Aug. 8, 1999
y: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue.com
Year-by-Year:
1990: This was the year Mack Brown's football program turned the
corner. The Heels had a winning 6-4-1 record and even made a brief
appearance in the Top 25. The biggest "win" of the season may have been
a tie, a 13-13 game with a Georgia Tech team that shared the National
Championship with Colorado...
UNC got off to a good start with a 34-0 win over Miami (Ohio) that featured
an 87-yard interception return for a TD by Cookie Massey, the third longest
in Carolina history. After dropping a 27-5 decision at South Carolina, the Heels topped
Connecticut 48-21, then beat Kentucky 16-13 behind Clint Gwaltney's right
leg. This was the first time Carolina had won back-to-back games since October of 1987...
The 3-1 Heels next played host to N.C. State in one of the biggest home games of
the past few years. On a spectacular Saturday for football, the Wolfpack broke
the Heels' hearts. UNC, trailing 9-6 with just minutes remaining,
drove to a first down inside the State ten, and an upset seemed possible.
However, State held, and after a Gwaltney field goal tied the game at 9-9,
the Wolfpack got the ball
back with less than a minute remaining. State drove to midfield, then
got a first down on the Heels' 39, stopping the clock
on a first down with exactly one second left
in the game. That was all the time Damon Hartmann needed to drill a 56-yard
field goal for a 12-9 Wolfpack win...The disappointed Heels quickly rebounded and
went on a three-game streak that helped put Mack Brown over the hump. UNC went to
Wake Forest for a Saturday night game, trailed at the half, then came back for
a crucial 31-24 win. A 72-yard Todd Burnett to Natrone Means scoring pass helped UNC
to the win, its first victory against an ACC opponent in nearly two years.
The next week was the 13-13 tie with Georgia Tech, as the
Yellow Jackets needed a last-minute field goal to tie
the score after Carolina's defense made a great
goal line stand. The Tar Heels then hammered Maryland 34-10 at home, and a joyous
Kenan Stadium crowd lingered long after the game ended, savoring the big win,
not wanting to leave.
A 5-2-1 team lost to Clemson and Virginia to fall to 5-4-1
going into the Duke game.
The Tar Heels had an outside chance at a bowl bid if they could top the 4-6 Blue
Devils...
Freshman tailback Means picked a good time to explode,
rushing for 256 yards and scoring three touchdowns to lead the Heels to a
24-22 win at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Means raced 76 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown on UNC's first play from
scrimmage. Duke scored a touchdown on its next possession, then Carolina responded
with one of its own as Means ran nine yards for a 14-7 UNC lead late in the first quarter.
A 33-yard Gwaltney field goal gave Carolina a 17-7 halftime lead. Randy Cuthbert's
21-yard run made the scored 17-14 after three quarters. Means then got what would prove
to be the winning score on a one-yard plunge for a 24-14 lead with twelve minutes remaining.
Duke scored with 48 seconds left, and a two-point conversiong cut the UNC lead to 24-22.
The Blue Devils tried an on-sides kick, but Deems May recovered the ball to seal the
Heels' win. Hopes for a bowl game did not materialize,
but the Carolina players had
the satisfaction of knowing they had regained the respect of the rest of the conference...
Clint Gwaltney, the Heels' leading scorer, was a major offensive weapon this year.
Gwaltney's 21 field goals (out of 27 attempts) are the most a UNC kicker
has made in a single season, with seven of them coming from over forty yards.
Gwaltney kicked four field goals against Maryland to tie the school's single-game
record...Inside linebacker Dwight Hollier led the ACC in tackles for the second
consecutive season.
1991: Natrone Means joined Carolina's group of 1,000-yard rushers, and
UNC improved slightly on last year's record with a 7-4 finish...
Opening wins over Cincinnati (51-16) at home and Army (20-12) at West Point were followed by
a disappointing 24-7 loss at N.C. State...William & Mary then came to Kenan Stadium
for the Eric Blount show. Blount joined Charlie Justice as
only the second Tar Heel to return both
a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the same game. Blount brought a kickoff back
93 yards for a TD as well as scoring on a 76-yard punt return in a wild 59-36
win. A 24-10 win at home over Wake Forest on Oct. 12 put the Heels at 4-1, their best
start since 1986. (My father was a 14-year old boy when he attended the first game
at Kenan Stadium in 1927. The Wake Forest game was his last time at Kenan Stadium.
I'm really glad I sat with him. I'm really, really glad my daughter was with us.)
...The Tar Heels went on the road for games at Virginia and Georgia Tech and
lost them both. In a scheduling quirk, UNC got Maryland at home again and won 24-0,
the second year in a row the Heels topped the Terps by 24 points. An error-filled
21-6 loss at Clemson left UNC at 5-4 going into the last two games...
If Carolina could win its last two, there was a slim chance for a bowl bid.
The South Carolina Gamecocks visited Chapel Hill, and UNC held on for a narrow
21-17 win...A 4-4-1 Duke squad came to Kenan Stadium, and this one was a rout.
The Tar Heels led 20-0 at the half on scoring runs by Eric Blount and Randy
Jordan, plus two Gwaltney field goals. The lead was 33-14 with 13 minutes left when
Natrone Means made the play of the game. Means broke a 68-yard scoring run to give him
181 yards on the day and 1,030 for the season, the most in the ACC this year.
William Henderson's nine-yard run made the final score 47-14. Duke did not pose in
front of the scoreboard this year....
Unfortunately, just like last year,
that day's other games did not go UNC's way, and the Heels did not get a bowl bid...
Means, inside linebacker Tommy Thigpen and offensive guard Brian Bollinger all
made first-team All-ACC...The Tar Heels' 7-4 mark was their best record since an
8-4 finish in 1983...Clint Gwaltney finished his outstanding career with the
record for most field goals made, drilling 43 of 64 attempts (67.2%). He
was a machine on extra points as he methodically banged 82 of 83 PATs (98.8%) through
the uprights. His only miss was this season against Cincinnati, when a Bearcat noseguard
raced up the middle and blocked the kick. Ironically, Gwaltney had set a new UNC record
for consecutive extra points made with 56 on his previous point after attempt.
1992: The Tar Heels finally made it back to a bowl game.
Carolina went 9-3 and downed Mississippi State in an exciting Peach Bowl
in the Georgia Dome...
racey Walker blocks
his second punt in
UNC's Peach Bowl
win over the
Mississippi St.
Bulldogs in Atlanta.
|
Mike Faulkerson became the first UNC fullback to rush for three TDs in a game in 87 years
as Carolina topped Wake Forest 35-17 in the opener. The UNC defense held Furman to just
214 yards in a 28-0 win, then Carolina moved to 3-0 with a 22-9 home win over Army in a game
that was delayed 31 minutes due to lightning....
N.C. State then came to town and beat UNC for the fifth consecutive year, 27-20, in a
game that featured outstanding quarterback play. State's Terry Jordan completed 23 of 25
passes for 361 yards, while Jason Stanicek was 26 of 35 for 237 yards, at one point completing
14 consecutive passes to tie a school record. Greg Manior scored the winning touchdown
on a one-yard run with 1:01 to play...
After beating Navy 28-14 and losing 36-13 at Florida State, the Heels beat Top-20 opponents
on consecutive weekends, something they had never before done.
Natrone Means rushed for 216 yards in a 27-7 win over No. 16 Virginia, then Carolina's
defense held No. 19 Georgia Tech to just 175 total yards in a 26-14 win. The celebration
after the Tech game was one of the biggest in years at Kenan Stadium. Neither goal post
survived the Carolina students...
The next week Natrone Means rushed for 249 yards in a
31-24 win at Maryland. Mean's 76-yard TD run against the Terps put him over 1,000
yards for the season. The 7-2 Heels traveled to Clemson and got crushed, 40-7, with
Curtis Johnson's 76-yard run giving UNC its only score...Carolina's bowl hopes now
depended on a win at Duke.
In an exiting, back and forth game, Carolina rallied for
a 31-28 win on a 20-yard pass from Mike Thomas to Bucky Brooks
with 2:06 left to play. Brooks finished the
day with five receptions for 185 yards (37.0 yards per catch), while Thomas completed
11 of 18 passes for 299 yards (27.2 yards per pass) and
two touchdowns. The excited Heels accepted a Peach
owl invitation in the vistor's locker room...
Carolina trailed Mississippi St. 14-0 at the half before Defensive MVP Bracey
Walker's heroics led the Heels to a 21-17 win. After a Means one-yard run cut the
MSU lead to 14-7, Walker blocked a Bulldogs' punt, but UNC missed a field goal.
On MSU's ensuing series Walker blocked another punt, but this time picked it up
and scampered 24 yards for the tying score. In the last quarter Walker's
crushing hit of a Bulldog's receiver popped the ball loose, and Clff Baskerville
picked the ball out of midair and ran 44 yards for the winning touchdown. In an
amazing display of hustle, Walker picked himself up after the hit and ran down
field to make the final block that enabled Baskerville to score.
An enduring image from the game is Walker doing a back flip as he came off the
field following Baskerville's TD...
Freshman QB Mike Thomas led the ACC in punting with a 43.1 yard average on 56 punts.
1993: If you like offense, this was a great year to be a Carolina fan. The Heels
scored a single-season record 421 points (35.1 per game) and broke nearly 40 team
and individual records on the way to a 10-3 finish. Curtis and Leon Johnson each rushed for
over 1,000 yards, Corey Holliday set a school career record for pass receptions, and
Jason Stanicek set several single-season offensive records...
The year began with one of the biggest Carolina wins in recent
history, a 31-9 victory over Southern California in the Disneyland Pigskin Classic at
Anaheim, Calif. Jason Stanicek ran the option to perfection, Leon Johnson rushed
for 94 yards and Curtis Johnson gained 78 more in a game that got everybody's attention.
To prepare for playing on the combination baseball-football field, the Heels held
several practice sessions at Boshamer Stadium...
Following an easy 44-3 win over Ohio University, Carolina and Maryland played
the highest-scoring game in Carolina's history, a 59-42 UNC win. The teams combined
for 1,166 yards of total offense, as UNC gained 714 yards (a single-game record)
and Maryland picked up 452 yards. The Heels averaged a school-record 9.27 yards per play,
and Curtis Johnson ran 90 yards for UNC's longest-ever touchdown run from scrimmage...
Following a 33-7 home loss to Florida St. in ESPN's Saturday night game, the Tar Heels
traveled to Carter-Finley Stadium and snapped their five-game losing streak to N.C. State...
State led 14-10 at the half, but it did not take long for UNC to take the lead.
Marcus Wall returned the second-half kickoff to the 50, and Curtis Johnson broke loose
for a 50-yard run on the next play for a 17-14 lead. A Tripp Pignetti field goal made it
20-14. Two possessions later, Carolina recovered a fumble on the State 32. Six straight
running plays made it third-and-goal on the three, and Stanicek hit Marc Montoro for
a touchdown on Montoro's first career catch. William Henderson's 18-yard run made the
final score 35-14...
...Next up were two wild games in Kenan Stadium. UTEP came close to pulling
off a huge upset, but Carolina held on for a 45-39 win.
UTEP led 24-14 at the half, but 24-unanswered points gave Carolina the lead for good.
The Heels scored 45 more the
next Saturday in a 45-35 win over Wake Forest that was highlighted by Curtis Johnson's
75-yard touchdown run. UNC's offense kept rolling in a 41-3 win at Georgia Tech, but
the Virginia Cavaliers shut down the Heels 17-10 in Charlottesville. UNC never got
untracked offensively, and UVA took advantage of Steven Jerry's fumbled punt return
on his own 20 that set up a Cavalier touchdown...
The Heels followed a much-needed open date with a 24-0 home win over Clemson
in a game televised by ESPN, then
traveled to New Orleans and took a 42-10 win over Tulane. Andre Purvis was in the
right place at the right time, as he picked up two blocked punts for touchdowns...
Carolina and Duke played in Chapel Hill on the Friday after Thanksgiving in an ABC game
that had an 11:00 a.m. kickoff. Duke scored first, but 21 consecutive Tar Heel points
sparked Carolina to a 38-24 win. Leon Johnson carried 24 times for 142 yards to become
Carolina's 23rd, 1,000-yard rusher.
The victory earned the Heels a Gator Bowl date with Alabama,
the defending national champions...
Unfortunately, the Crimson Tide defense was too strong for UNC's offense, and Alabama
broke a 10-10 tie at the half to post a 24-10 win. Brian Burgdorf threw two TD passes
for Alabama, and the Tide's defense held UNC to just 42 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
The Heels gained only 40 total yards and four first downs in the second half. Holliday
was UNC's MVP as he caught nine passes for 125 yards...
Holliday ended his career with 155 catches for 2,447 yards. He caught a pass in an
ACC-record 45 consecutive games...Stanicek set school records for one season in
total offense (2,284 yards), total yards per game (190.3), completion percentage (64.1)
and pass efficiency rating (145.79)...The "Johnson & Johnson" combination was
outstanding. Curtis gained 1,034 yards, while Leon (the ACC Rookie of the Year) picked
up 1,012 yards and led the ACC with 16 touchdowns and 100 points...
racey Walker made several first-team All-America teams. Bracey's "Block Party" recorded
four blocked punts this season and six for his career.
1994: Jason Stanicek broke Charlie Justice's alltime total offense record
with 5,497 yards as UNC went 8-4 and lost in the Sun Bowl to Texas...
Marcus Wall's 61-yard touchdown catch broke a 14-14 tie and sparked UNC to a 27-17 win
in the opener at Kenan Stadium. Following a 49-0 home win over Tulane, UNC traveled
to Tallahassee to face Florida St...
The Heels trailed 31-7 before
putting a scare in the Seminoles. A touchdown and two-point conversion followed by a
field goal cut the lead to 31-18. Carolina then got the ball on a turnover deep in FSU
territory and had the momentum, but a controversial pass incompletion was ruled a catch
and a fumble, giving the ball back to FSU. ACC officials later ruled that the play
should have been an incomplete pass...
Carolina came back with three straight wins,
including a 28-24 win at SMU in which Leon Johnson returned a punt 88 yards for a TD, and
Stanicek hit Octavus Barnes with a 66-yard, game-winning touchdown pass.
The Heels then traveled to Charlottesville for the second straight year.
This year's result was no better, as the Cavaliers took an easy 34-10 victory...
Wins over N.C. State (31-17) and Wake Forest (50-0) and a loss to Clemson (28-17) put
the Heels at 7-3, and
UNC needed a win over Duke to get back to a bowl game. This year's game would turn out
to be a classic...
Fred Goldsmith's first Duke team had stunned the college football world, compiling an 8-2
record heading into the season's final game.
Wallace Wade Stadium was packed on a picture-perfect November Saturday, and the sellout
crowd was treated to one of the most entertaining Carolina-Duke games ever. The Heels,
aided by an 87-yard kickoff return for a TD by Marcus Wall,
led 34-24 in the fourth quarter, but two quick Duke touchdowns gave the Blue Devils a
38-34 lead with less than three minutes to play. As the stadium rocked with noise, Mike
Thomas hit freshman receiver Octavus Barnes on a short crossing pattern, and Barnes outran
the Duke secondary down the sideline in front of the Carolina bench for a game-winning
79-yard touchdown right into the mouth of the horseshoe. Barnes finished the game with
six receptions for 165 yards, and Carolina's 41-40 win set up a Sun Bowl date with Texas...
Priest Holmes scored four touchdowns and rushed for 161 yards as the Longhorns took a
35-31 win over the Tar Heels. UNC lead 31-21 before before Texas went on two quick
scoring drives, capped off by Holmes' game-winning 5-yard run with 1:17 left to play.
arnes set UNC bowl game records with nine grabs for 165 yards and a touchdown, while
Wall added an 82-yard punt return for a score. Mike Thomas had the best passing
day of his career, completing 23 of 39 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns
while being intercepted just once...
Stanicek set UNC career records for most pass completions (372), attempts (622),
yards (4,683) and completion percentage (.598)...Marcus Wall set a UNC record with
nine touchdown catches in a season. Wall also scored on his kickoff return at Duke and
the punt return against Texas, as well a on a run from scrimmage against N.C. State.
1995: The Heels recovered from an 0-2 start to post a 7-5 mark that included
a 20-10 win over Arkansas in the Carquest Bowl at Miami, Fla...
Syracuse scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 20-9 win
in a night-opener at Kenan Stadium.
Next up was a disastrous trip to Maryland, where the Terrapins pinned a 32-18
defeat on the turnover-prone Heels.
Carolina then traveled to Louisville for a Thursday night
ESPN game. The Heels were bad, but Louisville was worse, and Carolina won 17-10 on a
35-yard Mike Thomas to Octavus Barnes touchdown pass with 14
seconds left to play in one of the ugliest games you
will ever see. Carolina had a 406-159 edge in total yardage, but lost five fumbles...
A 62-0 romp over Ohio University evened the Heels' record at 2-2 with No. 9 Virginia
coming to town...
Leon Johnson rushed for two scores and passed for another, and Carolina's defense
held UVA to 85 yards rushing in a 22-17 Carolina win. UNC trailed 17-16 and had
a fourth-and-one on the Cavalier's 25 with 7:00 to play when Johnson made the play
of the game. Seemingly trapped behind the line by two defenders, LJ burst free and
ran 19 yards to the Virginia six. He scored on the next play for a 22-17 lead after
a failed two-point conversion attempt. Virginia got the ball on the UNC 39 with
2:00 to play after a short UNC punt from its own end zone, but could gain just two yard
in four plays. Kivuusama Mays had a sack, and Omar Brown broke up two pass attempts, including
a crucial fourth down pass...
The next Saturday a late comeback keyed by Marcus Wall's 96-yard kickoff return in rainy
Atlanta fell just short in a 27-25 Georgia Tech win. A 31-7 win over Wake Forest was
followed by losses to Clemson and Florida St., putting Carolina at 4-5 going into the
final two games against old rivals Duke and N.C. State...
Duke was not the last game this year, since Carolina and N.C. State moved their game to the
Friday after Thanksgiving for an appearance on ABC. It looked as though the Blue Devils
were going to ensure a losing season for Carolina when they took a 24-14 lead into the
fourth quarter. However, Mike Thomas tossed scoring passes to Freddie Jones and
Ebenezar Ekuban to give Carolina a 28-24 win...The scene at Carter-Finley stadium the
next Friday was almost surreal. The game started at 11:00 a.m. on a windy, rainy day on
grass that could not have been any deader. Leon Johnson rushed for 139 yards and two TDs
and Thomas threw two long touchdown passes as Carolina survived a late Wolfpack comeback
for a 30-28 win. N.C. State's two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete with seven seconds
left to play. The relieved Tar Heels were ecstatic to receive a bowl bid...
Leon Johnson rushed for a Carolina bowl record 195 yards and Thomas threw two touchdown
passes as UNC rolled to a 20-10 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas took an early
7-0 lead, but Carolina tied it at 7-7 on an 18-yard Thomas to Darrin Ashford scoring strike.
The Razorbacks took the lead again at 10-7 before Johnson gave the Heels the lead for
good on a 28-yard TD run on an option play. The Tar Heels put the game away for good on
an 87-yard Thomas to L.C. Stevens touchdown, the second longest pass play in UNC's history.
All-America tackle Marcus Jones had four tackles for losses, including a quarterback sack
on Arkansas' last play from scrimmage, Jones last play at UNC...
Jones, the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year, was Carolina's first consensus All-America
in nine years. Jones topped Lawrence Taylor's career UNC sack record with 24, three more
than Taylor...Mike Thomas set single-season records for most yards of total
offense (2,489), most pass attempts (332) and most completions (185). Thomas also set the
dubious record for most passes intercepted in a season with 19...Leon Johnson
led the Heels in rushing with 963 yards while catching 54 passes...Octavus Barnes
had 53 catches for 970 yards, including four games with over 100 yards receiving.
1996: Carolina rebounded from the previous year's turnover-plagued season with
a 10-2 record that was capped off with a 20-13 win over West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.
Seven Tar Heels earned first-team All-ACC honors, and Carl Torbush was named National
Defensive Coordinator of the Year...
The Heels got off to a rousing start by beating Clemson 45-0 at Kenan Stadium, the largest
margin of victory ever over the Tigers. Transfer quarterback Chris Keldorf had a huge game to
give the UNC faithful a glimpse of what kind of season he would have.
Keldorf, 15-22-1 for 182 yards, hit L.C. Stevens with touchdown strikes of 14 and 45-yards
in the third quarter.
Next up was a big
televised road game on Saturday night at No. 9 Syracuse...Unfortunately, many
Tar Heel faithful were not able to watch a 27-10 Carolina win. Instead, they
had to listen to the game on battery-powered radios. Hurricane Fran had swept
through the state late Thursday night and early Friday morning, leaving hundreds of
thousands of North Carolinians without power. What they heard on Saturday night sure
was fun, and Woody and Mick never sounded better. The Heels let everybody know they
were for real by posting their first road
win over a Top 10 team since a
21-7 win at Michigan in 1966.
Keldorf threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and Carolina's defense held Syracuse
to just 13 first downs and 184 yards of total offense...
Carolina returned to a town that was trying to establish
some sense of normalcy following Fran's destruction and, after a welcome open date,
downed Georgia Tech 16-0 at, fortunately, an undamaged Kenan Stadium. Freddie Jones made
one of the greatest catches you will ever see, a one-handed touchdown reception in
front of the student section for a 10-0 lead in
the second quarter. UNC next headed south for a big matchup with Florida State in
rainy Tallahassee, Fla. Carolina's defense was excellent, but FSU's was even better in a
13-0 Seminole victory...The Heels won their next five games, all by big margins, as
Keldorf was outstanding. The big QB threw for over 300 yards in three consecutive game,
the only time a UNC quarterback has done so. Keldorf had 340 yards passing against
Maryland, 322 at Houston and 315 against N.C. State in a 52-20 win, the biggest victory
margin ever against the Wolfpack. The 8-1 Heels flew to Charlottesville, Va. in search
of a possible Alliance Bowl bid...Carolina broke a 3-3 halftime tie with an
80-yard, third-quarter
drive for a touchdown, then Dre' Bly continued his fantastic season with a 51-yard
interception return for a touchdown and a 17-3 lead. Early in the fourth quarter linebacker
rian Simmons picked a ball out of midair and raced 57 yards to the Cavalier 10-yard line.
Just as UNC seemed poised to put the game away, the unthinkable happened. In a play that
will cause Carolina fans nightmares for years to come, Antwan Harris intercept a short
Keldorf pass and raced 95 yards for a touchdown. This play completely demoralized the
stunned Tar Heels. Virginia dominated the game's final ten minutes and kicked a last-minute
field goal for a 20-17 win...The Heels, who needed to regroup in a hurry, played Duke at
Wallace Wade Stadium to wrap up the regular season. More bad news ensued when Keldorf broke
his left ankle in the first half. Carolina was struggling
along with a 16-10 lead in the third quarter when backup QB Oscar Davenport
hit L.C. Stevens with a perfect 80-yard touchdown pass to key a 27-10 Carolina win...
In a Gator Bowl matchup that featured the top two defenses in the country, Carolina's
was better
as the Heels took a 20-10 win over West Virginia. Davenport was named
the game's MVP after completing 14 of
26 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, as well as rushing five yards for another TD.
Davenport's touchdown pass was an 18-yarder to Barnes, and Josh McGee, miserably sick
from a stomach virus, drilled two field goals. Dre' Bly picked off two Mountaineer
passes in the second half...
ly astonished the college football establishment with his season. The red-shirt freshman,
who wasn't even sure he could play at this level, led the country with an ACC-record 11
interceptions and was a consensus first-team All-America. Bly was just the fifth
freshman in history and the first freshman defensive player to be named an
Associated Press All-America...Keldorf set UNC single-season records passing records
for completions (201), yards (2,347) and touchdowns (23)...Leon Johnson finished his UNC
career by setting alltime Carolina records for touchdowns with 50 and points with 306.
LJ also set the ACC mark for all-purpose yards with 5,828...Cornerback Robert Williams,
a vicious hitter, set a school record with 23 pass breakups...
Carolina followed its mistake-filled 1995 season with just 12 turnovers (6 fumbles and
6 interceptions), its lowest total in history...
Mack Brown was voted ACC Coach of the Year as his Tar Heels finished 10th in
both national polls.
1997: One of the best teams in Carolina history spent the entire season in the
Top 10 and finished the season at 11-1 with a
42-3 Gator Bowl win over Virginia Tech...
The Tar Heels started a trend by falling behind early in the opener against Indiana
before pulling away for a 23-6 win.
Jonathan Linton rushed 22 times for 121 yards and one touchdown to lead the Heels...
Carolina was an incredibly slow-starting team for
such a successful squad, as the Heels trailed early in nine of eleven
regular-season games...Next up
was a Saturday night home game against Stanford. Oscar Davenport replaced a struggling
Keldorf and brought the Heels from behind to a 28-17 win.
Carolina was trailing 17-14 when Davenport hit Octavus Barnes with a 15-yard scoring
pass.
An easy 40-14 win at Maryland
set up a big ACC-matchup against Virginia at Kenan Stadium. The game would prove to be
memorable in several ways...Carolina got off to its usual slow start as Virginia
jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable 20-3 lead. The stunned Kenan Stadium crowd
then witnessed a horrible scene. As the Tar Heels broke from their huddle in front of
the old field house in the second quarter, Referee Jim Knight fell flat on his back
and did not move. UNC medical personnel responded in a manner that can only be described
as heroic. Knight was immediately surrounded by the best medical staff a person in
distress could ever hope to have.
(Included among the medical people assisting Knight was UNC's head trainer, Dan Hooker.
You can't name me a better trainer than Dan Hooker.)
Knight's heart stopped several times before he could
be taken the short distance to Memorial Hospital. In a happy ending, Knight recovered and
has since returned to officiating. In another happy ending, the Heels came storming back
with 45 consecutive points to take a 48-20 win in a game that reminded everyone that
games are just that, games
The real heroes that day weren't wearing football uniforms...
Keldorf set a single-game passing record
by throwing for 415 yards the next week in a 31-10 win at Texas Christian.
Keldorf then struggled as UNC picked up wins over Wake Forest (30-12, N.C. State (20-7)
and Georgia Tech (16-13) and was replaced as the starter by Davenport. UNC's win
over the Yellow Jackets in a Thursday night game at Atlanta moved UNC to 8-0 and
set up what many people feel is the biggest game in ACC history...
Mighty Florida St. came to Chapel Hill for a Saturday night battle of unbeaten teams.
ESPN held its Game Day show live from Kenan Stadium, and Chapel Hill was packed with
fans by early afternoon. The atmosphere in Chapel Hill was electric but, unfortunately
for Carolina fans, the Heels could not live up to the game's hype. FSU's defense dominated,
holding the Heels to -28 yards rushing as the Seminoles took a 20-3 win. To make
matters worse, Davenport was injured and lost for the season. A struggling Keldorf
would have to come through for UNC to come back from this crucial loss...
The Tar Heels went to Clemson and showed everyone that they had character and courage.
Keldorf had a solid game (14-27-1 for
259 yards), and UNC's defense saved the day. With a 17-10 lead late in
the game, all Carolina had to do was get a successful punt off to basically put the
game away. On a fourth-and-five from the Tar Heel 20, DoMarco Fox slipped through and
blocked the punt.
With the Tiger
faithful roaring, UNC's defense held Clemson on downs in the shadow
of its own goal for a 17-10 win, the first
at Death Valley since 1980.
Omar Brown deflected Brandon Streeter's fourth-down pass, and Dre' Bly intercepted to seal
the win in the last few seconds...
The season ended with a home game against Duke. The Blue
Devils led 14-0 early, and the game was tied 14-14 at the half. The Heels woke up in
the final thirty minutes to score 36 points in a 50-14 win. Chris Keldorf became
UNC's alltime leader in touchdowns with 35 as he tossed four scoring strikes against
the Blue Devils. Linton gained 199 yards rushing to put him over 1,000 for the season.
Linton became Carolina's 24th 1,000 yard rusher, an NCAA record. The big win set up another
Gator Bowl Appearance.
However, a great deal would happen before the January 1 game...
The University of Texas Longhorns had grown disenchanged with head coach John Mackovic, and
Mack Brown was on their short list. Coach Brown resigned on Friday, Dec. 5 to become
the new head coach in Austin. Brown's overall record at Carolina was 69-46-1 (.599).
His last eight teams went 67-26-1 (.718) and won three bowl games. Coach Brown left behind a
winning legacy and possibly the finest football facility in the country...
Carolina ultimately turned inward for its new coach as Carl Torbush, architect of
two of the best defenses in the NCAA the last two years, moved into the fourth-floor
office overlooking Kenan Stadium...
The Carolina players were vociferous in their support of coach Torbush, and it showed
in the Gator Bowl. Carolina scored early and scored often in a 42-3 win over
Virginia Tech. The classy Keldorf finished his UNC career in style, going 17-28-0 for
290 yards and three touchdowns. The 42 points were the most in UNC postseason history,
and the 39-point victory margin also set a UNC record...
Oscar Davenport went 154 passes without an interception in 1996-97, a Carolina record...
rian Schmitz' 51-yard field goal in the rain at N.C. State is UNC's longest without
a kicking tee...
The Tar Heels finished fourth and sixth in the final polls.
1998: Transition seasons are almost always difficult, and this year was no
exception. The Tar Heels lost their first three games before winning seven of their
last nine to finish 7-5. Carolina finished off its strong finish with a 20-13 win over
San Diego St. in the Las Vegas Bowl...
Miami (Ohio) stunned UNC 13-10 on a muggy opening night at Kenan Stadium. Carolina led
10-3 before Miami rallied for ten fourth-quarter points. John Scott's 37-yard field
goal with one second left was the game-winner. Tar Heel fans had to sit through another
last-second field goal the next week as Kevin Miller drilled a 20-yarder as time
expired to give Stanford a 37-34 win. Carolina trailed 27-13 when Tyrell Godwin returned
a kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown. Ronald Curry's 8-yard run tied the game at 27-27,
then the teams swapped a pair of TDs to make it 34-34. Miller's game-winning field goal
was set up by a 39-yard run by reserve quarterback Joe Borchard. Carolina came home to
face Georgia Tech, and this one wasn't close. Georgia Tech took an easy 43-21 win to put
the Heels at 0-3...
Carolina began its turnaround with a 21-14 home win over Clemson. The Tigers led 14-7
entering the final quarter before two quick UNC scores. Rufus Brown's 4-yard run
with 11:08 remaining tied the game, then Clemson fumbled on its next possession and
Steve Fisher recovered on the Tiger's 12-yard line. Oscar Davenport hit Deon Dyer with
a 12-yard touchdown pass on the next play for the game's final score. The next Saturday
Davenport threw for 175 yards and a touchdown in a 29-10 win over Pittsburgh. Na Brown
caught seven passes for 111 yards and a score. Carolina evened its record at 3-3 with
a 38-31 win at Wake Forest. Rufus Brown rushed for 143 yards and Curry threw for
230 yards and a score. Wake Forest had a first down on the Carolina 20 in the final
minute, but four straight incompletions sealed the UNC win...The Heels lost 39-13 at
Florida St. A 7-yard Curry to Kory Bailey pass cut the FSU lead to 23-13 early in the
fourth quarter before the Seminoles put it away with 16 consecutive points. UNC got
back to .500 with a 24-13 win over Maryland in the final home game, but fell to 4-5
with a 30-13 loss at Virginia...
Carolina traveled to Durham and dominated Duke, 28-6. Davenport hit Na Brown with 41 and
15-yard scoring passes, and Rufus Brown rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown. UNC held
a conservative Duke offense to just 97 yards of total offense in the second half...
Carolina and N.C. State wrapped up the regular season with a game at Ericsson Stadium in
Charlotte, N.C. Carolina's last appearance at Charlotte had been a 14-7 win over
Wake Forest in 1936. Before a crowd of 68,797, the largest college football crowd in
state history, the Tar Heels took a pulsating 37-34 win in overtime. Deon Dyer's
36-yard run late in the third quarter gave Carolina a 31-10 lead after three quarters,
but State came roaring back to tie with 21 fourth-quarter points. The Wolfpack had the
ball first in UNC's first overtime game, and UNC held the Pack to a 28-yard Dan
Deskevich field goal. Now it was the Heel's turn. Starting on the State 25, Davenport hit
L.C. Stevens with an eight-yard pass. Deon Dyer ran for three yards and a first down
on the Wolfpack's 14-yard line. Davenport then lofted a perfect pass to the sure-handed
Na Brown in the right corner of the end zone that sent Carolina fans into a frenzy. The
Heels had come a long way since the beginning of the season. Next up, San Diego St. in
the Las Vegas Bowl...Punter Brian Schmitz was brilliant on a night in which winds gusted
up to 47 miles per hour, and Carolina took a 20-13 victory for the Heels' fourth
consecutive bowl win. San Diego St. took a 7-0 lead in the first 27 seconds of the game
when the Aztec's Lonnie Mitchell picked up a fumble and raced 60 yards for a touchdown.
Two Josh McGee field goald cut the lead to 7-6, then Ronald Curry ran 48 yards for a
TD on the last play of the first quarter. A missed PAT made it 12-6 in favor of the Heels.
Carolina finished its scoring when Quinton Savage blocked an Aztec punt and David
omar fell on the ball in the end zone. A two-point conversion made it 20-10 at the
half. The Aztecs cut it to 20-13 3:51 left in the game, then recovered a fumble on
the UNC 22-yard line with 1:24 to play. The Aztecs picked up a first down on the 11
before Brandon Spoon deflected a Brian Russell pass and Keith Newman came up with the ball
with 59 seconds left...Schmitz was flawless on the kind of night that causes
kickers nightmares. He averaged 44.0 yards on five punts and pinned the Aztecs inside
their own 11-yard line four times. Schmitz drilled one punt that was hard to believe,
a 66-yarder into the teeth of the wind...
Carolina's bowl appearance was its seventh in a row. The previous longest span
was five in a row from 1979-83...
Dre' Bly earned first-team Walter Camp All-America honors, making him the first ACC
player to win first-team All-America awards in three straight seasons...
ly and Ekuban both made first-team All-ACC...
Na Brown became the first player in UNC history to catch 50 or more passes in
three seasons.
Notable:
The 13-0 loss to Florida St. in 1996 was the only time UNC was shut out during the Nineties.
Carolina's 421 points in 1993 are the most UNC has scored in a season.
The Decade By the Numbers:
Overall Record: 75-35-1
Home: 43-11-1
Away: 26-18
Neutral: 6-2
Longest Unbeaten Streak: 10 (Nov. 23, 1996 - Oct. 30, 1997)
Longest Losing Streak: 3 (Dec. 30, 1994 - Sept. 9, 1995) &
(Sept. 5, 1998 - Sept. 26, 1998)
Most Points Scored (Game): 59 in 1991. UNC 59 - William & Mary 36 &
nbsp,59 in 1993. UNC 59 - Maryland 42
Least Points Scored (Game): None 1 time
Most Points Scored (Season): 421 in 1993
Least Points Scored (Season): 227 in 1990
Most Points Allowed (Game): 43 in 1998. Georgia Tech 43 - UNC 21
Least Points Allowed (Game): None 9 times
Most Points Allowed (Season): 270 in 1998
Least Points Allowed (Season): 110 in 1996
1990 (6-4-1)
Coach: Mack Brown
Captains: Dwight Hollier
|
Sep 1 Miami (Ohio) W, 34-0
Sep 8 @ South Carolina L, 5-27
Sep 15 Connecticut W, 48-21
Sep 22 Kentucky W, 16-13
Sep 29 N.C. State L, 9-12
Oct 6 @ Wake Forest W, 31-24
Oct 20 Georgia Tech T, 13-13
Oct 27 Maryland W, 34-10
Nov 3 @ Clemson L, 3-20
Nov 10 Virginia L, 10-24
Nov 17 @ Duke W, 24-22
------
227-186
|
1991 (7-4)
Coach: Mack Brown
Captains: Dwight Hollier
|
Sep 14 Cincinnati W, 51-16
Sep 21 @ Army W, 20-12
Sep 28 @ N.C. State L, 7-24
Oct 5 William & Mary W, 59-36
Oct 12 Wake Forest W, 24-10
Oct 19 @ Virginia L, 9-14
Oct 26 @ Georgia Tech L, 14-35
Nov 2 Maryland W, 24-0
Nov 9 Clemson L, 6-21
Nov 16 South Carolina W, 21-17
Nov 23 Duke W, 47-14
------
282-199
|
1992 (9-3)
Coach: Mack Brown
Captains: Corey Holliday,
Randall Parsons, Jonathan Perry,
Tommy Thigpen
|
Sep 5 @ Wake Forest W, 35-17
Sep 12 Furman W, 28-0
Sep 19 Army W, 22-9
Sep 26 N.C. State L, 20-27
Oct 3 Navy W, 28-14
Oct 10 @ Florida State L, 13-36
Oct 17 Virginia W, 27-7
Oct 24 Georgia Tech W, 26-14
Oct 31 @ Maryland W, 31-24
Nov 7 @ Clemson L, 7-40
Nov 21 @ Duke W, 31-28
------
268-216
|
|
Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga. |
Jan 2 v Mississippi State W, 21-17
|
1993 (10-3)
Coach: Mack Brown
Captains: Corey Holliday, Rick Steinbacher
|
Aug 29 @ Southern Cal W, 31-9
Sep 4 Ohio W, 44-3
Sep 11 Maryland W, 59-42
Sep 18 Florida State L, 7-33
Sep 25 @ N.C. State W, 35-14
Oct 2 UTEP W, 45-39
Oct 9 Wake Forest W, 45-35
Oct 16 @ Georgia Tech W, 41-3
Oct 23 @ Virginia L, 10-17
Nov 6 Clemson W, 24-0
Nov 13 @ Tulane W, 42-10
Nov 26 Duke W, 38-24
------
421-229
|
|
Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. |
Dec 31 v Alabama L, 10-24
|
1994 (8-4)
Coach: Mack Brown
Captains: Jimmy Hitchcock, William Henderson,
Mike Morton, Jason Stanicek
|
Sep 3 Texas Christian W, 27-17
Sep 17 Tulane W, 49-0
Sep 24 @ Florida State L, 18-31
Oct 1 @ SMU W, 28-24
Oct 8 Georgia Tech W, 31-24
Oct 15 Maryland W, 41-17
Oct 22 @ Virginia L, 10-34
Oct 29 N.C. State W, 31-17
Nov 5 Clemson L, 17-28
Nov 12 @ Wake Forest W, 50-0
Nov 19 @ Duke W, 41-40
------
343-232
|
|
Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas |
Dec 30 v Texas L, 31-35
|
1995 (7-5)
Coach: Mack Brown
Captains: Eric Thomas, Marcus Wall
|
Sep 2 Syracuse L, 9-20
Sep 9 @ Maryland L, 18-32
Sep 21 @ Louisville W, 17-10
Sep 30 Ohio W, 62-0
Oct 7 Virginia W, 22-17
Oct 14 @ Georgia Tech L, 25-27
Oct 21 Wake Forest W, 31-7
Nov 4 @ Clemson L, 10-17
Nov 11 Florida State L, 12-28
Nov 18 Duke W, 28-24
Nov 24 @ N.C. State W, 30-28
------
264-210
|
|
Carquest Bowl in Miami, Fla. |
Dec 30 v Arkansas W, 20-10
|
1996 (10-2)
Coach: Mack Brown
Captains: Greg Ellis,
James Hamilton, Leon Johnson
Freddie Jones, Chris Keldorf,
Jeff Saturday, Brian Simmons,
Rick Terry
|
Aug 31 Clemson W, 45-0
Sep 7 @ Syracuse W, 27-10
Sep 21 Georgia Tech W, 16-0
Sep 28 @ Florida State L, 0-13
Oct 5 @ Wake Forest W, 45-6
Oct 12 Maryland W, 38-7
Oct 26 @ Houston W, 42-14
Nov 2 N.C. State W, 52-20
Nov 9 Louisville W, 28-10
Nov 16 @ Virginia L, 17-20
Nov 23 @ Duke W, 27-10
------
337-110
|
|
Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. |
Jan 1 v West Virginia W, 20-13
|
1997 (11-1)
Coach: Mack Brown (10-1) & Carl Torbush (1-0)
Captains: Greg Ellis,
Vonnie Holliday, Jonathan Linton,
Jeff Saturday, Brian Simmons
|
Sep 6 Indiana W, 23-6
Sep 13 Stanford W, 28-17
Sep 20 @ Maryland W, 40-14
Sep 27 Virginia W, 48-20
Oct 4 @ Texas Christian W, 31-10
Oct 11 Wake Forest W, 30-12
Oct 18 @ N.C. State W, 20-7
Oct 30 @ Georgia Tech W, 16-13
Nov 8 Florida State L, 3-20
Nov 15 @ Clemson W, 17-10
Nov 22 Duke W, 50-14
------
306-143
|
|
Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. |
Jan 1 v Virginia Tech W, 42-3
|
1998 (7-5)
Coach: Carl Torbush
Captains:
|
Sep 5 Miami (Ohio) L, 10-13
Sep 19 @ Stanford L, 34-37
Sep 26 Georgia Tech L, 21-43
Oct 3 Clemson W, 21-14
Oct 10 Pittsburgh W, 29-10
Oct 24 @ Wake Forest W, 34-31
Oct 31 @ Florida State L, 13-38
Nov 7 Maryland W, 24-13
Nov 14 @ Virginia L, 13-30
Nov 21 @ Duke W, 28-6
Nov 28 v N.C. State W, 37-34
(OT)
------
264-269
|
|
Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas, Nev. |
Dec 19 v San Diego State W, 20-13
|
Decade-by-Decade
1888-1899 |
1900-1909 |
1910-1919 |
1920-1929
1930-1939 |
1940-1949 |
1950-1959 |
1960-1969
1970-1979 |
1980-1989 |
1990-1998
