University of North Carolina Athletics
Welcome To The Gameday Blog
September 1, 2007 | Football
Sept. 1, 2007
• Readers are encouraged to send questions, comments and suggestions to uncblog@gmail.com.
The Greatest Sight In Football?
Posted at 9:04 p.m.
That would be the victory formation. Sexton takes a knee and that will do it. Carolina wins its 2007 season opener 37-14 to improve to 1-0. UNC will now head east to Greenville to face in-state rival East Carolina in a 6 p.m. kickoff next Saturday.
The biggest fireworks exhibition of the night is sending the Tar Heels to the locker room.
Correction: the Tar Heels are gathering near the west goal line to face the students in the Tar Pit for the singing of the alma mater. Now that the team and students (still almost full Tar Pit) have sung, the team is headed to the locker room.
Thanks to everyone for following the game on TarHeelBlue.com tonight, and we'll see you next week.
JMU Scores Late, 37-14 With :41 Left
Posted at 8:59 p.m.
James Madison put together an 11-play, 79-yard scoring drive late to make it 37-14. Carolina will probably just run the clock out from here.
Stats Update
Posted at 8:52 p.m.
Reader Chris asked for a stat update, and he shall receive.
Johnny White has been the leading rusher for UNC, gaining 49 yards on 12 carries, while Anthony Elzy has 28 yards on 11 carries and a paid of TDs.
Seven receivers have gotten in on the action tonight, led by Brooks Foster's 4-87 effort. Brandon Tate leads a foursome with two catches, along with Hakeem Nicks, Richie Rich and Bobby Rome.
Durell Mapp is the leading tackler for UNC tonight with eight stops.
Students Still Out In Force
Posted at 8:48 p.m.
Carolina just punted back to JMU with 6:24 left and a 30-point lead. In years past that would be a formula to send fans running for the parking lots. But the stadium is still more full than not, and the Tar Pit is almost at capacity still.
Sexton In At Quarterback
Posted at 8:45 p.m.
Sophomore QB Cameron Sexton is in the game for the Tar Heels. Assuming he is done for the night, T.J. Yates was 13-18 with three TDs and an interception in his debut.
UNC Leads 37-7, Less Than Nine To Go
Posted at 8:41 p.m.
Mark from Nashville would like to see us provide updates more often. That's music to our ears, as people tend to want as little of us as possible on a day-to-day basis. Carolina just ended another JMU drive with a Trimane Goddard interception, and the Tar Heels are headed back toward the east end zone.
Mark specifically asked about the play of both lines and the defensive backs. The offensive line has given T.J. Yates time to throw throughout the night, with JMU getting very little pressure and no sacks. The JMU offense, which has shown a number of fakes and roll-out passes, is not one that is easy to sack, but the Tar Heel D has done a solid job sealing off the corners on plays that go wide.
The defensive backs have probably been the best unit tonight, collecting a pair of interceptions and holding the Dukes to 64 yards in the air so far.
Beware The FCS
Posted at 8:30 p.m.
As you know doubt have heard by now, two-time defending Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Appalachian State shocked No. 5 Michigan in Ann Arbor this afternoon. Carolina's opponent, JMU, is also a FCS (formerly I-AA) school. The Tar Heels have gotten scares in each of their last two games against FCS schools, defeating Furman 45-42 in 2006 and William & Mary 49-38 in 2004.
Carter Blocks One In Front Of The Tar Pit
Posted at 8:11 p.m.
Moving the student section from the south side to the west end zone creates a very hostile end of the field for the opposition. JMU saw that firsthand. With the Dukes punting (or at least attempting to) from that end zone, freshman Bruce Carter blocked his first career punt, setting up a one-yard somersaulting TD plunge by Anthony Elzy to make it 37-7 with 7:14 left in the 3rd.
More Strong Punting
Posted at 7:59 p.m.
Junior punter Terrence Brown has just one-upped himself, pinning the Dukes at their own 2 with a 64-yard effort.
Locating The Coaches
Posted at 7:59 p.m.
Reader Scott wonders which coaches are in the press box and which are on the field. Tight ends coach Steve Hagen and special teams coach John Lovett are the only coaches in the booth, while the rest of the staff is patrolling the sidelines. That may change as the season progresses, however. Offensive coordinator/QB coach John Shoop has expressed a desire to look his QBs in the eye in the early going due to their inexperience.
Foster Scores Again, 30-7 At The Break
Posted at 7:32 p.m.
Trust me, we really wanted to title this post "Foster Going Bananas", but good taste prevailed. Brooks has already matched his TD total from a year ago with an 8-yard grab to end a seven-play, 64-yard drive.
Why Is Everybody Always Picking On Me?
Posted at 7:22 p.m.
True freshman Charles Brown just made his first tackle as a Tar Heel, and that has us here at the blog excited. Brown, who we've respectfully referred to as "Charlie" this week, brought to mind the great 1959 Coasters hit Charlie Brown. I dare you not to dance while listening to this track.
Big Time Special Teams Play
Posted at 7:12 p.m.
Junior punter Terrence Brown just introduced himself to the Carolina faithful in style, sending his first career punt 58 yards to the JMU 3.
Dukes On The Board, 24-7, 8:12 2nd Q
Posted at 7:07 p.m.
James Madison has broken up the shutout with a 4-yard TD pass from Rodney Landers to L.C. Baker.
Jim, not the same one from Maryland, wonders about the dark spot just above the names on the backs of the Carolina uniforms. It's a patch in memory of the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy last April. Every ACC team is wearing them this season. The Hokies opened their season with a 17-7 home win over East Carolina, UNC's week two opponent.
24-0, 13:18 Second Quarter
Posted at 6:56 p.m.
Connor Barth just nailed a 27-yard field goal (his 12th in a row) to give Carolina a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter. That scoring drive was set up by a 45-yard interception return by Deunta Williams. That means six of the last eight Carolina picks have been by No. 27. Kareen Taylor had five of UNC's seven INTs in 2006.
Offensive Fireworks
Posted at 6:43 p.m.
Anthony Elzy just punched in a 2-yard TD run to make it 21-0 with 1:56 left in the first quarter. Each Carolina touchdown sets off fireworks from the roof of the Kenan Fieldhouse at the east end of the stadium. And that leads us nicely into our first question of the season from Jim in Maryland. He wants to know about the pregame festivities in Kenan this year. Well, the first change fans will notice was the use of fireworks during the "Rockets red glare" and "bombs bursting in air" portions of the national anthem.
Carolina now runs out of the tunnel after a short video montage to the sounds of Linkin Park's "No More Sorrow".
Today's game also featured paratroopers sailing into Kenan with the game ball and a Carolina flag.
Starting With A Bang
Posted at 6:22 p.m.
Things have been very exciting here in the early going. We had the always-popular "technical difficulties", but we're back online. And so is the Carolina offense. Brooks Foster and Brandon Tate have caught first quarter TD passes from TJ Yates to give Carolina a 14-0 lead with 8:52 left in the 1st. Foster broke free after a play-action fake from Yates and waltzed into the end zone, while Tate had to battle a defender for a nice grab on a 28-yard play.
KYO: Know Your Opponent
Posted at 5:31 p.m.
This will be the last scouting report of James Madison you see on TarHeelBlue.com today. Don't worry, though, we've left the X's and O's to Lee Pace. This is to get you a little better acquainted with James Madison the man.
Madison, our fourth president, was born in Port Conway, Va., in 1751. Fifty years later he spent eight years as the secretary of state under president Thomas Jefferson before spending the next eight as president (his first VP was George Clinton of New York, not George Clinton of Kannapolis). Madison led the country through the War of 1812 and oversaw the admittance of Louisiana and Indiana into the union.
Oh, and in 1908 a university that later became James Madison University was founded in Harrisonburg, and 99 years later Carolina is going to play it in football.
Something Old, Something New
Posted at 4:56 p.m.
The Butch Davis era of Carolina football kicks off on a cloudy and relatively cool September evening. The THB.com Gameday Blog era of Carolina football kicks off in a air-conditioned seat in the third row of the Kenan Stadium press box.
A recurring theme throughout the day will be the newness surrounding the 2007 season. New coach, new ribbon boards on either side of the field, new student section in the end zone (by the way, it's still an hour before kickoff and there are already a lot of students in the Tar Pit). But one old (by comparison) tradition has remained firmly in place - the Old Well Walk.
The Tar Heels made the familiar trip from the Old Well through Polk Place down to Kenan surrounded by thousands of eager fans who have been desperate for the season to begin since last season ended. And, finally, we are just minutes from kickoff.
Introducing the Gameday Blog
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Carolina football fans will have a new way to enjoy the game this season with the debut of the TarHeelBlue.com Gameday Blog. Fans will get running commentary throughout and a unique perspective of the Kenan Stadium experience. Readers are encouraged to send questions, comments and suggestions to uncblog@gmail.com. Click back on this page and just hit refresh throughout for the latest updates starting around 5 p.m.
