University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points Mailbag
November 12, 2004 | Football
Nov. 12, 2004
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
How are the Tar Heels' bowl hopes panning out?
Michael Page, New York, NY
You can look at the Tar Heels' last two games as a "mini-playoff" to get into a bowl game. At 4-5, the Heels would need to beat Wake Forest and then Duke to get the requisite six wins to be bowl-eligible. Their season-opening win over William & Mary, a Division 1-AA team, could be counted toward that total as a team is allowed once very four years to count a 1-AA victory toward its six wins. Should Carolina count its Division 1-AA win this year, it could not do so again until 2008.
Already bowl eligible from the ACC are Miami (6-2), Florida State (8-2), Virginia (7-1) and Virginia Tech (7-2). The pecking order for bowls choosing ACC teams begins with the Bowl Championship Series, then runs through the Gator, Peach, Tangerine, Continental Tire and MPC Computers. There is a chance that two ACC teams could be picked to the BCS, but those chances were much stronger two weeks ago before Miami lost two in a row and Florida State lost at Maryland. There is also the possibility another bowl might look for an ACC team if it cannot find suitable combatants from its league tie-ins.
So there are at least two slots open among ACC teams not yet qualified. Carolina's competition in the bowl sweepstakes are:
If Carolina wins Saturday and keeps its hopes alive, in doing so it will likely knock Wake Forest out of competition. The Deacons would be 4-5, and the odds of them going on the road and sweeping Miami and Maryland to end the year are not good.
Maryland has a major challenge next Thursday night, going to Blacksburg to challenge the Hokies. The odds of the Terrapins getting to six wins are not good.
"There is no way we can go any place to do anything real special without winning this game Saturday," Carolina coach John Bunting says. "We've got to win this game. Let's face it -- the pressure's on. It's on everybody. If you want to do something special, you've got win a ballgame."
Wake's offense has given the Tar Heels a lot of trouble the last three years, and we've not played well against misdirection offenses. How do you see the Tar Heels' defense stacking up against them?
Ward Soles, Hickory
The good news about playing the Deacons this year is that the game is coming near the end of the season -- when a "young" defense is not quite as young as it was in September. Carolina has also seen a variety of offenses built around option, reverses, counters and sleight-of-hand. Wake Forest will be no more complicated than Utah or Louisville. As always, tackling will be crucial. The Tar Heels were killed early in the second half of the Virginia Tech by a 47-yard run by Mike Imoh -- a play on which he broke three tackles near the line of scrimmage.
I was surprised how little, if at all, our tight ends were used as receivers in the Virginia Tech game, especially in light of their great offensive contributions against Miami. Was that primarily due to an emphasis on their blocking assignments vs. the Virginia Tech defense? Do you think Coach Tranquill will call more plays to exploit the tight ends' receiving capabilities in our two remaining games?
Glenn Gillen, Durham, NC
I would not read too much into that. The tight ends will continue to be an important part of the offense and in fact were primary receivers Saturday but QB Darian Durant didn't find them or was sacked. With only 50 offensive snaps and 24 minutes of possession time, it was hard for Carolina to get anything established and do everything it wanted to do on offense.
I feel real bad for Larry Edwards, who was really coming on. He is now the back-up middle linebacker. However, he may be our best linebacker--period. Is there no other way we can get him on the field in an outside linebacker position? Are we that thin in the middle linebacker position? What is wrong with Joe Kedra?
Chip Newton, Rock Hill, SC
When you say "best linebacker," you might be correct if you are saying "best potential" or "best athlete." Edwards has the tools, but he's not yet learned the position, the reads, the nuances necessary to play consistently well at this level. Linebackers coach John Gutekunst frequently notes that Edwards should have been red-shirted last year and would be a second-year freshman this fall -- but he was pressed into service in 2003 because the defense was caught in a personnel pinch.
Since the suspension of MLB Fred Sparkman after the N.C. State game, the Tar Heel linebacking corps has evolved into a first team of Doug Justice (middle), Tommy Richardson (weakside) and Jeff Longhany (strongside), with Edwards, Mahlon Carey and Durell Mapp the respective backups. Hilee Taylor has played defensive end in pass-rushing situations and would have become more of a presence at an OLB spot had he not be sidelined since September with a nagging leg injury.
Kedra was injured in preseason, missed the first month of the regular season and now is being red-shirted.
What is the status of the health of our tailbacks?
John Mahoney, West Palm Beach, FL
It's the best it's been in some time. Ronnie McGill had a productive week in practice and was back in full pads at full speed. There are roles for McGill, Chad Scott and Jacque Lewis in the offensive game plan Saturday at Wake Forest -- so you can expect to see all three.
McGill was averaging over five yards a carry when he sprained his left ankle against Georgia Tech. He returned briefly against Utah but re-aggravated the ankle.
Saturday would be the perfect opportunity for McGill to step back into a contributing role, considering his 244-yard effort against Wake Forest one year ago.
I just finished your "Extra Points." You're right about how much more fun even the losses are now than the misery of those Clemson and Maryland games from 2002. But is there anything that could be done administratively to get the students into the stands before the end of the first quarter? Back in the days of LT, Kelvin and Famous Amos, we couldn't wait to get into the stadium. Now the team runs out right under the emptiest part of the stadium. That's sad. Maybe we need another Mike man like "Itch" to stir the kids up.
Roy Collette ('82), Kernersville
That's a good question, but there's not a good answer.
Carolina fans across the board have always been late arrivals. Noon games are particularly difficult -- particularly students who have been partying until the wee hours Saturday morning.
Carolina's history in football has been such a roller-coaster -- a run of good years followed by fallow times -- that the one consistency in the program has been the social atmosphere of games. The dress-to-impress, see-and-be-seen mentality still permeates across all spectrums of the Carolina fan. I remember leaving the press box at halftime of the Virginia game in 2001 to see some friends in the west end zone. I was making my way back as the third quarter started and was amazed at how many fans were still socializing on the concourse -- and this was a game the Heels were winning. It was actually difficult to move.
That was the year the UNC Sports Marketing office brought back a "Mike Man" from the late-1970s/early 1980s era to attempt to energize the students and to groom a new "Mike Man" selected from an open audition. For whatever reason, the students didn't connect, the chemistry wasn't there and the project was abandoned.
Exactly one-fifth of Kenan Stadium is set aside for students -- 12,000 seats out of a total capacity of 60,000. Student seating is first-come, first-served, but with that many seats there is no real sense of urgency for them to arrive early.
Had the Tar Heels maintained their consistent excellence of those early 1980s days of Taylor, Lawrence, Bryant et al, perhaps a tradition of arriving early would be in full force 20 years later.
I have heard from other UNC fans that Jarwarski Pollock will be back in a UNC uniform next year. Is this true? Isn't he listed as a senior this year?
Lee Brinson, Chapel Hill
Pollock was a non-qualifier during his first year at Carolina in 2001, so that year did not qualify as a red-shirt season. But if he graduates within four years (which would be the spring of 2005), he could return for a fifth season.
Send your questions about Tar Heel football to Lee Pace at lpace@nc.rr.com . Please include your first and last names and hometown. . Individual replies are not possible because of volume of mail received. His Q&A column will appear each Friday during the season.
