University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Maryland Demons Return
November 1, 2003 | Football
Nov. 1, 2003
By Adam Lucas
COLLEGE PARK--For the next two years, North Carolina will not play Maryland in football.
We will pause here to let the applause die down.
The fact that the Heels will, presumably, hold the Terps scoreless in 2004 and 2005, when the two squads don't play each other, will bring Maryland's per-year average against Carolina over the previous five years down to 28.2 points per game by the time of the next meeting in 2006.
We could use this space to rehash Saturday's debacle if you'd like, but you could instead choose to do something more pleasurable and go voluntarily slam your finger in the car door. No matter what's on tap for your Sunday, it can't be worse than what will take place in the Kenan Football Center--the 2003 Tar Heels will gather to watch the game film of their 59-21 whipping at the hands of Maryland. How bad were things on Saturday? On an unseasonably warm afternoon in College Park, when the Tar Heel defense finally forced Maryland to punt for the first time late in the third quarter, the punt was muffed and recovered by the Terps on the way to their eighth touchdown of the day.
Instead of dwelling on the disaster, let's take a look at what needs to happen for this Tar Heel football team over the next three weeks, a time period that will include a pair of home games against in-state rivals Wake Forest and Duke.
Win a home game: This is perhaps the most important task left on the 2003 to-do list. With a pair of seemingly winnable games left, Carolina absolutely can't go into 2004--a season that will include Chapel Hill visits from Virginia Tech, Miami, and NC State--riding a pair of 0-for seasons at Kenan Stadium.
Prepare for Wake Forest: The bad news is that next week's opponent is Wake Forest, the most prolific rushing team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Jim Grobe runs an offensive scheme heavy on misdirection that is the most unique in the league, making the Demon Deacons probably the toughest team in the conference to prepare for. Last year, the Deacs rolled up 458 yards (245 on the ground) in a 31-0 whitewashing at Groves Stadium. The year before that, in a game that almost everyone in Chapel Hill would like to forget, Wake came back from a 31-14 fourth-quarter deficit to post a 32-31 victory. Some of Carolina's youthful defensive players will be handed the most complex assignments of their careers this week. How they respond could determine next week's outcome.
Continued youthful progression: At the beginning of this season, most of Carolina's fanbase was aflutter over the Heels' stable of touted freshmen. Now, deep into a 1-8 season, when the rookies are finally starting to learn how to play college football, they've been all but forgotten. A bowl is a bigger dream than a date with Britney Spears at this point, so the next three weeks of practice are important for players like Puff Thomas, Larry Edwards, Mike Mason, and Ronnie McGill.
Offensive line holes: No, not the ones they'll be opening on the field. Instead, the hole that bears watching is the one that will be left by senior Jeb Terry, an underappreciated stalwart who will play his last game for the Heels on Nov. 22 against Duke. In anticipation of his departure, offensive line coach Hal Hunter has been trying to build depth on the line, and the most likely candidate to fill Terry's slot is Brian Chacos, a sophomore who has played surprisingly well this season in backup duty. If Chacos can capably fill in for Terry, he'll team with four returning starters to make up a line that should be a team strength in 2004.
Tight end two-deep: The tight end has been an important part of Carolina's offense over the past few seasons, but Bobby Blizzard departs after this season and the backups are relatively untested. The Tar Heel staff thinks they have a good one in true freshman Jon Hamlett, and John Dunn caught a touchdown pass earlier this year. Something to keep in mind: the best tight end isn't always the best pass-catcher. The position is just as important to the Tar Heel running game as it is to the passing attack.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
