University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points: When It Rains...
October 8, 2017 | Football, Featured Writers, Lee Pace
By Lee Pace
The skies leaked with rain and the circumstances dripped with irony everywhere one looked over the weekend when pseudo-ACC member Notre Dame visited Chapel Hill and Kenan Stadium for what will be its once-every-five-years commitment to road games at each ACC school.
If you logged on to websites for the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune to view the Midwest media's spin on the Fighting Irish's 33-10 win, first you were assailed with bold headlines heralding Monday night's debut of Bears QB Mitch Trubisky, late of the Carolina starting position. "Preparation a trademark for Mitch Trubisky," one story began, harkening to Trubisky coming off the bench cold at Virginia in 2014 and N.C. State in 2015 to throw touchdown passes when Marquise Williams had to leave because his helmet popped off.
In a season defined by the cataclysmic deluge of injuries that has sidelined at least six starters on offense and three on defense for at least one game—if not the entire season in many cases—now the Tar Heels saw their most consistent and prolific performer, punter Tom Sheldon with his 45.7 average, limping into the training room late in the first quarter, not to return.
Well, if you can't keep your punter healthy ...
Elsewhere the Tar Heels finally got a first down early in the second quarter after three straight 3-and-outs to open the game, only to have it nullified when tackle Bentley Spain was flagged for a holding call. Careful replay review shows Spain appearing to play by the rules—he's not grabbing with either hand, not extending his arms and merely blocking the Notre Dame defender to the ground. Such calls in the scrum in the middle are the domain of the center judge, but the flag came from the side from a linesman. When it rains ....
The Tar Heels finally got a big play from a receiver late in the first half, with Anthony Ratliff-Williams elevating and reaching over Irish cornerback Julian Love in the end zone for a touchdown. But Ratliff-Williams said something and gestured to the defender, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and dousing to a degree what should have been a celebratory mood on the Tar Heel sidelines.
And then the coup de grace followed moments later, with the Tar Heels having less than a minute and 99 yards left before halftime. Coach Larry Fedora hoped for a replay of a late-half touchdown strike against Duke two weeks ago, and the Tar Heels set up Ratliff-Williams with a double-move against Love. But the defender didn't take the bait, and Chazz Surratt's pass was almost picked off by the safety rotating over. Fedora then appeared to bark into his headset to his assistants to just run the ball and go to the locker room with a 14-7 deficit. But on a seemingly safe trap play, tailback Jordon Brown was nailed in the end zone for a safety.
"They brought more than we could handle," center Cam Dillard said. "We weren't prepared for the line stunt."
What he didn't say was that one of his teammates was a hair late making a call and the group collectively didn't get its zone responsibilities sorted out before the snap. The same thing happened on the first play of the game against Duke two weeks ago, when Surratt was sacked after a call was late and a Duke defender was turned loose. Those things don't happen as much when you have a veteran unit that's played multiple games together—i.e. the O-line from two years ago that played intact most of the year and helped the Tar Heels to their most prolific season in history, 487 yards and 41 points a game.
"I know I come in here every week and it sounds like the same thing over and over," Fedora said to open his post-game press conference. "The energy level of our guys, the way they're practicing—they're giving it everything they've got out there. And, again, it comes down to me as the head coach putting them in a position to be successful. And I haven't found a way to make that happen yet."
The frustration on offense is nearing epic proportions for a coach who's made his bones with an up-tempo, high-octane approach to moving the ball. Through six games, the Tar Heels are averaging 25 points and 373 yards a game, well below Fedora norms at Carolina from 2012-16 of 35 points and 454 yards. Carolina is hitting just 30 percent of its third-downs and has yielded 13 sacks. It's lost four fumbles and thrown six interceptions.
Adding insult to injury, the offense's ineptitude has carried over to defense, which has been left on the field way too long and predictably breaks down more as the games wear on, especially all these early-season affairs that have been played in varying afternoon temperatures of 80 degrees or more. And on Saturday prior to rains that hit Chapel Hill in spurts, one in the first half and one in the second, the air was thick with moisture. The Tar Heels have been outscored 70-30 in the fourth quarter.
Carolina held Notre Dame's vaunted rushing attack to 3.25 yards a pop on 25 first-half runs, but unfortunately it gave up one run of 73 yards and a touchdown on the 26th. Safety Myles Dorn snared one ball for an interception that helped set up the Tar Heels' lone touchdown.
"There were some really bright points with the defense," Fedora said. "There were some times we put them in a sudden-change situation and they came out and did a heck of a job. We gave up one play in the first half we probably shouldn't have given up. They performed, especially early on. They got worn down again. That's where the offense has got to do a better job of helping them out."
This latest chapter in Carolina's 1-5 season took a bit of the glow off what was otherwise a watershed weekend for the University community. The $4.25 billion "Campaign for Carolina" was launched with an array of dinners, a black-tie gala and tailgate functions that began Thursday night.
One of the highlights was the $50 million offering from John and Marree Townsend, undergrads from the late 1970s and John a Kenan-Flagler MBA graduate in 1982 who went on to a career on Wall Street. Friday morning, Townsend addressed the official campaign kick-off function on Polk Place and spoke of the "transcendental joy of philanthropy," challenging everyone in the Carolina community to stretch their giving into a bolder and more imaginative realm. A large part of the Townsend gift will be allocated to the arts, and he referenced the "power, influence and magic" that the arts can have on a university community. And he noted a portion of the gift would go to athletics as well.
"We're equally excited about supporting excellence in athletics," Townsend said. "For many of our students, this is our very best classroom, and it's where many of our best teachers excel."
This is quite the laboratory the Tar Heel football team is laboring through in 2017—for its teachers and pupils both. And there are six more lessons to go, each an opportunity to remind everyone of the words from General George Patton: "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits rock bottom."
Lee Pace is in his 28th year covering Tar Heel football through "Extra Points" and 14th as the sideline reporter for the Tar Heel Sports Network. His book, "Football in a Forest," is available in bookstores across North Carolina and online at www.johnnytshirt.com. Email him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LeePaceTweet.
The skies leaked with rain and the circumstances dripped with irony everywhere one looked over the weekend when pseudo-ACC member Notre Dame visited Chapel Hill and Kenan Stadium for what will be its once-every-five-years commitment to road games at each ACC school.
If you logged on to websites for the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune to view the Midwest media's spin on the Fighting Irish's 33-10 win, first you were assailed with bold headlines heralding Monday night's debut of Bears QB Mitch Trubisky, late of the Carolina starting position. "Preparation a trademark for Mitch Trubisky," one story began, harkening to Trubisky coming off the bench cold at Virginia in 2014 and N.C. State in 2015 to throw touchdown passes when Marquise Williams had to leave because his helmet popped off.
In a season defined by the cataclysmic deluge of injuries that has sidelined at least six starters on offense and three on defense for at least one game—if not the entire season in many cases—now the Tar Heels saw their most consistent and prolific performer, punter Tom Sheldon with his 45.7 average, limping into the training room late in the first quarter, not to return.
Well, if you can't keep your punter healthy ...
Elsewhere the Tar Heels finally got a first down early in the second quarter after three straight 3-and-outs to open the game, only to have it nullified when tackle Bentley Spain was flagged for a holding call. Careful replay review shows Spain appearing to play by the rules—he's not grabbing with either hand, not extending his arms and merely blocking the Notre Dame defender to the ground. Such calls in the scrum in the middle are the domain of the center judge, but the flag came from the side from a linesman. When it rains ....
The Tar Heels finally got a big play from a receiver late in the first half, with Anthony Ratliff-Williams elevating and reaching over Irish cornerback Julian Love in the end zone for a touchdown. But Ratliff-Williams said something and gestured to the defender, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and dousing to a degree what should have been a celebratory mood on the Tar Heel sidelines.
And then the coup de grace followed moments later, with the Tar Heels having less than a minute and 99 yards left before halftime. Coach Larry Fedora hoped for a replay of a late-half touchdown strike against Duke two weeks ago, and the Tar Heels set up Ratliff-Williams with a double-move against Love. But the defender didn't take the bait, and Chazz Surratt's pass was almost picked off by the safety rotating over. Fedora then appeared to bark into his headset to his assistants to just run the ball and go to the locker room with a 14-7 deficit. But on a seemingly safe trap play, tailback Jordon Brown was nailed in the end zone for a safety.
"They brought more than we could handle," center Cam Dillard said. "We weren't prepared for the line stunt."
What he didn't say was that one of his teammates was a hair late making a call and the group collectively didn't get its zone responsibilities sorted out before the snap. The same thing happened on the first play of the game against Duke two weeks ago, when Surratt was sacked after a call was late and a Duke defender was turned loose. Those things don't happen as much when you have a veteran unit that's played multiple games together—i.e. the O-line from two years ago that played intact most of the year and helped the Tar Heels to their most prolific season in history, 487 yards and 41 points a game.
"I know I come in here every week and it sounds like the same thing over and over," Fedora said to open his post-game press conference. "The energy level of our guys, the way they're practicing—they're giving it everything they've got out there. And, again, it comes down to me as the head coach putting them in a position to be successful. And I haven't found a way to make that happen yet."
The frustration on offense is nearing epic proportions for a coach who's made his bones with an up-tempo, high-octane approach to moving the ball. Through six games, the Tar Heels are averaging 25 points and 373 yards a game, well below Fedora norms at Carolina from 2012-16 of 35 points and 454 yards. Carolina is hitting just 30 percent of its third-downs and has yielded 13 sacks. It's lost four fumbles and thrown six interceptions.
Adding insult to injury, the offense's ineptitude has carried over to defense, which has been left on the field way too long and predictably breaks down more as the games wear on, especially all these early-season affairs that have been played in varying afternoon temperatures of 80 degrees or more. And on Saturday prior to rains that hit Chapel Hill in spurts, one in the first half and one in the second, the air was thick with moisture. The Tar Heels have been outscored 70-30 in the fourth quarter.
Carolina held Notre Dame's vaunted rushing attack to 3.25 yards a pop on 25 first-half runs, but unfortunately it gave up one run of 73 yards and a touchdown on the 26th. Safety Myles Dorn snared one ball for an interception that helped set up the Tar Heels' lone touchdown.
"There were some really bright points with the defense," Fedora said. "There were some times we put them in a sudden-change situation and they came out and did a heck of a job. We gave up one play in the first half we probably shouldn't have given up. They performed, especially early on. They got worn down again. That's where the offense has got to do a better job of helping them out."
This latest chapter in Carolina's 1-5 season took a bit of the glow off what was otherwise a watershed weekend for the University community. The $4.25 billion "Campaign for Carolina" was launched with an array of dinners, a black-tie gala and tailgate functions that began Thursday night.
One of the highlights was the $50 million offering from John and Marree Townsend, undergrads from the late 1970s and John a Kenan-Flagler MBA graduate in 1982 who went on to a career on Wall Street. Friday morning, Townsend addressed the official campaign kick-off function on Polk Place and spoke of the "transcendental joy of philanthropy," challenging everyone in the Carolina community to stretch their giving into a bolder and more imaginative realm. A large part of the Townsend gift will be allocated to the arts, and he referenced the "power, influence and magic" that the arts can have on a university community. And he noted a portion of the gift would go to athletics as well.
"We're equally excited about supporting excellence in athletics," Townsend said. "For many of our students, this is our very best classroom, and it's where many of our best teachers excel."
This is quite the laboratory the Tar Heel football team is laboring through in 2017—for its teachers and pupils both. And there are six more lessons to go, each an opportunity to remind everyone of the words from General George Patton: "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits rock bottom."
Lee Pace is in his 28th year covering Tar Heel football through "Extra Points" and 14th as the sideline reporter for the Tar Heel Sports Network. His book, "Football in a Forest," is available in bookstores across North Carolina and online at www.johnnytshirt.com. Email him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LeePaceTweet.
Players Mentioned
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