University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Stop The Presses
November 15, 2003 | Football
Nov. 15, 2003
By Adam Lucas
Most newspaper beat writers will tell you that they try to write their game story during the game rather than waiting for the game to be over and then trying to churn out 20-plus inches of copy. Look on press row during any basketball or football game and you'll see scribes pounding out the next day's article.
Say this for the 2003 Tar Heels: they've ruined a lot of half-written stories.
When things go wrong for this year's group, they don't just go bad--they go miserable. So it was Saturday in Atlanta, when Carolina went from holding a 14-10 halftime advantage and looking like a decent football team to losing a 41-24 decision and playing like a Tecmo Bowl defense in the second half. The loss continued a streak of disappointments against the Yellow Jackets that now includes six straight losses.
Some good Carolina teams have lost in Atlanta, including bowl teams in 1995, 1998, and 2001. This team, however, is not one of those good ones.
Check that--this defense is not one of those good ones. The Carolina offense is good enough to win some games, especially as various parts of the offense begin to understand their roles--Jacque Lewis the adept pass-catcher out of the backfield, Ronnie McGill the big bruiser at tailback, the offensive line clearing the way for McGill and providing Darian Durant with plenty of time to throw.
The defense, unfortunately, is at their best when they are on the sideline. For the second straight year, a previously middling Yellow Jacket had a career day running the football against Carolina. Last year, it was Ajenavi Eziemefe who picked up 136 yards on 32 carries in Tech's win at Kenan Stadium, a figure that surpassed his production for the remaining eight games of the season. Eziemefe was so undistinguished the rest of the year that he was moved to fullback for 2003.
That allowed him to clear the way for P.J. Daniels in Saturday's game, as Daniels rushed for a disheartening 240 yards on 36 carries. 155 of Daniels's yards came in the second half, a stanza during which the Yellow Jackets put together a 24-point fourth quarter.
Carolina, on the other hand, did punt, and it's certain to be a much-discussed call over the next seven days. Trailing 34-24 with under four minutes remaining, John Bunting elected to punt rather than attempt to make a first down on 4th-and-4. As with everything else in the fourth quarter, that decision went wrong quickly, as Jonathan Smith took the punt back 73 yards for a back-breaking touchdown. Mike Mason, who has received a pair of questionable 15-yard penalties this year for interfering with a punt receiver, appeared to have those penalties in the back of his mind as he hesitated just a tenth of a second before reaching Smith, giving the shifty Jacket just the opening he needed to break a long return.
Bunting's explanation for the punt was simple: "I wanted to see if we could stop them on the long field and see if we could get the ball back."
The problem was that Carolina didn't stop Tech at all in the second half. That's not an exaggeration--Ramblin' Wreck punter Andy Thomson never had to take the field in the final 30 minutes. After 11 games, it's not a very complicated situation for the Tar Heel defense: they can't stop the run.
The hesitancy of the defense seemed to be encapsulated in one second-half Tech touchdown, as Madison Hedgecock appeared to be trying to prevent Jonathan Smith from driving down the lane and making a layup rather than fiercely attacking the ballcarrier when Smith flung a 26-yard touchdown strike on a flanker pass to Nate Curry. Too often, Carolina defenders are a yard away, a step late, or a foot short in 2003.
The bad news? Up next is Duke, which features the ACC's leading rusher, Chris Douglas. The Blue Devil senior averages 95.7 yards per game and Duke's rushing offense ranks third in the league.
Advice to beat writers: leave the writing for after the game.
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.
