University of North Carolina Athletics
Gameday Blog: N.C. State
November 10, 2007 | Football
Nov. 10, 2007
Email the Gameday Blog at uncblog@gmail.com with questions, comments and observations.
Tar Heels had their shots
Posted at 3:25 p.m., 27-30, NCSU 0:00 4th quarter
The Tar Heels had four shots at the end zone from 7 yards, and couldn't come up with a score.
No matter what side you're on, no matter who you pull for, this was a great football game. It had everything. Certainly feelings are hard on the Tar Heel sidelines, but they did nearly everything they could to overcome a two-touchdown halftime deficit and pull out a victory. These two teams have not played great football over the past ten years, but today was an epic fight. Thanks for reading the Gameday Blog.
Timeout again, ball at the NCSU 7
Posted at 3:25 p.m., 27-30, NCSU 0:20 4th quarter
Tar Heel timeout. Here we go. Again.
3rd and 2 from the Wolfpack 32
Posted at 3:25 p.m., 27-30, NCSU 0:41 4th quarter
Tar Heel timeout. Here we go.
Hauschka's PAT means the Heels have to score a TD
Posted at 3:18 p.m., 27-30, NCSU 1:41 4th quarter
It wouldn't be a 2007 Carolina game if the Tar Heels weren't down 7 or less, with under two minutes to go, with the ball and a couple of timeouts. That's the case here. A costly turnover and great play by the State defensive line set them up nicely. The Tar Heels will have to get their second offensive touchdown of the game if they want to win today.
Yates picked off
Posted at 3:09 p.m., 27-24, UNC 5:38 4th quarter
T.J.'s arm was hit as he threw downfield, and DeMario Pressley came up with the interception. The Pack have the ball at the Tar Heel 25.
Timeout on the field
Posted at 3:03 p.m., 27-24, UNC 8:20 4th quarter
A Kentwan Balmer sack brings up a big 3rd and 10 for the Pack at their own 31. The Pack have called timeout.
Burney comes up big
Posted at 2:56 p.m., 27-24, UNC 10:20 4th quarter
Kendric Burney found a tipped ball right in his hands, and took the pick back 76 yards for the score. Barth added the point after, and the margin is plus three for the Tar Heels. It's the second interception return for touchdown of the game. Today is the first time in 59 years that the Tar Heels have two touchdowns on interception returns. Bill Maceyko ran two back against Maryland in 1948.
Pack backs carve Tar Heel defense
Posted at 2:45 p.m., 20-24, NCSU 10:20 4th quarter
The Wolfpack are keeping the ball primarily on the ground, and keeping the clock moving, using both Underwood and Eugene. Well, they were, until Evans found Marcus Stone at the UNC 23. They're driving, again.
Barth is true from 27
Posted at 2:45 p.m., 20-24, NCSU 14:55 4th quarter
The Tar Heels went 11 plays for 49 yards to set up Barth. We forgot to mention a big Bobby Rome reception on 4th-and-1, and a 20 yard catch by Zack Pianalto to put Connor in good range. It's a four-point game, boys and girls.
Heels will settle for FG attempt
Posted at 2:42 p.m., 17-24, NCSU 15:00 4th quarter
A very close would-have-been-a-touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks was ruled incomplete on the field, reviewed, and ruled again an incompletion. So the Tar Heels will attempt a 27 yard Connor Barth field goal.
Tar Heels start at their own 46
Posted at 2:31 p.m., 17-24, NCSU 3:56 3rd quarter
Brandon Tate calls for a fair catch at the UNC 41. N.C. State wanted a roughing the kicker called, but they didn't get it.
Tar Heels fail to take advantage of field position
Posted at 2:31 p.m., 17-24, NCSU 5:29 3rd quarter
A costly delay-of-game means the Heels are forced to punt. It carries into the end zone, and the Pack come out to their own 20. Time for the defense to keep up the good work this half.
Senior comes up with big QB sack
Posted at 2:21 p.m., 17-24, NCSU 6:38 3rd quarter
Hilee Taylor dropped Evans eight yards back, and the punt gives the ball to Carolina at the N.C. State 39. State is now 1-3 on third down in the second half.
Rome halfback pass to Tate, TD Heels
Posted at 2:21 p.m., 17-24, NCSU 8:05 3rd quarter
We had just made a note that fullback Bobby Rome was the lone back with T.J. Yates on 1st and 10 at the 50. Rome took the hand-off, stopped and found a wide open Brandon Tate for a Tar Heel touchdown. Several weeks ago, we spoke to Rome in a podcast and asked if we could see him, a converted high school quarterback, throw a pass this season. Well, there it was. It's a one-score game.
Heels look to capitalize on field position
Posted at 2:18 p.m., 10-24, NCSU 8:15 3rd quarter
A three-and-out capped by a big Mark Paschal tackle forces the Pack to punt, and Brandon Tate gets right at the 50, to give the Heels great field position. Now, they will have to figure out what to do with it.
Heels 1-7 on third down
Posted at 2:13 p.m., 10-24, NCSU 9:39 3rd quarter
Terrence Brown punted the ball 55 yards to the N.C. State 14 after T.J. Yates scramble from the shotgun came up just short on third down.
State's second punt of the game
Posted at 2:08 p.m., 10-24 NCSU, 12:45 3rd quarter
The Tar Heels give up one first down, but stop Jamelle Eugene at the N.C. State 49. Brandon Tate lets the punt go, and it's downed at the UNC 10.
1st half numbers
Posted at 1:46 p.m., 10-24, NCSU, halftime
The Tar Heel offense has run 27 plays for 113 yards. N.C. State has run 47 plays for 291 yards. The Tar Heels have run the ball 11 times for -5 yards. The Wolfpack, 19 times for 105. T.J. Yates is 9-16 for 118 yards and one interception. Daniel Evans is 19-28 for 186 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
Carolina's only touchdown is a defensive one, and the Tar Heels are but 1 of 6 on third-down conversions. N.C. State is 5 of 8. The numbers all add up to a two-touchdown margin after a half, and the Wolfpack will receive the ball to start the second.
Halftime, and it's all N.C. State
Posted at 1:42 p.m., 10-24, NCSU, halftime
Terrence Brown booted it 60 yards after a terrible offensive possession (terribly offensive?) and Quinton Person covered the ball up at the N.C. State 1, but with 2.3 seconds to go, Daniel Evans just had to sneak the ball to avoid a safety and run out the clock. The Tar Heels have work to do.
State goes to work again
Posted at 1:31 p.m., 10-24, NCSU, 3:02 2nd quarter
The Wolfpack go 84 yards in nine plays, and Evans finds Marcus Stone wide open in the end zone to put the Pack back up two touchdowns. Wolfpack offensive coordinator Dana Bible is doing a great job of putting his players where the Heels aren't, and they're getting lots of yards in the process.
Barth's attempt creeps over the goalpost
Posted at 1:21 p.m., 10-17 NCSU, 6:31 2nd quarter
Anthony Elzy picked up a first down while lined up at fullback (with Ryan Houston behind him), to put the Heels near the State 30. Three incompletions (including an almost-TD to Brandon Tate) set up Connor Barth for a 47-yarder that just crept over the goalpost. Lucky he had the wind at his back. Wesley Flagg and Quinton Person stop Donald Bowens at the State 16, where the Pack will start.
Hold that thought
Posted at 1:15 p.m., 7-17 NCSU, 8:43 2nd quarter
A three and out and partially blocked punt sets up the Heels at the State 41. Time for the offense to get things going . . .
Hold that thought
Posted at 1:11 p.m., 7-17, NCSU, 9:37 2nd quarter
True freshman Charles Brown jumped an Evans pass and took it 92 yards to the end zone. That's something to put the Heels back in the game. It's the third-longest interception return in Carolina history.
Maybe don't hit reset just yet.
Timeout, Carolina
Posted at 1:07 p.m., 0-17, NCSU, 10:01 2nd quarter
A big return (50 yards) from Darrell Blackman on a 50-yard Terrence Brown punt put the Pack at the Heels' 26. These are the times when you just hit reset on the ol' XBOX. Unfortunately, that's not an option for the Tar Heels. The Pack now have 2nd and 6 from the Carolina 11.
Eugene into the end zone again
Posted at 12:58 p.m., 0-17, NCSU, 12:13 2nd quarter
The Tar Heels trail the Wolfpack by 17, 18 minutes into the game. The Tar Heels have not forced a punt in this game. Daniel Evans is dissecting the Tar Heel defense, and Jamelle Eugene is doing the rest. This is not the hot start the Tar Heels were looking for.
Barth misses left
Posted at 12:45 p.m.,0-10, NCSU, end of 1st quarter
Connor Barth tried a 52 yard field goal after big catches from Hakeem Nicks and Brooks Foster helped the Tar Heels, but he missed his second attempt of the season. Barth was 1-3 in Carter-Finley in 2005.
Eugene puts Pack up 10
Posted at 12:35 p.m., 0-10, NCSU, 3:13 1st quarter
Runs from Jamelle Eugene and Curtis Underwood, Jr. helped the Wolfpack drive 88 yards in nine plays. Eugene's runs of 16 and 18 yards gashed the Tar Heels during the drive, before he ran the ball in on 2nd and goal from the four yard line.
It's a game of inches. If Zack Pianalto had been one more yard downfield, the Tar Heel drive would have been alive. Even 3 points would have tied the game at that point, and 10-3 is better than 10-0.
Brown pins Pack to own 12
Posted at 12:17 p.m., 0-3 NCSU, 7:19 1st quarter
The Tar Heels came up just short on a 3rd down pass to Zack Pianalto, and punted on 4th and 1 at the State 48. Darrell Blackman called for a fair catch on Terrence Brown's 36-yard punt.
Defense bends, but doesn't break
Posted at 12:18 p.m., 0-3, 9:58 1st quarter
Starting in Carolina territory, the Tar Heel defense gave up two first downs before stopping the Pack on 3rd and 12. That set up a 40 yard Steven Hauschka field goal to put the Pack up 3. The Wolfpack went 26 yards in 9 plays.
Yates picked, Wolfpack with good field position
Posted at 12:13 p.m., 0-0, 14:40 1st quarter
T.J. Yates took a deep shot but was picked off by DaJuan Morgan. The Pack start at the UNC 48.
Fireworks, then boos
Posted at 12:07 p.m., 3 min to kickoff
Fireworks and a wolves' howls brought the Wolfpack onto the field. The Tar Heels waited for that fanfare to subside, then charged onto the field to a chorus of boos. The captains are on the field, and N.C. State has won the toss and deferred to the second half.
OK, so we were ten minutes off on our countdown to kickoff. It's technically scheduled for 12:10 p.m.
Pre-game notes
Posted at 11:50 a.m., 10 min to kickoff
Here are some things to think about before today's game kicks off:
•North Carolina leads the series, 63-37-6.
•Butch Davis and Miami beat N.C. State, 26-32 in the 1998 Micron PC Bowl.
•The team that win the running game has won the contest in 14 of the last 15 years. The one exception? UNC, in 2004, when State rushed for 304 yards to UNC's 164. The Tar Heels won the game, 30-24.
•In the last meeting at Carter-Finley, the Matt Baker-led Tar Heels defeated State, 31-24.
•Butch Davis has lost at Carter-Finley, but not to N.C. State. Due to Hurricane Floyd, Miami faced East Carolina here in 1999. The Pirates won that game, 27-23, and tore down both their hosts' goal posts.
Busy weekend in Tar Heel sports
Posted at 11:42 a.m., 18 min to kickoff
Today's game in Raleigh isn't the only event we're following this weekend. The Tar Heel field hockey team began their NCAA Tournament at 11 a.m., and you can follow that game by launching GameTracker here. As we write this, the Tar Heels lead Stanford 4-0 late in the first half. Volleyball takes on Virginia Tech at 6 p.m. tonight. Tomorrow, women's soccer takes on Florida State in the ACC Tournament final at 1 p.m. in Cary, and the women's basketball team takes on Arizona State in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic at 2:30 p.m. in the Dean E. Smith Center.
Pack come out of the den
Posted at 11:30 a.m., 30 min to kickoff
The Wolfpack roster has come out of their 'den,' in the north end zone.
Heels take the field
Posted at 11:25 a.m., 35 min to kickoff
The Tar Heels are on the field for their warmup stretches. Except for the State student section and the end zone section for the Marching Tar Heels, Carter-Finley is practically empty. You can bet that won't be the case as we get closer to game time.
Weekly Uniform Check
Posted at 11:15 a.m., 45 min to kickoff
Looks like the Tar Heels will be outfitted in their away white uniforms with blue trousers, a combination we haven't seen since September 8, when the Heels played East Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Wolfpack special teamers indicate that they'll be in red uniforms with white trousers.
Live from Carter-Finley
Posted at 10:50 a.m., 1 hr 20 min to kickoff
We are now high above the field at Carter-Finley Stadium, where the Wolfpack and Tar Heels will kick off at noon. Keep those emails coming as game time approaches!
Television Affiliates
Posted at 7:35 a.m.
Our first email asks how to watch the game today. For a list of Raycom/ Lincoln Financial affiliates, check out the ACC's web site here.
N.C. State Gameday Blog
Posted at 12:04 a.m.
The TarHeelBlue.Com Gameday Blog returns for today's game, as the Tar Heels travel to Carter-Finley Stadium to take on the 4-5 N.C. State Wolfpack. Email the Gameday Blog at uncblog@gmail.com. Kickoff is set for 12 noon.
