University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: History Lesson
September 23, 2006 | Football
Sept. 23, 2006
By Adam Lucas
Here's the good news: Carolina has plenty of experience in recovering from beatings like Saturday's 52-7 thrashing by Clemson.
Here's the bad news: Carolina has plenty of experience in recovering from beatings like Saturday's 52-7 thrashing by Clemson.
Last week, Furman used a creative, deceptive offense to roll up 521 yards and 42 points against the Tar Heels. Clemson wasn't as innovative. They simply lined up like Tiger teams of old--appropriate, since the school honored its 1981 championship team in Death Valley during the game--and mauled the Carolina defense.
The final tally: 504 yards, 324 of them on the ground, 30 first downs, and one bewildered bunch of Tar Heels. Carolina didn't give up 50 or more points in the decade of the 1990s; opponents have now reached that benchmark six times in the last 49 games.
"Our players are too good to be playing as inconsistently as they are," John Bunting said. "We're not playing well together."
That sounds simple, but it's the truth. The Tar Heels aren't playing well. It's not just the missed tackles or the offensive struggles. It's other, smaller things such as penalties (Clemson declined several that weren't included in Carolina's game total of 9 for 65 yards, and the low water mark came when the Tar Heels had 12 defensive players on the field and still gave up a 9-yard run) that will be an emphasis during the bye week.
The Tar Heels have been here before, of course. In the 2004 season, they were whipped by Utah 46-16 before the bye week. The squad watched the movie "Alamo" on that road trip, and many thought it might be an appropriate metaphor for the season. So what happened? After the week off, mighty Miami fell in Kenan Stadium.
In 2005, Louisville set a record for points by a Carolina opponent in a 69-14 win. After a week off, the Tar Heels beat Virginia for the first time since 2001.
After a full week off during the regular season, Bunting is 4-2. Improving to 5-2 will be a formidable challenge in the Orange Bowl. The ACC is allegedly down this year. It's Carolina's misfortune to have played two teams, Virginia Tech and Clemson, acknowledged to not be among the struggling. If they're going to tread water until the schedule softens--including what's shaping up to be a critical week featuring games against South Florida and Virginia--fixes are needed.
In college football, you can't just go out and find some free agents to solve problems. So what has to happen between the time the plane lands at RDU Saturday evening and the time it leaves for Coral Gables in a little less than two weeks? Three key areas will get some emphasis:
Find a consistent running game: Carolina was under 3.0 yards per carry for the second time in four games against Clemson. Remember, this is a Frank Cignetti offense that builds off the "downhill running game" that was mentioned throughout training camp. Success running the ball would solve two major problems: it would keep the defense off the field and force defenses to honor the run to create openings for a passing game led by a freshman who is learning college football the hard way.
Reevaluate the defense: Anyone who attended at least one training camp practice would have told you the defense would be a strength.
It's fair to say we were all mistaken. The swaggering bunch that flew to the ball throughout August has made only a token appearance against Virginia Tech in September.
Coordinator Marvin Sanders was able to shuffle in some younger players in Saturday's second half. Bunting said he was opening the secondary competition this past week; with an open week ahead, it might be time to throw open the other positions.
Find the leaders: Bunting spoke highly of this year's senior class during the preseason. Now we'll find out whether it was merited.
It's time for Larry Edwards to tell the Alamo story. There are young players in positions of influence on this team who need guidance from teammates like Edwards, Jesse Holley, and Brian Chacos.
Carolina is now 0-5 in the game before bye weeks in the past five seasons. It's disingenuous to suggest that bye weeks always lead to dramatic turnarounds. In 2002 the Tar Heels entered the bye 1-2 and lost 7 of their last 9 games. In 2003 they entered the bye at 0-2 and finished 2-10.
The last two seasons, with better talent, the post-bye results have been more productive.
It's inevitable that Carolina football history will repeat itself over the next two months. Now the Tar Heels have to decide what kind of history they want to make.
Adam Lucas's third book on Carolina basketball, The Best Game Ever, chronicles the 1957 national championship season and is available now. His previous books include Going Home Again, focusing on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
