University of North Carolina Athletics
Lee Pace: It was 1990 Revisited in Big Win Over Marshall
September 29, 2000 | Football
Sept. 29, 2000
By Lee Pace
Third year in a new Tar Heel head coach's regime. Mixed results in first two years. Hot and cold opening in new season with positives and problems as well. Team in fragile mental state of mind. Victory against good opponent mandatory. Carolina trails near midway point.
Sound familiar?
Indeed--Carolina versus Wake Forest in 1990.
And Carolina versus Marshall in 2000.
A decade spans those two games but history might prove that there's a lot in common between them.
The former was perhaps the turning point in the Mack Brown era, one that later led to the Top 10 over two years running and eventually an invitation for Brown to coach at the University of Texas. Brown was 2-20 in his first two seasons in Chapel Hill--a record that would have gotten him fired at many institutions--but Carolina was patient because of the lack of speed, athleticism and quality home-state players he inherited.
The 1990 season was make-or-break, improvement was essential to keep all factions of the Tar Heel program on the same page. The year opened with wins over Miami (Ohio), Connecticut and Kentucky, but the Heels were unimpressive at South Carolina and lost a bitter contest to N.C. State on a last-play field goal.
They traveled to Wake Forest on the first Saturday in October, having lost three straight to the Demon Deacons of former Carolina and Virginia Tech coach Bill Dooley. Fans and the press were demanding more than a 3-2 record. Carolina needed to win, and beyond that, look good doing so.
The Tar Heels responded, rallying from a 24-10 deficit near halftime to rip off three TDs and collect a 31-24 victory.
"To come back and not get scared this week, as fragile as our confidence is with what we've been through ... The key word is courage. I can't say enough about the courage our team had," a relieved Brown said afterward.
Carl Torbush faced almost identical circumstances a week ago as his 2-1 Tar Heels entertained Marshall. Torbush was 10-13 through two years as Brown's replacement, and he nearly did get fired. But a similar big-picture perspective and examination of injuries and personnel issues extended Torbush's lifeline in Chapel Hill.
The 2000 season opened with good wins over Tulsa and Wake Forest but was jolted with a horrible outing at Florida State. All week leading to the Marshall game, the Tar Heels were mired in a never-never land of thinking they were still a good team but fighting off the doubts imposed by a 63-14 loss. Ten years after that big Wake Forest win, another crossroads stared the program down the barrel.
The Tar Heels proved their athletic, intestinal and mental mettle by taking control in the fourth quarter last Saturday night for a 20-15 win over a formidable Thundering Herd team.
"Bounce," Alge Crumpler said before the game. "Bounce back. That's what the week's all about."
"This was a big win for the program," Torbush acknowledged.
He was as relieved around 10 p.m. last Saturday as his former boss was that night at Groves Stadium 10 years earlier.
Every unit on the squad now has reason to feel good about itself.
The offense is developing under a new coordinator and new coaches at four of five positions. Ronald Curry is maturing as a quarterback. The line and tailbacks perhaps burst from their cocoons with a victory-sealing drive late in the game. And the receivers are big-play guys across the board.
"I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses, but the truth is, this offense is still very young," coordinator Mike O'Cain said. "But we're coming along. We're going to be fine. Ronald played his best game to date Saturday. Every facet of our offense is developing."
Added line coach Robbie Caldwell: "I'm excited about where we are. My guys played hard and got after them. We're getting better and we'll continue to get better."
The defense has had moments of the brilliant standards set in 1996 and '97. It needs to continue to improve its tackling and limit the big plays. And it needs continued development from young secondary players like Michael Waddell, Derrick Johnson, Dexter Reid and DeFonte Coleman.
Jeff Reid is the brightest spot in a rebuilt kicking game that generally has been productive--save some inconsistent punting and one poor snap of punt coverage against Marshall.
"I like where we are right now," Torbush says. "Now we're at the meat of our schedule, and we're going to have play better and better each week to realize our goals."
Incidentally, the first game following Carolina's watershed win over Wake Forest a decade ago was a visit from the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. The Heels tied the eventual national championships, 13-13.
Would that history repeat itself one more week.
Lee Pace, Carolina 1979, is a Chapel Hill free-lance writer who is in his 11th year writing Extra Points, a newsletter devoted exclusively to Tar Heel football. You can read Extra Points each Monday during the football season at TarHeelBlue.com.
