick by Topher Roberts and recovery by Michael Waddell, Carolina had the ball with 39 seconds left at the Miami 47. With no timeouts left, it was incumbent on the Heels to either get first downs, get out-of-
bounds or throw incomplete passes with every snap in order to save the clock. But on first down, Brandon Russell caught a pass that should have gained 10 yards, but he was knocked back on the tackle by a Redhawk defender for an eight-yard gain. That wasted nearly 20 seconds, giving the Heels time for just three more snaps. Under a heavy rush, Stephens threw incomplete to the left side of the end zone toward tight end Zach Hilton on the last play of the game. “I’m very disappointed we could not put it in the end zone,” Stephens said. “As poorly as we played, we still had a chance at the end. We’ll build on this and become a better team because of it.” Because of Durant’s poor outing and the spark Stephens supplied at the end, Bunting and Tranquill will get some heat over not making a change sooner. But Bunting said there’s not a quarterback issue on his team. “Darian’s a guy we have high expectations of,” Bunting said. “I’m sure he’s very disappointed in some of the decisions he made. And that’s his strength.” Durant acknowledged that it was his “worst game ever” and that he started pressing as the second half evolved and the Tar Heels fell behind by two touchdowns. “They couldn’t stop us,” he said. “We moved the ball up and down the field all day long. It’s just unfortunate we had a couple of
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mishaps that cost us the game.” The Tar Heels showed a lot of speed and heart on defense and were able to play waves of newcomers as coordinator Dave Huxtable begins rebuilding a unit that sent five draft picks into the NFL. The defense spent 38 minutes and 17 seconds on the field, far too much time to remain productive no matter how rigorous the off-season and pre-season conditioning program might be. Safety Dexter Reid lived up to his pre-season AllAmerica billing, accounting for 18 tackles, two pass breakups and two stops on the goal line in a memorable third-quarter stand. The Heels stopped Miami five times at the one yard-line (the extra down because of a penalty), and veterans like Reid and Malcolm Stewart were joined by newer faces like Doug Justice, Carl Smalls, Jeff Longhany, Chase Page, Kendall High and Darryl Grant in getting into the mix of bodies at the goal. “Our kids played with a lot of pride on that goal-line stand,” Huxtable said. “They bowed their necks, got their pads set and didn’t quit. I’m as proud as I can be of them.” After Carolina edged within one TD early in the fourth quarter, the defense needed a stop and couldn’t get one. Miami shredded the Tar Heels on seven plays for 67 yards— most of them on the ground—for what proved to be the winning score. “We had a chance to go three-and-out or create a turnover, but we weren’t able to do that,” Reid said. “I take the blame for one third-down play. I expected one route and they came with the post and completed it over the middle. We should have stopped them.” “We weren’t able to tackle and they got into a run mode,” Huxtable said. “We just were not able to play good defense and tackle fundamentally. That was a big series.” Carolina alternated two sets of defensive ends throughout the game—first-teamers Will Chapman and Issac Mooring and reserves Tommy Davis and Jermicus Banks— and rolled a lot of tackles in, with starters Page and Eric Davis sharing time with Donti Coats, Smalls and Grant. As expected, the Heels played a lot of a “dime” personnel group, with Stewart playing middle linebacker surrounded by Reid, Waddell, Chris Curry, Defonte Coleman, Kevin Knight and Derrick Johnson. The weakness of that package, though, was that it puts Johnson at one cornerback opposite Waddell, and his side proved to be much more vulnerable than when Knight is at corner in Carolina’s base personnel group. That’s an issue that will be under the microscope this week as Carolina prepares for Syracuse. “Our defense responded today way above my expectations,” Bunting said. “They did a magnificent job. I’m proud of them.” Throughout this discourse I have yet to give proper credit to the Redhawks of Miami University, and in fairness a tip of the cap
EXTRA POINTS their way should be a point of emphasis. In case no one’s paying attention, “The Cradle of Coaches” has a spiffy little three-game winning streak over the Tar Heels—1978, winning 7-3 over Dick Crum’s first team; 1998, sending Carl Torbush’s program reeling from the get-go with a 13-10 defeat; and now this calamity. At no point in these pages will you see reference to their home state, which is an appendage the school must carry into perpetuity since it’s not as glamorous or large or sexy as its Florida counterpart. But I made a vow exactly four years ago in regurgitating that 1998 opener that: “Henceforth around these parts that school from the southern tip of Florida will be known as Miami OF FLORIDA and we’re giving these guys from the Midwest their due. It’s Miami, period.” Miami has a terrific QB in Ben Roethlisberger, is well-coached, did a great job of stripping the ball from the Tar Heels and hung tough in the second half when Carolina was a whisker from gaining some inertia. Come to think of it, Bunting not once in his post-game press conference mentioned Miami. I’m sure it wasn’t an intended slight, simply a function of how eerie his own team’s performance seemed. Nine turnovers. “Unbelievable,” he said, shaking his head. Bunting said he’d allow himself an evening’s worth of agony and a film-session of “whatifs” on Sunday morning. “Then we forget it and move on,” he said. “I can’t wait to play Syracuse.” The Orangemen, fortunately, have a domed stadium and promise bone-dry conditions next Saturday night. —LEE PACE
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DT Davis Lost For Year With Knee Injury. SQUIB-KICKS – Fifth-year senior Eric Davis suffered a torn left ACL Saturday and will miss the rest of the season. Tar Heel coach John Bunting said Sunday he and defensive tackles coach Rod Broadway might have to alter plans to red-shirt Mickey Rice and will have to get walk-on Tony Pigford ready to play. “That’s going to hurt,” Bunting said. “We’re not deep there anyway, and Eric’s a good kid. It’s a shame for him.” That leaves three fifth-year seniors remaining on the team: TE Zach Hilton, WR Chesley Borders and DB Defonte Coleman. Other injured players to be evaluated as the week goes along are Borders (sprained left ankle), Kevin Knight (sprained left ankle), Jaworski Pollock (sprained left knee); Tommy Richardson (sprained left shoulder) and Jacque Lewis (sprained left shoulder). Bunting cited the play of safety Dexter Reid and WR Pollock as being outstanding against Miami. He also thought after reviewing tape that TB Lewis, WR Sam Aiken, DT Chase Page, S Chris Curry, and DEs Will Chapman and Tommy Davis had solid games. Six true freshmen played. DT Kendall High played on goal-line situations, and special teams included Richardson, Cedric Holt, Derrele Mitchell, Michael Gilmore and walk-on John DeShields. Mitchell had three kick-off returns for 62 yards. Bunting said that Darian Durant absolutely will be the Tar Heels’ starting QB against Syracuse but that C.J. Stephens’ performance late in the game had earned him the opportunity to play as well. “Last year I said I was not going to bench Ronald Curry, but I said that Darian’s play had earned him a shot,” Bunting says. “I want C.J. to play against Syracuse.” Bunting was disappointed that FB Madison Hedgecock did not carry the ball against Miami and said he hoped to work Hedgecock into the offense this week. Overlooked in the aftermath of all the turnovers attributed to Durant was the fact that he was working for the first time in a game—and in horrible weather— with center Jason Brown, who moved from tackle after the 2001 season. Aside from the nine turnovers, Bunting was reasonably pleased with the offense, which he said could have scored 35 points on a more representative ballhandling day. And he applauded the defense for holding on seven of the nine “sudden-change” stands it had to make following turnovers. “A major factor in the turnovers, beyond the emotional hit you take and losing the chance at points, was the change in field position,” Bunting said. “Nine times the 35 yards or so you’d have on every punt amounts to more than 300 yards. That’s a lot of field position.”
What’s better than golf at Pinehurst?
Golf at Pinehurst + $300.
This fall, when you book a two-night golf package* at Pinehurst, you’ll get a $300 gift card to use toward any resort purchase during your stay. So you can play an extra round or two, or spoil yourself in the new Spa. And you thought fall at Pinehurst couldn’t get any better. To reserve your package, call 1.800.487.4653 or visit Pinehurst.com. Offer valid for Sunday through Wednesday stays, September 1-November 16. $300 is per room. Subject to availability, tax and service charges. Not available on stays at The Manor. Cannot be combined with any other offer. © 2002 Pinehurst Inc.
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EXTRA POINTS Tar Heels’ 2002 Schedule
DIGEST Miami University 27, Carolina 21 MU Carolina First Downs 22 24 Rushing 9 7 Passing 11 15 Penalty 2 2 Rushing Attempts 56 28 Yards Gained Rushing 199 105 Yards Lost Rushing 24 11 Net Yards Rushing 175 94 Net Yards Passing 204 353 Passes Attempted 33 46 Passes Completed 16 28 Had Intercepted 0 3 Total Offensive Plays 89 74 Total Net Yards 379 447 Average Gain Per Play 4.3 6.0 Fumbles: No.-Lost 4-2 7-6 Penalties: No.-Yards 5-50 7-57 Punts-Ave. 7-41.4 3-38 Punt Returns: No.-Yards 1-3 5-9 Kick-Off Returns: No.-Yards 3-64 4-63 Interceptsion: No. -Yards 3-11 0-0 Fumble Returns:No.-Yards 0-0 1-6 Possession Time 38:17 21:43 Third-Down Conversions 9-20 3-10 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-3 1-1 Red-Zone Scores-Chances 4-7 2-4 Sacks By 1-1 2-4 Miami 7 6 7 7 27 Carolina 7 0 0 14 21 MU—Luke Clements 3 run (Jared Parseghian kick), 7:40 1st qtr. Carolina—Jacque Lewis 3 run (Dan Orner kick), 4:12. MU—Michael Larkin 3 pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Parseghian kick), 11:39 2nd qtr. MU—Cal Murray 2 run (Parseghian kick), 1:04 3rd qtr. Carolina—Bobby Blizzard 9 pass from Darian Durant (Orner kick), 11:03 4th qtr. MU—Clemens 15 run (Parseghian kick), 8:13. Carolina—Sam Aiken 37 pass from C.J. Stephens (Orner kick), 0:39. Individual Leaders Rushing—Carolina: Durant 9-38, Lewis 831, Stephens 1-13, Williams 5-10, Parker 3-4; MU: Murray 23-101. Passing—Carolina: Durant 37-24-3-279, 1
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ACC Standings ACC Overall 1-0 2-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-2 Thursday, Aug. 22 Colorado State 35, Virginia 29 Saturday, Aug. 24 Florida State 38, Iowa State 31 N.C. State 34, New Mexico 14 Thursday, Aug. 29 Northern Illinois 42, Wake Forest 41 (OT) Saturday’s Results Miami Univ. 27, Carolina 21 Florida State 40, Virginia 19 Georgia 31, Clemson 28 Duke 23, East Carolina 16 Notre Dame 22, Maryland 0 N.C. State 34, ETSU 0 Georgia Tech 45, Vanderbilt 3 Next Saturday’s Games Carolina at Syracuse, 8 p.m. (ESPN2) N.C. State at Navy, Noon Ga. Tech at UConn, Noon (FSS) La. Tech at Clemson, 1 p.m. Akron at Maryland, 6 p.m. East Carolina at Wake Forest, 6:30 p.m. Louisville at Duke, 7 p.m. South Carolina at Virginia, 7:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Florida State N.C. State Georgia Tech Duke Carolina Clemson Maryland Wake Forest Virginia
TD, Stephens 9-4-0-74, 1 TD; MU: Roethlisberger 33-16-0-204, 1 TD. Receiving—Carolina: Aiken 8-174, Pollock 5-59, Blizzard 4-29, Lewis 4-8, Borders 3-54, Russell 3-21, Williams 1-8; MU: Branch 3-64. Defense—Tackles: Reid 18, Stewart 11, Curry 8, Knight 6, Johnson 4, Chapman 4, Page 4, Mooring 3, Coleman 3, T. Davis 2, Dumas 2, Waddell 2, Banks 2, Smalls 2, Bullard 1, Holt 1, Coats 1, Brewer 1, Hawkins 1, Harris 1, E. Davis 1, Aiken 1, Justice 1, Grant 1, Hilton 1; TFL: Stewart 2-6, Chapman 1-1, Coleman 1.5-3, Page .5-1; FF: Stewart, Curry, Mooring; BrUp: Reid 2, Waddell 2; Sacks: Stewart 1-3, Chapman 1-1 A—38,000.
Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23
Miami University 21-27 at Syracuse 8 p.m. (ESPN2) Texas 8 p.m. (ABC) Open Georgia Tech TBA at Arizona State TBA N.C. State TBA at Virginia TBA at Wake Forest TBA Maryland TBA Clemson TBA at Florida State TBA at Duke TBA
EXTRA POINTS The only publication devoted exclusively to Tar Heel football.
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Extra Points will be published 16 times during the 2002-03 subscription cycle— on the Mondays following 12 regularseason games, in addition to preseason, bowl/post-season, recruiting and spring practice issues. Subscriptions are $30 per year, payable by check, money order or Visa/MC. The newsletter is available at no charge at www.Tarheelblue.com.
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FOUNDED AND PUBLISHED FROM 1990-93 BY THE GENERAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Vol. XIII, No. 2, September 2, 2002
SAY WHAT? Nine Turnovers Spell Heels’ Doom. CHAPEL HILL
How much of an aberration was it? That’s to be seen, of course, as the season progresses, but suffice it to say there were enough good his wasn’t the first time an extended things on display for the Tar Heels that one drought expired with a weekend assumes that a) QB Darian Durant cannot monsoon, a squishy field, footballs play any worse and b) the positives shown on jumping like popcorn from the hands of a retooled defense will blossom when the unit runners and a team prevailing that wasn’t isn’t asked to play two-thirds of the game supposed to win. Go back 34 years, when the because the offense cannot protect the Piedmont of North Carolina was football. At least in golf, the computer parched by a long drought, only to have throws out your worst 10 scores of your Hurricane Gladys come to a soupy last 20 in determining your handicap. rescue over the third weekend of At least in tennis, you duff one serve and October. you get another. In baseball you get John Bunting said Saturday that in three strikes. Too bad the Heels can’t all his years of football he’d never seen throw this one in the wastebasket. anything like what he’d just witnessed— “It’s amazing the game was so close his Tar Heels committing nine turnovers and we had a chance to win at the end,” and losing a season-opening game to Bunting said, recognizing it could have Miami University, 27-21—but the truth been a massacre when more than 50 is he had. He’d just forgotten that game percent of your possessions end up as in Kenan Stadium his freshman year in gifts to the opposition. “It’s a tribute to 1968 when the seventh-ranked Florida the way our players think, the way our Gators fumbled eight times in the rain coaches coach, the way our training staff while losing 22-7 to the Tar Heels, a works. That’s a positive. That’s a good game that ranks among most anyone’s thing. The bad thing is losing the top 10 moments in the venue’s 75-year football game the way we did. I hope I’m history. never around it again. It certainly caught It can, apparently, happen to anyone. me off-guard to have that kind of Small consolation, however, to performance.” Bunting, his staff and players who’d After properly serving his penance hoped to christen year two of the at second-team last spring and the Bunting Era on a merrier tone. “I can’t beginning of fall camp for his aborted even tell you what I’d like to say,” departure from Carolina football last Bunting said, apparently biting his February, Durant moved ahead of junior tongue in the same breath. “I really am transfer C.J. Stephens in the quarterback furious.” pecking order as the opener neared. How freakish was it? Consider that Though Stephens has a sharp mind and most of North Carolina had endured obvious physical skills, his instincts and three months of miniscule amounts of polish in reading defenses and finding rainfall since May, with local water receivers suffered when compared headsource Cane Creek Reservoir 40 percent on to the more experienced Durant. below capacity in late August. Only the Stephens is prettier. Durant’s more occasional late-afternoon thunderstorm effective. That’s why Bunting and saved the Triangle from turning into the Downhill from here: Miami picks off firstoffensive coordinator Gary Tranquill Dust Bowl as August wore on, but period pass, the first of nine UNC turnovers. officially promoted him to the first team finally when game week arrived a sixreturn, suffering through two QB-center one week before the Miami game. day covering of clouds and rainfall set over exchanges and watching the quarterback lose When Durant met with the news media North Carolina. “Be careful what you wish one ball when he said he was trying to pass. last Tuesday after being anointed the starter, for,” Carolina Athletic Director Dick Baddour The Tar Heels endured a black hole of a he appeared more confident, more comfortsaid before Saturday’s game. “You just might second quarter, mishandling the ball on five able, more mature than he had at any point get it.” Certainly no one looking at the big during his record-setting freshman season in straight possessions. That surreal stretch had picture will complain about the weather, but Bunting flailing his arms as he walked 2001. He’s 10 pounds lighter than a year ago. it made football difficult and culled the through the rain to the field house at halftime. His teammates have accepted his return as a opening-day crowd to less than 40,000.
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How bizarre was it? Consider that only one team in the history of the ACC, now at an even half-century of age, had ever lost nine turnovers in one game. That was Wake Forest, yielding nine to Duke in 1956. Carolina matched that Saturday, tossing three interceptions, dropping two balls on routine running plays, having a mix-up on a kick-off
JEFF CAMARATI
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EXTRA POINTS
Lewis Emerges As Toast Of Tailbacks.
J
ohn Bunting hinted at various times throughout the Tar Heels’ August training camp that sophomore tailback Jacque Lewis was on the brink of emerging as Carolina’s go-to guy in the running game. It was obvious Saturday that Lewis has some special qualities. One, he did not fumble the football. Two, he broke three tackles en route to a three-yard TD run in the first quarter. “Jacque is a tough cookie, we know that about him,” Bunting said. “He displayed out there when he gets into a key situation that he’s a guy you can depend on. We made a decision at halftime—‘Let him play.’ The other guys can’t hang onto the ball. So let him play.” Running backs coach André Powell entered the game intending to give each of three tailbacks a chance to mix it up—juniors Willie Parker and André Williams and Lewis. Whoever if anyone got the hot hand would play more as the game developed. Parker and Williams, unfortunately, coughed the ball up on consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Lewis played all of the second half and finished with 31 yards on eight carries. Bunting said that while Lewis gained an edge on the other backs on Saturday, he still expects each to get an opportunity to improve as the season progresses. Jacque Lewis “It was very difficult holding onto the ball,” said the 5-10, 184pound Lewis. “The coaches told us to put two hands on the ball after a couple of fumbles. I just tried to do that and hold on.” His first-quarter TD was a thing of macho beauty, coming as it did from only three yards out but requiring yeoman’s work amidst the chaos of the line of scrimmage. “The strength training program with Coach Connors has really helped my legs and upper body,” Lewis said. “Coach Powell has worked with me on not going down on one hit. I just kept driving my feet and got into the end zone.” Another sign of Lewis’s development as a blocker and a leader is his assignment as the “upback” or “personal protector” on the punt team. It’s his job to call the right blocking assignment based on what the opponent shows and to hang tough in being the last man between the punter and a man intent on blocking the kick.
fellow human who admitted a mistake and welcomed his return as a quality ballplayer. “Both quarterbacks are very good, but the offense is a little more fluid with Darian,” guard Jeb Terry said. Those words were dripping with irony, though, when Durant took the field under a steady shower Saturday afternoon. He underthrew an early pass into double coverage for an interception. He tried to throw another ball away under duress, but didn’t heave it out-of-bounds far enough and a Miami player made a leaping catch. Things got worse as the day wore on. Still, he completed 24 passes of 37 tries for 279 yards and one TD on a nice improvisation throw to tight end Bobby Blizzard. Bunting said that he and Tranquill considered pulling Durant, but the weird nature of his performance added to the weather prompted them to stick with him. “Getting C.J. into the game was the plan,” Bunting said. “When the weather’s like this, you begin to say, ‘Maybe that’s not the best idea.’” Stephens entered the game late and led Carolina on a quick TD march to cut the Miami lead to six points, and after a perfectly executed onside kick by Topher Roberts and recovery by Michael Waddell, Carolina had the ball with 39 seconds left at the Miami 47. With no timeouts left, it was incumbent on the Heels to either get first downs, get out-of-
bounds or throw incomplete passes with every snap in order to save the clock. But on first down, Brandon Russell caught a pass that should have gained 10 yards, but he was knocked back on the tackle by a Redhawk defender for an eight-yard gain. That wasted nearly 20 seconds, giving the Heels time for just three more snaps. Under a heavy rush, Stephens threw incomplete to the left side of the end zone toward tight end Zach Hilton on the last play of the game. “I’m very disappointed we could not put it in the end zone,” Stephens said. “As poorly as we played, we still had a chance at the end. We’ll build on this and become a better team because of it.” Because of Durant’s poor outing and the spark Stephens supplied at the end, Bunting and Tranquill will get some heat over not making a change sooner. But Bunting said there’s not a quarterback issue on his team. “Darian’s a guy we have high expectations of,” Bunting said. “I’m sure he’s very disappointed in some of the decisions he made. And that’s his strength.” Durant acknowledged that it was his “worst game ever” and that he started pressing as the second half evolved and the Tar Heels fell behind by two touchdowns. “They couldn’t stop us,” he said. “We moved the ball up and down the field all day long. It’s just unfortunate we had a couple of
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mishaps that cost us the game.” The Tar Heels showed a lot of speed and heart on defense and were able to play waves of newcomers as coordinator Dave Huxtable begins rebuilding a unit that sent five draft picks into the NFL. The defense spent 38 minutes and 17 seconds on the field, far too much time to remain productive no matter how rigorous the off-season and pre-season conditioning program might be. Safety Dexter Reid lived up to his pre-season AllAmerica billing, accounting for 18 tackles, two pass breakups and two stops on the goal line in a memorable third-quarter stand. The Heels stopped Miami five times at the one yard-line (the extra down because of a penalty), and veterans like Reid and Malcolm Stewart were joined by newer faces like Doug Justice, Carl Smalls, Jeff Longhany, Chase Page, Kendall High and Darryl Grant in getting into the mix of bodies at the goal. “Our kids played with a lot of pride on that goal-line stand,” Huxtable said. “They bowed their necks, got their pads set and didn’t quit. I’m as proud as I can be of them.” After Carolina edged within one TD early in the fourth quarter, the defense needed a stop and couldn’t get one. Miami shredded the Tar Heels on seven plays for 67 yards— most of them on the ground—for what proved to be the winning score. “We had a chance to go three-and-out or create a turnover, but we weren’t able to do that,” Reid said. “I take the blame for one third-down play. I expected one route and they came with the post and completed it over the middle. We should have stopped them.” “We weren’t able to tackle and they got into a run mode,” Huxtable said. “We just were not able to play good defense and tackle fundamentally. That was a big series.” Carolina alternated two sets of defensive ends throughout the game—first-teamers Will Chapman and Issac Mooring and reserves Tommy Davis and Jermicus Banks— and rolled a lot of tackles in, with starters Page and Eric Davis sharing time with Donti Coats, Smalls and Grant. As expected, the Heels played a lot of a “dime” personnel group, with Stewart playing middle linebacker surrounded by Reid, Waddell, Chris Curry, Defonte Coleman, Kevin Knight and Derrick Johnson. The weakness of that package, though, was that it puts Johnson at one cornerback opposite Waddell, and his side proved to be much more vulnerable than when Knight is at corner in Carolina’s base personnel group. That’s an issue that will be under the microscope this week as Carolina prepares for Syracuse. “Our defense responded today way above my expectations,” Bunting said. “They did a magnificent job. I’m proud of them.” Throughout this discourse I have yet to give proper credit to the Redhawks of Miami University, and in fairness a tip of the cap
EXTRA POINTS their way should be a point of emphasis. In case no one’s paying attention, “The Cradle of Coaches” has a spiffy little three-game winning streak over the Tar Heels—1978, winning 7-3 over Dick Crum’s first team; 1998, sending Carl Torbush’s program reeling from the get-go with a 13-10 defeat; and now this calamity. At no point in these pages will you see reference to their home state, which is an appendage the school must carry into perpetuity since it’s not as glamorous or large or sexy as its Florida counterpart. But I made a vow exactly four years ago in regurgitating that 1998 opener that: “Henceforth around these parts that school from the southern tip of Florida will be known as Miami OF FLORIDA and we’re giving these guys from the Midwest their due. It’s Miami, period.” Miami has a terrific QB in Ben Roethlisberger, is well-coached, did a great job of stripping the ball from the Tar Heels and hung tough in the second half when Carolina was a whisker from gaining some inertia. Come to think of it, Bunting not once in his post-game press conference mentioned Miami. I’m sure it wasn’t an intended slight, simply a function of how eerie his own team’s performance seemed. Nine turnovers. “Unbelievable,” he said, shaking his head. Bunting said he’d allow himself an evening’s worth of agony and a film-session of “whatifs” on Sunday morning. “Then we forget it and move on,” he said. “I can’t wait to play Syracuse.” The Orangemen, fortunately, have a domed stadium and promise bone-dry conditions next Saturday night. —LEE PACE
Join The Foundation Help sponsor the educations of Tar Heel football players—for as little as $100 a year. Membership to the Educational Foundation includes the opportunity to purchase season football tickets and mini-season basketball ticket packages; access to the Ram’s Room in Kenan Field House; tickets to the annual Super Saturday lunch featuring John Bunting and Matt Doherty; invitations to annual functions featuring Carolina coaches; subscription to the new Tar Heel Monthly newspaper, donor card, car decals and more. For more information, call the Educational Foundation offices at 919/945-2000.
DT Davis Lost For Year With Knee Injury. SQUIB-KICKS – Fifth-year senior Eric Davis suffered a torn left ACL Saturday and will miss the rest of the season. Tar Heel coach John Bunting said Sunday he and defensive tackles coach Rod Broadway might have to alter plans to red-shirt Mickey Rice and will have to get walk-on Tony Pigford ready to play. “That’s going to hurt,” Bunting said. “We’re not deep there anyway, and Eric’s a good kid. It’s a shame for him.” That leaves three fifth-year seniors remaining on the team: TE Zach Hilton, WR Chesley Borders and DB Defonte Coleman. Other injured players to be evaluated as the week goes along are Borders (sprained left ankle), Kevin Knight (sprained left ankle), Jaworski Pollock (sprained left knee); Tommy Richardson (sprained left shoulder) and Jacque Lewis (sprained left shoulder). Bunting cited the play of safety Dexter Reid and WR Pollock as being outstanding against Miami. He also thought after reviewing tape that TB Lewis, WR Sam Aiken, DT Chase Page, S Chris Curry, and DEs Will Chapman and Tommy Davis had solid games. Six true freshmen played. DT Kendall High played on goal-line situations, and special teams included Richardson, Cedric Holt, Derrele Mitchell, Michael Gilmore and walk-on John DeShields. Mitchell had three kick-off returns for 62 yards. Bunting said that Darian Durant absolutely will be the Tar Heels’ starting QB against Syracuse but that C.J. Stephens’ performance late in the game had earned him the opportunity to play as well. “Last year I said I was not going to bench Ronald Curry, but I said that Darian’s play had earned him a shot,” Bunting says. “I want C.J. to play against Syracuse.” Bunting was disappointed that FB Madison Hedgecock did not carry the ball against Miami and said he hoped to work Hedgecock into the offense this week. Overlooked in the aftermath of all the turnovers attributed to Durant was the fact that he was working for the first time in a game—and in horrible weather— with center Jason Brown, who moved from tackle after the 2001 season. Aside from the nine turnovers, Bunting was reasonably pleased with the offense, which he said could have scored 35 points on a more representative ballhandling day. And he applauded the defense for holding on seven of the nine “sudden-change” stands it had to make following turnovers. “A major factor in the turnovers, beyond the emotional hit you take and losing the chance at points, was the change in field position,” Bunting said. “Nine times the 35 yards or so you’d have on every punt amounts to more than 300 yards. That’s a lot of field position.”
What’s better than golf at Pinehurst?
Golf at Pinehurst + $300.
This fall, when you book a two-night golf package* at Pinehurst, you’ll get a $300 gift card to use toward any resort purchase during your stay. So you can play an extra round or two, or spoil yourself in the new Spa. And you thought fall at Pinehurst couldn’t get any better. To reserve your package, call 1.800.487.4653 or visit Pinehurst.com. Offer valid for Sunday through Wednesday stays, September 1-November 16. $300 is per room. Subject to availability, tax and service charges. Not available on stays at The Manor. Cannot be combined with any other offer. © 2002 Pinehurst Inc.
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EXTRA POINTS Tar Heels’ 2002 Schedule
DIGEST Miami University 27, Carolina 21 MU Carolina First Downs 22 24 Rushing 9 7 Passing 11 15 Penalty 2 2 Rushing Attempts 56 28 Yards Gained Rushing 199 105 Yards Lost Rushing 24 11 Net Yards Rushing 175 94 Net Yards Passing 204 353 Passes Attempted 33 46 Passes Completed 16 28 Had Intercepted 0 3 Total Offensive Plays 89 74 Total Net Yards 379 447 Average Gain Per Play 4.3 6.0 Fumbles: No.-Lost 4-2 7-6 Penalties: No.-Yards 5-50 7-57 Punts-Ave. 7-41.4 3-38 Punt Returns: No.-Yards 1-3 5-9 Kick-Off Returns: No.-Yards 3-64 4-63 Interceptsion: No. -Yards 3-11 0-0 Fumble Returns:No.-Yards 0-0 1-6 Possession Time 38:17 21:43 Third-Down Conversions 9-20 3-10 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-3 1-1 Red-Zone Scores-Chances 4-7 2-4 Sacks By 1-1 2-4 Miami 7 6 7 7 27 Carolina 7 0 0 14 21 MU—Luke Clements 3 run (Jared Parseghian kick), 7:40 1st qtr. Carolina—Jacque Lewis 3 run (Dan Orner kick), 4:12. MU—Michael Larkin 3 pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Parseghian kick), 11:39 2nd qtr. MU—Cal Murray 2 run (Parseghian kick), 1:04 3rd qtr. Carolina—Bobby Blizzard 9 pass from Darian Durant (Orner kick), 11:03 4th qtr. MU—Clemens 15 run (Parseghian kick), 8:13. Carolina—Sam Aiken 37 pass from C.J. Stephens (Orner kick), 0:39. Individual Leaders Rushing—Carolina: Durant 9-38, Lewis 831, Stephens 1-13, Williams 5-10, Parker 3-4; MU: Murray 23-101. Passing—Carolina: Durant 37-24-3-279, 1
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ACC Standings ACC Overall 1-0 2-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-2 Thursday, Aug. 22 Colorado State 35, Virginia 29 Saturday, Aug. 24 Florida State 38, Iowa State 31 N.C. State 34, New Mexico 14 Thursday, Aug. 29 Northern Illinois 42, Wake Forest 41 (OT) Saturday’s Results Miami Univ. 27, Carolina 21 Florida State 40, Virginia 19 Georgia 31, Clemson 28 Duke 23, East Carolina 16 Notre Dame 22, Maryland 0 N.C. State 34, ETSU 0 Georgia Tech 45, Vanderbilt 3 Next Saturday’s Games Carolina at Syracuse, 8 p.m. (ESPN2) N.C. State at Navy, Noon Ga. Tech at UConn, Noon (FSS) La. Tech at Clemson, 1 p.m. Akron at Maryland, 6 p.m. East Carolina at Wake Forest, 6:30 p.m. Louisville at Duke, 7 p.m. South Carolina at Virginia, 7:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Florida State N.C. State Georgia Tech Duke Carolina Clemson Maryland Wake Forest Virginia
TD, Stephens 9-4-0-74, 1 TD; MU: Roethlisberger 33-16-0-204, 1 TD. Receiving—Carolina: Aiken 8-174, Pollock 5-59, Blizzard 4-29, Lewis 4-8, Borders 3-54, Russell 3-21, Williams 1-8; MU: Branch 3-64. Defense—Tackles: Reid 18, Stewart 11, Curry 8, Knight 6, Johnson 4, Chapman 4, Page 4, Mooring 3, Coleman 3, T. Davis 2, Dumas 2, Waddell 2, Banks 2, Smalls 2, Bullard 1, Holt 1, Coats 1, Brewer 1, Hawkins 1, Harris 1, E. Davis 1, Aiken 1, Justice 1, Grant 1, Hilton 1; TFL: Stewart 2-6, Chapman 1-1, Coleman 1.5-3, Page .5-1; FF: Stewart, Curry, Mooring; BrUp: Reid 2, Waddell 2; Sacks: Stewart 1-3, Chapman 1-1 A—38,000.
Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23
Miami University 21-27 at Syracuse 8 p.m. (ESPN2) Texas 8 p.m. (ABC) Open Georgia Tech TBA at Arizona State TBA N.C. State TBA at Virginia TBA at Wake Forest TBA Maryland TBA Clemson TBA at Florida State TBA at Duke TBA
EXTRA POINTS The only publication devoted exclusively to Tar Heel football.
Lee Pace, Carolina ‘79 Editor & Publisher 101-A Aberdeen Dr. / Chapel Hill 27516 919/933-2082 / [email protected]
Extra Points will be published 16 times during the 2002-03 subscription cycle— on the Mondays following 12 regularseason games, in addition to preseason, bowl/post-season, recruiting and spring practice issues. Subscriptions are $30 per year, payable by check, money order or Visa/MC. The newsletter is available at no charge at www.Tarheelblue.com.
“Born & Bred” Book Available. Born & Bred—John Bunting Takes Dead Aim On His Dream Job At Carolina, will be available this fall at UNC Student Stores, Johnny T-Shirt, Carolina Sportswear and the Fans’ Store at Tarheelblue.com. To order by phone, call 800/554-6862.
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