LEE PACE'S EXTRA POINTS:Texas Too Much: Fiesty Heels Come Up Short

September 16, 2002 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Sept. 16, 2002

By Lee Pace

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CLOSURE: Brown's Return To Carolina Ties Loose Ends.

John Bunting watches Saturday's proceedings from the sideline.

The proceedings from the Tar Heel perspective Saturday night had gotten so dismal that, by the five-minute mark in the second quarter, I had begun making a list of the few bright spots in the Tar Heels' performance so as to enlighten you that this exercise with the University of Texas had not gone for naught. Play-by-play? I'd quit taking notes because, with the Longhorns piling on a 24-0 avalanche, there would hardly be any need to reconstruct the ebb and flow of the game.

Let's see ... there were nice defensive plays early by Doug Justice and Donti Coats to limit Texas runners to no gains ... there was an expert pass break-up by safety Chris Curry on the goal-line on third down, forcing a Texas field goal ... there were the 39 yards of rushing by sophomore tailback Jacque Lewis on six carries on Carolina's second possession ... there were linemen Jupiter Wilson, Willie McNeill and Skip Seagraves knocking their blocking targets down and pinning them to the turf as Lewis raced by ... there was John Lafferty's career punt, 49 yards, towering and its nose turning over just perfectly, with Chris Hawkins nailing Longhorn return dynamo Nathan Vasher for a modest return of three yards ... and there was a pinpoint throw from quarterback Darian Durant to receiver Sam Aiken on a flag pattern for 27 yards.

Beyond that, it was pure misery for most of the 60,500 fans who filled Kenan Stadium and created an electric atmosphere similar to that of the 1997 meeting of Top 10 teams Carolina and Florida State. Add some Tar Heel missed tackles and blown assignments to the Longhorns' museum-quality display of athletes and scheme, and the result was Texas up one side of the field, down the other.

"They're No. 3 for a reason," Durant noted.

Then a funny thing happened -- the Tar Heels made a game of it. I went back to taking real notes.

"We knew that we could move the ball and weren't discouraged when it was 24-0," Lewis said.

"We hung with those guys," Tar Heel coach John Bunting said.

Durant found a lane up the middle when a pass play broke down late in the first half and scampered home 27 yards for a touchdown. Carolina moved the ball out of the second-half gate, but Durant's second interception of the game ended the threat. The Tar Heel defense then stopped Texas, and Durant led Carolina on a quick march of 66 yards in six plays. A 38-yard completion to freshman Derrele Mitchell and a fumble recovery by center Jason Brown in the end zone for the TD were the key plays.

Now the score is 24-14 and Kenan Stadium is jumping. The Texas fans -- some 5,000 strong -- are silent and getting itchy. The Carolina bench is in a tizzy.

All of a sudden this has gotten interesting.

"We were in trouble," Texas coach Mack Brown remembered. "The crowd and the momentum had changed. We could have folded. The hardest thing I've found in college football is to change the momentum after it turns against you on the road. They had everything going their way."

Except, on this night, the Tar Heels lacked the consistent ability to tackle and make good decisions on defense. Bunting and defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable would count 222 yards of essentially "free offense" given the Longhorns via 17 missed tackles and a host of missed assignments. When Carolina forged its way back into contention, it allowed Texas two quick scoring strikes on seven snaps total, one play a 58-yard pass from Chris Simms to Roy Williams on a simple hitch route when Michael Waddell missed an interception and tackle on the same play. The Heels never could catch up, and Texas claimed a 52-21 triumph with a couple of late TDs that skewed the point spread.

"We cannot give them everything we did and beat a team as good as Texas," Bunting said. "The sad part is we competed with this team until the very end. Our kids played with emotion and played hard. I do not think we were overmatched."

Some might quibble with that last statement, but it's nice to see the head man having such faith in his personnel. Now the Longhorns return to Austin and continue their quest for a Big XII title and national championship while the Tar Heels have the week off before entering ACC play on Sept. 28 against Georgia Tech. Carolina is 1-2 through its three-game non-league stretch and has a clearly defined set of positives and negatives to address during the open week.

Most notably this team has a lot of heart and fight. It was 0-3 at this juncture in 2001, and Bunting nurtured it into a feisty contender for the ACC title before all was said and done. This year's team fought back from nine turnovers and almost won the opener over Miami (Ohio). It recovered from Syracuse's second-quarter domination to rally for a win on the road last week. And it kept pounding away despite Texas' flirtation with a rout on Saturday.

"We'll use the bye week to get this team cranked back up," Bunting said. "We will get better fundamentally and technique-wise. I'm excited about the way our offense played. We'll keep pressing the defense to get better each day."

Bunting said Saturday's performance by the offensive line was the best in his 15 games as head coach at Carolina. Starters Wilson, McNeill, Seagraves, Brown and Jeb Terry played almost the entire game, with Steve Bell substituting at times.

"They were outstanding," Bunting said. "They handled Texas for the most part very well. They protected the quarterback. I am really, really pleased with their progress. They all played well."

Lewis continues to get better at tailback and had 84 yards on 20 carries. He hits holes better than any of the Tar Heels' tailback tandem that includes Willie Parker and Andre Williams. He's also good at getting yards after contact. But Bunting is anxious for quality downs from Parker and Williams because Lewis plays another 12 to 15 snaps a game on both the punting and punt-return teams. That's another 500 to 600 yards running a game for Lewis that can take away from his effectiveness carrying the ball.

"If we keep playing like we did Saturday, we will have a good running game this year," Bunting said. "Jacque sees the hole well and hits it fast. You can't be dancing around out there. But we need help from Willie and Andre. I want to get the ball in Andre's hands. He showed last year he can be a load with the football."

Carolina had 343 yards of offense and 4.8 yards a snap -- excellent figures against a Texas defense with eight lettermen starting off last year's top-ranked defense in the country in yards allowed (236 per game). On six possessions through the middle of the game, the Heels scored on three and ventured to the Texas 31 and 23 on two others. Durant would just like to have back a couple of long balls he threw into coverage in the end zone for interceptions on those series.

"I felt all along we could play with them," Durant said. "But turnovers hurt, especially in the red zone. I have to try to stop trying so hard and let the game come to me."

The Tar Heel defense faced the most balanced attack it will see all year in the Longhorns with the Simms-to-Williams dynamo in the throwing game and the swift and powerful Cedric Benson at tailback. Texas opened up pounding the ball on the ground with Benson, which made it easier to go up top. Benson had 208 yards and two TDs on 31 carries and Williams five receptions for 136 yards and two scores.

Cedric Benson and the Longhorns were too much for Carolina.

"The run and pass worked hand-in-hand so well," Benson said. "Either you're throwing it well and you're setting up the run, or you're running it well and setting up the pass."

The problems which Bunting, Huxtable and staff will address over the open week were obvious as the game developed. Malcolm Stewart and Chase Page each had Simms dead in their sights on pass rushes and missed the sack. Linebacker Devllen Bullard was slow to pick up a running back out of the backfield and the Heels got toasted for a 35-yard score. Waddell lost trying to contain All-America receiver Williams. Of course, he's not the first nor will he be the last in that particular challenge. Still, the Heels need more consistent play from a senior.

"It's embarrassing," Waddell said. "I was coached very well all week to hold him down. But I made mistakes and it hurt the team."

Bunting said the defensive staff will use its time off to evaluate its personnel and schemes, particularly one aggressive coverage that calls for an all-out blitz and man-to-man coverage of the wideouts without any help from a safety. That was something that worked well during the Brown-Torbush days of 1996-97 because Carolina had cornerbacks like Dre Bly and Robert Williams and, more importantly, linemen like Greg Ellis and Vonnie Holliday and linebackers like Brian Simmons applying the heat to the quarterback.

"They scored too easy, they got a couple of quick scores that hurt us," Bunting said of Texas plays against the Heels' "zero" coverage.

On Sunday Bunting and staff reviewed tape with their players and looked for positives from Saturday's game. Thankfully, there were many more than I noted in the second quarter.

"We showed them the tape, showed them exactly how they played about 60 percent of the time, which was very well," Bunting said. "We had problems when we weren't lined up right, when improper calls were made, when the linemen did not hear a call. We've got get the communication problems sorted out.

"We will get better because of this game," he said. "There's no doubt in my mind it will make us a better team, not only this year but in years to come."

SQUIB KICKS - The only Tar Heel to be injured enough Saturday that he's viewed as questionable for Georgia Tech is receiver Jaworski Pollock, who has a shoulder injury. * The Tar Heels will practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, have off Friday and Saturday and regroup at 5 p.m. next Sunday. * Bunting lamented two punt returns that potentially could have gone for big yards for the Tar Heels. Carolina also covered Nathan Vasher better than a year ago, limiting him to two returns for 21 yards. In Austin last September, Vasher scored a TD and had eight returns for 153 yards.

Many Tar Heel fans enjoyed Lee Pace's FANStore and assorted other locations on Franklin Street. To order by phone, call (800) 554-6862.

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Lee Pace, Carolina '79
Editor & Publisher
101-A Aberdeen Dr.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
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