University of North Carolina Athletics
South Florida Game Guide
September 20, 2007 | Football
Sept. 20, 2007
By Lauren Brownlow
Every Thursday, check TarHeelBlue.com for the latest edition of the Game Guide, which provides all the information you need to get ready for gameday.
The Basics
North Carolina (1-2, 0-1) will travel to Tampa to face No. 23/24 South Florida on Saturday for its first road game outside of the state of North Carolina. The Tar Heels are coming off a 22-20 loss to Virginia at home. South Florida had a bye week last week after knocking off then-No. 17 Auburn on the road, 26-23 in overtime. The Bulls were unranked until this week.
This game begins a tough stretch for the Tar Heels in which they will face three ranked teams in the next four games, including two in a row on the road. Carolina has not won a road game outside of North Carolina since a 38-35 win at Arizona State in 2002. Carolina has not beaten a Big East team since a 30-22 win over Syracuse in 2002 and it has not beaten a ranked team since a 16-14 victory over Boston College at home in 2005.
Game Time: North Carolina at South Florida, 12:00 PM, ESPN.
Carolina's game notes can be found here and South Florida's official football site is here.
Last Time: When South Florida came to town last season, it handed Carolina its third straight loss, 37-20. Carolina took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 15-yard Ronnie McGill touchdown run. However, South Florida scored 20 unanswered points before a 29-yard Connor Barth field goal cut the score to 20-10 before halftime. Cam Sexton had two first-half interceptions, both returned into Carolina territory by South Florida. South Florida scored two touchdowns and a field goal in the second half while Carolina scored with a 52-yard Connor Barth field goal (tied for his career long) and a touchdown pass from Sexton to tight end Jon Hamlett.
In addition to his three field goals, Barth also had a 21-yard run for a first down on a fake field goal nullified by a personal foul. Cam Sexton completed just nine of 26 passes for 117 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while being sacked five times. Ronnie McGill led the way rushing with 66 yards on 16 attempts and a touchdown. South Florida's Matt Grothe had 158 yards passing on 14-of-21 completions, a touchdown and no interceptions. Grothe added 43 yards rushing on 12 attempts while tailback Ricky Ponton led the way for the Bulls with 101 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Gameday Weather: Check the local weather forecast before heading for the game.
Injury Report: Linebacker Chase Rice injured his ankle against James Madison and the injury will require season-ending surgery. Junior offensive lineman Ben Lemming's career was ended by a nagging right shoulder injury that he has had two surgeries on. Junior offensive tackle Wyatt Hicks has been plagued by persistent knee problems and his career at Carolina is also over. Senior defensive lineman Kyndraus Guy is still working his way back from a knee injury suffered last season but should play.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 11:00 AM. The game is available on XM Radio channel 203, but that is likely to be the South Florida broadcast rather than the THSN feed.
TV Coverage: The game will be shown on ESPN.
Game week TV/radio coverage: The Butch Davis Radio Show will be broadcast live from the Top of the Hill restaurant on Franklin Street every Thursday at 7:00. Inside the Huddle with Butch Davis airs Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on FOX Sports, 10 a.m. on MASN and 11 a.m. on WTVD in the Triangle. The Tar Heel Rewind show featuring highlights of the previous week's games will air Tuesday's at 7 p.m. and Thursday's at 8 p.m. in the Triangle and Fayetteville.
Storylines
Time of Possession Problems, Part I - The Defense: Obviously, time of possession problems aren't completely the fault of the defense. Carolina has not sustained a drive of five minutes or longer since the James Madison game, and even in that game it could only manage one drive that length. Carolina's two longest drives against Virginia ended in a fumble (3:38) and an interception (3:53). Both drives caused the defense to set up defending the end zone at Carolina's 30-yard line and 20-yard line, respectively. Despite being out on the field for 39:14 defending Virginia as opposed to the offense having the ball for just 20:46, defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer insisted after the Virginia game that he and most of the defense could go for another game.
"We're in too good of shape for that. We practice too fast and we train too hard. I could go for another game right now if need be. But we've got to get off the field and the offense has got to keep the ball, simple as that," Balmer said.
Anyone would get at least a little tired - if not physically, then certainly mentally - being on the field as long as Carolina's defense has been. However, the defense allowed a combined 50 yards rushing on the first play of five of six of Virginia's first-half drives. On Virginia's first drive, it allowed a 13-yard run on the first play and on the second drive it allowed a 17-yard run on the first play. Carolina allowed a season-high 197 yards on the ground to Virginia, including 125 in the first half and a staggering 77 in the second quarter on 13 attempts (5.9 yards per carry). But in the second half, it held Virginia to 39 yards in the third quarter on 14 attempts (2.8) and 33 yards in the fourth quarter on 15 attempts (2.2). In the second half, it held Virginia to 11 yards on the first plays (all rushes) of each of its five second-half drives.
"We certainly have got to do a better job in the run defense and that starts in the tackling aspect of it. It's the second week in a row that we've had probably in excess of almost 100 yards run after contact. We did that against East Carolina; we did that again against Virginia. The very first ball-carrier there, we've got to play a more gang-tackling, swarming type of defense mentality to try to get more guys to limit some of the run after catch, run after contact. That will certainly help our defense," Davis said.
This defense certainly seems to look different than it did in its first outing, when it was flying around and gang-tackling anyone with the ball. There have been flashes of that, but as Carolina's competition level on the other side of the ball has increased and as Carolina is facing faster skill players and bulkier offensive lines, it's not the same. The defense came out somewhat lethargically, allowing the only Virginia touchdown in the game on the first drive of the game, a time when its legs should have been relatively fresh. Against James Madison, Carolina allowed just 47 yards on the first play of the Dukes' 14 drives (3.4 yards per play). Against East Carolina, that number soared to 137 yards on 15 drives (9.1 yards per first play) and stayed high against Virginia at 76 yards (6.9 yards per play).
"We've just got to execute as a defense. We've got to get back to that attacking mentality that we always had. We waited too late into the second half to show that and it really cost us," Balmer said. "They had five plays for almost 200 yards and we can't allow that to happen anymore, period. Guys just aren't focused. Guys are making the wrong reads and that's something we've got to correct as a defense."
One area that the Carolina defense did excel in was in the red zone. Whenever the defense had a shorter field, it was able to buckle down and hold Virginia to just one touchdown in the first quarter and four field goals (the other field goal came outside the red zone). Inside the red zone, the Carolina defense played 18 snaps and held the Virginia offense to 24 yards (1.3 yards per play). Outside the red zone, Virginia's offense managed 326 yards in the remaining 60 plays (5.4 yards per play). Carolina held Virginia to 1-of-5 passing for six yards inside the red zone and 18 yards rushing on 13 attempts, including two sacks (1.4 yards per carry). Outside the red zone, the other 38 rushing attempts netted 179 yards (4.7 yards per carry) and the Virginia quarterbacks completed 17-of-22 passes for 147 yards.
"We take pride in this defense. We're going to bend, but we're not going to break. We're going to push you to the limit every play, every drive, no matter what the situation is. We're going to come out and fight and fight to the end. They drove down the field, but we knew we could stop them. We knew we've got the athletic ability and we knew we're well-coached enough to stop anybody. Virginia executed very well but we just weren't going to allow them to put one in the end zone," Balmer said.
Time of Possession Problems, Part II - A Balanced Offensive Attack: Carolina's offense got off to a rare slow start against Virginia last week, failing to score in the first quarter for the first time this season and had just 53 yards before its 72-yard touchdown drive to end the first half. Three of Carolina's first four drives were three-and-outs and lasted for an average of 88 seconds. The other drive was eight plays and 38 yards, ending in a fumble after 3 ½ minutes at the Virginia 39-yard line. Carolina's fifth drive ended in a punt and took just a minute and a half. It wasn't until the final drive of the first half for Carolina that it got the two-minute drill working and managed to score a touchdown. The offense had just four drives in the second half but scored a touchdown in its first and last drives of that half. However, its second and third drives of the second half ended in an interception and a fumble, respectively.
Carolina has not scored a touchdown on the ground since the James Madison game and it is still averaging 79.7 yards a game (11th in the ACC) and 2.7 yards per carry. Carolina was playing from behind much of the Virginia game and had trouble establishing the run, attempting it just 16 times out of 61 offensive plays for 60 yards. Prior to the Virginia game, Carolina had 64 rushing attempts out of 115 total plays and gained 179 yards (2.8 yards per carry). Against Virginia, Carolina ran the ball 16 times for 60 yards for a season-high 3.8 yards per carry. Those 60 yards include two sacks totaling a 10-yard loss.
Carolina has generally chosen to substitute running the ball with big passing plays, with the obvious downside being that passing the ball and/or scoring quickly do not take much time off of the clock. But Carolina's passing game is responsible for 79.2% of the Tar Heels' total offense this season and three of the top four receivers in the ACC (No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4) in receiving yardage are Carolina receivers (Foster, Nicks and Tate, respectively). When the running game is struggling, it's tempting to go to the air but the inexperienced backs still need time to figure things out and mesh with the offensive line.
"Early on in games especially we've had trouble running and later on we always get it going. We've just got to come out and get a couple of good positive plays going. Sometimes, we don't give the coaches a chance, in my opinion, to rely on it. We go back to the passing game because it's something we've got a lot of talent in. We've got a great offensive line that picks up blitzes but we've just got to start running the ball," offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds said.
Both Reynolds and fellow lineman Calvin Darity mentioned problems with getting the running backs to the "second level" - past the defensive line and into the linebackers. "We've just got to keep doing it over and over again and trying to get blocks on the second level. That's one key point we're going to be working on this week. At the first level, we can get a pretty good push but then when we get to the second level there is a little stoppage. So we're just trying to push it over so we can gain some more yards in the second level," Darity said.
Carolina will be facing the nation's 18th-best running defense and the top run defense in the Big East in South Florida, whose defense is allowing just 79 yards per game on the ground. However, Carolina is not only facing a stout defensive line but also a very adept secondary that ranks 14th in the country in pass efficiency defense. Its defense is also 18th in the country in total defense, eighth in sacks and second in tackles for loss.
"Their (South Florida's) defense as a whole is a lot faster than any team we've seen. They're a lot more athletic. They get off their blocks really well. So we're going to have to finish our plays and finish our runs," Yates said. "Last week against Virginia, we talked about how when the running back and the defensive line get stuck together, we wanted to push the pile forward and get three extra yards instead of stopping for no gain."
Time of Possession Problems, Part III - Turnovers, Mistakes, Field Position: Trimane Goddard knocks the ball out of a Virginia receiver's hands, but it bounces out of bounds. A Virginia return man drops the ball but manages to fall on it before a Tar Heel could get there. Hilee Taylor sacks Jameel Sewell, but Sewell the ball squirted out from underneath Taylor and Virginia recovered.
These are the kinds of unfriendly bounces the Carolina defense has faced all season. Carolina's opponents have fumbled seven times and Carolina has recovered just one. The Tar Heels picked off two passes against James Madison and has not had an interception since. Carolina's offense has four fumbles on the season, one in each of the first two games and two in the Virginia game. Carolina turned it over a season-high three times against Virginia. To force just one turnover in two games is not going to cut it, especially when the offense has had five.
"Generally, when your defense is playing with a lot of confidence and are really, truly in-tuned and focused and they know their responsibilities, then they can play recklessly - not undisciplined, but recklessly - then you have a chance to create some turnovers. The ball was out twice today (against Virginia); we just unfortunately couldn't get it," Davis said. "You see these things happened sometimes. In 33 years of coaching, I've seen (it) where you go 18 games and don't get any and then all of a sudden magically after 4-5 games you get 12 in three games. It's the same kids playing. But they'll keep working in practice when it comes to game-tackling, swarming, trying to strip the ball and playing with confidence, then eventually it will happen."
Carolina's defense has extended seven opponent drives with penalties - three against James Madison, three against East Carolina, and just one against Virginia. However, that one against Virginia was perhaps the most painful. In the third quarter, the Carolina defense had seemingly stopped Virginia on its own 38-yard line after Hilee Taylor sacked Jameel Sewell for a four-yard loss. Then on 4th and 11, Charles Brown was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, moving the ball up 15 yards to the Carolina 47-yard line and ten plays later, Virginia kicked the field goal that was at first ruled no good but then overturned. Both of James Madison's touchdown drives were extended by a Carolina penalty and after East Carolina had two drives extended by 15-yard penalties in Carolina territory.
"Mental mistakes, we didn't get a fumble, penalties, missed assignments - we shot ourselves in the foot. That's no disrespect to Virginia, but the physicality was there, the effort was there - we just didn't execute. We made mental mistakes and it cost us once again. At the end, if we get the fumble here and there, not get a critical penalty and get off the field once or twice, that's a different game," Balmer said.
One of the ways that Butch Davis and his staff are trying to combat some of the mistakes that have plagued this young team is by keeping things simple.
"One of the questions that we've also asked ourselves is `Are we trying to do too much?' Sometimes you go `Okay, they're handling this well, they're handling that well,' then you go `I'd really like to take these next steps,' and then all of sudden, some of the mistakes - the turnovers, the coverage issues that we're having - are we trying to be too sophisticated and maybe not giving our kids the best chance? So that's something that we're having a lot of discussions about," Davis said.
South Florida had its share of missed opportunities in its victory at Auburn. After the Bulls' defense recovered three fumbles (one near midfield, the other two in Auburn territory), South Florida's kicker missed three field goals on the subsequent drives. One of the drives was South Florida's longest drive of the season (5:23). South Florida picked off two Auburn passes, returning one to the Auburn three-yard line that resulted in a fourth missed field goal. South Florida's worst starting field position in the second half was its own 34-yard line.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency will be 87.9 FM.
Tickets: Tickets are available for purchase here.
How to get to the game: You can find directions and information about Raymond James Stadium here and click here for gameday policies and procedures.
What to do in Tampa: Check out the Channelside District in Tampa Bay for shopping and other attractions. There is a Busch Gardens in Tampa as well as an Adventure Island. Florida Aquarium is also a highly-regarded attraction. Check out the City of Tampa website for more information.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
ESPN coverage: The game will be available nationally on ESPN.
Names To Know
Hilee Taylor: The senior defensive end had three sacks against Virginia - all in the third quarter - and had seven tackles total (six solo) and four for loss with a forced fumble that he just missed recovering. Taylor's three sacks were a career-high and his 3.5 sacks this season lead the team.
"He played outstanding. His motor was always running. We knew he was due for a big game. He's a big-time player. He played with great effort and great technique. I was just honored to line up beside him today. He played lights-out. He was all over the field making big hits, making sacks and I was happy to be a part of it," defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer said. "Hilee is a leader. Hilee is one of the leaders on this team. Any time you get a guy like that full of energy, it's going to feed to the defense. After he got that sack, we had two three-and-outs. Is there a connection? Maybe so. Maybe not. But when he's in the zone, he's in the zone and I feed off of that energy that he gives because he's so emotional and energetic out there. He makes plays."
Taylor is third in the ACC and tied for sixth in the country in sacks (3.5). He is tied for second in the ACC and tied for 13th in the country in tackles for loss (5.5 total). He is tied for first in the ACC in fumbles forced with two but both have been recovered by the other team. Against East Carolina, Taylor had six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, including a half a sack. Taylor has both the skill and desire to continue his solid play against South Florida and if he continues his ball-hawking ways, he could be the one to finally provide Carolina's first recovered fumble since the season-opener.
T.J. Yates: The redshirt freshman still has yet to show his age and with nine touchdown passes and 901 yards in three games, he has the best three-game start of any Carolina quarterback. Of Carolina freshmen quarterbacks, Yates already ranks third on the passing yards list and the completions list and second in touchdowns behind Darian Durant's 17. Yates has completed 58 of 88 passes (65.9%) and has thrown three picks to nine touchdowns, ranking him ninth in the country and second in the ACC in passing efficiency (178.85).
Yates has shown quite a bit of savvy and poise early on, but he showed something new against Virginia - the ability to scramble, buy time and make plays when the Virginia secondary was covering his wide receivers. If there were any complaints to be made about Yates' play last week, it was the fact that a lot of his balls were batted down at the line of scrimmage. Facing a defensive line like Virginia's and two talented defensive ends like Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald in particular, balls are going to be batted down. However, Yates said he is still learning to recognize what kind of defense the line is playing.
"It's something I can learn from. When I drop back, I've got to be aware of the defensive backfield but also be aware of the defensive line. If they're sitting around not really rushing that much waiting for me to throw, I've got to be aware of that and maybe pump fake," Yates said.
Yates will face a new test on the road against a tough, athletic South Florida defense that is arguably the most complete defense Carolina has faced so far with an athletic defensive line, fast linebackers and a talented secondary. Yates has seemed unflappable so far and has answered every early challenge. If he can get the Tar Heels off to another quick start as he did in the first and second games and keep the offense calm, Carolina will be able to hang in.
Brooks Foster: With the overwhelming speed of Brandon Tate and the reliability of Hakeem Nicks, it's easier to lose junior wide receiver Brooks Foster in the shuffle. But Foster had seven catches for 139 yards against Virginia last week, including two in Carolina's first touchdown drive. He had another catch on Carolina's third-quarter touchdown drive that converted a 3rd and 7 from Carolina's 34-yard line. Two plays later, Hakeem Nicks had his touchdown run. On Carolina's last touchdown drive, he caught a 23-yard pass that set up first and goal from the two-yard line. Foster's 139 receiving yards were the most by any ACC wide receiver so far this season. He ranks second in the conference and 41st in the country in receiving yards per game with 85.0.
Last season, Foster had a great game against Rutgers in the season-opener with 11 catches for 120 yards. He ended the season grabbing 27 more passes for 366 yards in the remaining 11 games (2.5 catches a game for 33.3 yards a game). He had another strong start this season against James Madison with four catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns but followed that up with just two catches for 29 yards against East Carolina. But his strong game against Virginia proved that he could be more consistent this season.
"My confidence is definitely higher. I just feel like I want to come in and be more consistent. I was not consistent last year. That was my goal the whole summer because I was already strong and I already knew what I could do, I just wanted to do it consistently," Foster said.
Foster's reliability will make it impossible for defenses to key on stopping Tate or Nicks because it's almost impossible to cover all three at the same time. However, Foster and his cohorts will face perhaps the best cornerbacks they have faced all season.
Matt Grothe: Grothe was widely regarded as one of the better freshman quarterbacks in the country last season. He has started this season off well, keeping alive a streak of 97 straight pass attempts without an interception dating back to the second quarter of an upset win over West Virginia last season. In leading his team to an upset win against Auburn, Grothe completed 18 of 27 passes for 184 yards and the winning touchdown. He also added 18 rushing attempts for 67 yards and another score. Against Elon, he completed 23 of 39 passes - a high number of attempts for Grothe - and added two scores. He also rushed eight times for 22 yards. Grothe was last season's Big East Rookie of the Year and completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,756 yards, 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions his freshman season. He also rushed for 622 yards and nine touchdowns. Forty-three of those rushing yards came against Carolina last season and Grothe added 14-of-21 passes completed for 158 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
"Matt (Grothe), he's got an array of receivers. He made some of the best throws against what I thought was some really good coverage at Auburn. They had them locked down in man-to-man and there's just literally no window to throw the ball in, but he made some big-time throws down the field," Davis said. "They do run some of the read option, but he may not be quite the running threat that East Carolina presented and maybe even some extent that Virginia (presented), but he may be the best passer that we've played."
George Selvie: The sophomore right defensive end is already having a huge year. He broke his own single-game record at South Florida in the season-opener against Elon with six tackles for loss. He also tied the single-game South Florida record for sacks against Elon with 4.0. Selvie had ten total tackles, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble against Elon and followed it up with a 3.5-tackle (all for loss), 1.5-sack performance in the upset win over Auburn in Week 2. He also had three quarterback hurries in that game. Despite only having played two games while most teams have played three, Selvie leads the nation in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (9.5). Selvie has 14 total tackles on the season. Last season, he was third on the team with 84 tackles and added 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Mike Ford: South Florida is not starting a true freshman running back out of necessity like the Tar Heels; Ford's rare combination of speed and power has set him apart from other backs. The 6-2, 225-pound freshman has the potential to bust out big runs as out of his 83 yards in his debut against Elon, 69 of them came on two runs of 21 and 48 yards and he had just six rushes total. He set a freshman debut record against Elon with three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving. Against Auburn, most of his 74 yards on 21 attempts were gained in the trenches - including a two-yard touchdown run - but he did have a 20-yard run, a 13-yard run and an 11-yard run.
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
