University of North Carolina Athletics
West Virginia Game Guide
December 26, 2008 | Football
Dec. 26, 2008
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
Carolina (8-4, 4-4) will travel to Charlotte to take on West Virginia (8-4, 5-2) in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Carolina will be playing in its first bowl game since 2004 (also in Charlotte in the Continental Tire Bowl) and will seek its first bowl win since 2001. West Virginia is making its seventh straight bowl appearance; the Mountaineers defeated Oklahoma in last season's Fiesta Bowl after narrowly missing a national championship game appearance. Carolina has a 15-3-2 record in games played in Charlotte; this will be its fourth game there since 1942. Carolina holds a 1-0 edge in the series with West Virginia, winning the only other meeting in the 1997 Gator Bowl.
Game Time: North Carolina vs. West Virginia, 1:00 PM
Carolina's game notes can be found here and West Virginia's official football site is here.
Last Time: Carolina beat West Virginia 20-13 in the 1997 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Carolina forced four turnovers as quarterback Oscar Davenport took home MVP honors. Davenport was starting in place of All-ACC quarterback Chris Keldorf and he completed 14-of-26 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown pass to Octavus Barnes. He also rushed for one touchdown. Carolina had a 17-3 lead going into halftime but the Mountaineers came back, opening the second half with a scoring drive to get within seven at 17-10. The Mountaineers had one last chance to tie in the fourth quarter but the defense stopped them on fourth and 6 at the Carolina 24 yard-line. Dre Bly had two second-half interceptions. Na Brown led the Tar Heels with 62 receiving yards on three catches. Leon Johnson rushed for 79 yards on 25 carries. For West Virginia, Amos Zereoue led the team in rushing with 63 yards on 21 carries. Quarterback Chad Johnston completed 17-of-34 passes for 197 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. David Saunders had nine catches for 130 yards.
Gameday Weather: Check the local weather forecast before heading for the game.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 12:00 PM. The radio broadcast is also available on XM Channel 144 at 1:00.
TV Coverage: The game will be shown on ESPN.
Storylines
Bend, but don't break: Carolina's defense has always had a `bend, but don't break' mentality. It often stretched to the point where it seemed inevitable that it would break at the end of games when opponents would be ready to score to tie or take a late lead, yet it rarely did. West Virginia will certainly put that mentality to the test. Even though the Mountaineers aren't clicking as much on offense as they have in years past, they are still incredibly dangerous. They are averaging 5.5 yards per play rushing and 9.2 yards per completion passing and 5.9 yards per play overall. They have 33 offensive touchdowns (14 rushing, 19 passing). The Mountaineers are 12th in the nation in rushing offense with 217.2 yards per game (Carolina is 57th in rushing defense, allowing 140.8 yards) and 109th in passing with 135.3 yards per game (Carolina is 79th, allowing 217.2). They also have one of the best offensive lines in the nation, leading the high-powered running game and ranking 15th in sacks allowed in the nation. Carolina has struggled to find a consistent pass-rush, ranking 87th in sacks.
The Mountaineers can pass the ball but their identity has always been built around the running game. They have 134 rushing touchdowns in the last 44 games (3.0 per game) and have out-rushed opponents in 42 of 45 games with a 37-8 record in that span. They are also 57-1 when scoring 30 or more points since 2000. But where `bend, but don't break' comes into play is in two areas - third down and in the red zone. West Virginia is tied for 111th in the nation in red-zone offense and Carolina is 98th in red zone defense. The team that wins that battle obviously is likely to win the game. But on third down, West Virginia has converted 62-of-158 (39.2%) and Carolina has allowed opponents to convert 77-of-187 (41%), 76th in the nation. Carolina's third-down defense was a problem during its late-season skid and the Tar Heels will need to be able to shake off a big play or two, bow up and get the dangerous West Virginia offense off the field.
Offensive execution and ball movement: West Virginia is a team that has always been known for its offense, but its defense - particularly this year - has not received the attention it deserved. The Mountaineers employ a bizarre 3-3-5 defensive scheme built around speed and playmaking. It would seem like a mismatch with the No. 35 defense in the country taking on the No. 95 offense in Carolina, but the Carolina offense has begun to find its legs again. Still, the Mountaineers are No. 47 in the country in rushing defense (134.8 yards per game) while Carolina has the No. 86 rushing offense (125.1 yards per game). They are 38th in pass defense, allowing 190.7 yards and Carolina's passing offense is 83rd, averaging 192.2 yards.
The Mountaineers also have the No. 1 red zone defense in the country, allowing teams to score just 27 of 42 times. Carolina is 36th n red-zone offense, scoring 34-of-40 times. Carolina has had a +2.0 average turnover margin in eight wins and -3.0 in four losses. Overall, the Tar Heels have gained 27 and lost 21 turnovers. The Mountaineers are 12th in turnover margin, gaining 26 and losing 14. The Mountaineers are 48-3 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle. Another somewhat even matchup is in pass efficiency. Carolina leads the league in that category with a 135.1 rating. The Mountaineers are 14th in pass efficiency defense. This game could come down to how well Carolina does on third down, an area of inconsistency for the Tar Heels all season. Carolina is still 35th in the nation in third-down conversions, turning 69 of 162 (43%) into first downs. West Virginia is 83rd in third-down defense, allowing 39.2%. Carolina will need to keep converting at that clip to stay on the field.
Special Teams: Carolina has done well this season in games in which its special teams - particularly its coverage units and punter Terrence Brown - have performed well. It has struggled in games in which the coverage units have given up big plays or made mistakes. West Virginia is a team that features Pat McAfee, the all-time scoring leader in school history with 377 points. He handles all kicking and punting duties for the Mountaineers and has been outstanding in both roles, leading a punting unit that is third in the nation and aiding his punt coverage unit to a No. 13 national ranking. Carolina is 34th in the nation in punt returns and 88th in punting. The Tar Heels are also 71st in punt defense. But the area that Carolina has the edge is in kickoff returns, ranking 11th in the country in kickoff yardage defense (18.2 yards per return). The Mountaineers are 50th in kickoff returns and 117th in kickoff defense while Carolina is 52nd in kickoff returns.
West Virginia is a team that has not moved the ball as well as it would have liked this season but has always been able to count on McAfee. The senior has averaged 44.7 yards per punt this season, a career-best, and has 18 punts of 50 yards or more. He also has 23 punts that were downed inside the 20-yard line. He has made all 32 extra points and 16-of-19 field goals, including a career-best 52-yarder. He has also averaged a career-best 61.3 yards per kickoff this season and has averaged at least 60 n three of four seasons. Carolina, on the other hand, has not had a reliable kicking game. Carolina's kickers made 14-of-21 field goals on the season (66.7%) but made just 4-of-6 in the final three games, during which Carolina had a 1-2 record. The kickers began the year missing five in the first six games, but two were from 50 or more yards. In the last six games, the kickers made just one field goal of 40 yards or more and missed from 28 and 43 yards away.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in Bank of America Stadium will be 87.9 FM.
Tickets: Carolina has sold out its allotment of tickets. To try to purchase one, go to Ticketmaster.
How to get to the game: For stadium directions, click here.
What to do in Charlotte: For a list of Carolina activities, click here. There will be plenty of Meineke Car Care Bowl related activities in the area on the 26th and 27th. For more information, click here.
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 shown on ESPN. Sean McDonough will have the play-by-play, Chris Spielman will be the analyst and Rob Stone will be the sideline reporter.
Names To Know
Hakeem Nicks: The Charlotte native is playing in what could be his last game in a Tar Heel uniform in his hometown. He has had a magnificent career at Carolina so far; the only other three-year player in ACC history with more receiving yards is former Georgia Tech standout and current Detroit Lion Calvin Johnson. Nicks needs just one touchdown to break Carolina's single-season record for receiving touchdowns and to equal the career record of Octavus Barnes. With five receptions, he will break the UNC career record set by Jarwarski Pollock and with 58 yards, he will pass Kerry Watkins of Georgia Tech for 12th place on the ACC career receiving list. West Virginia has a defense with a stout front and middle but some youth in the back, particularly at the cornerback spots. Carolina will look to get Nicks out in space to do what he does best - make plays.
Trimane Goddard: The only Tar Heel on the roster who has played in a bowl game before is Trimane Goddard. He had one tackle and one kickoff return for 15 yards in the Continental Tire Bowl in 2004. He has received a ton of well-earned respect this season, earning quite a few second-team All-America mentions. His seven interceptions this season are tied for first in the nation but surely his two game-ending interceptions have to be at the top. He ended the season with 48 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, five passes defended, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He had at least one pass breakup or interception in nine of 12 games this season. Against Duke, his five tackles were his most since the Notre Dame game; it was also the first time since the Miami game that he had one interception and one pass defended in the same game. His game-saving interception of Thaddeus Lewis just summed up the kind of season that Carolina has had and he will have his last chance to make an impression and enjoy his last game as a Tar Heel. With the kind of speed and talent West Virginia has, it's comforting to know that at least for one more game, Trimane Goddard is part of Carolina's last line of defense.
T.J. Yates: Yates began his season with six touchdowns and just one interception in his first three games. When he finally made it back against NC State, he would be the first to tell you it was a disaster. He went without a touchdown and threw one interception, but completed just 10-of-22 passes. It was his fewest completions of the season (even in a three-quarter game against Virginia Tech, he had 11) and his passes just looked off. But Yates showed what he is made of when he shook off the criticism, got back to work and fixed his problems. Against a very tough Duke defense, he completed a season-high 78.9% of his passes (15-of-19) for 190 yards, one interception and tying a season high with three touchdowns. He showed just what he had been so good at earlier in the season - accuracy, big-play ability and for the most part, an ability to take care of the football. He has had another four weeks to rest, continue to let his injury heal and to get back in sync with his wide receivers. He will likely want to show the coaching staff exactly what he can do heading into spring practice and next year's fall competition at that position, but he will face a stiff test in the West Virginia defense. If he makes smart decisions rather than trying too hard to make a big play, he will likely give himself an early lead.
Pat White: The senior quarterback has not had the type of season he has had in years past, winning back-to-back Big East Player of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007 but falling well short of the Heisman this season. He missed one full game and the fourth quarter of three games with injuries. Still, White has had an incredible career with a 33-8 record as a starter. He has passed Donavan McNabb to hold Big East record in touchdowns responsible for (100) and total offense (10,142 yards). His 4,425 rushing yards are the most in NCAA history by a quarterback. West Virginia is 16-2 when he has at least 100 rushing yards and he has passed that mark in eight of the last 17 games. He has 36 rushing touchdowns in the last 31 games (1.1 per game).
He has had 13 runs of 46 yards or longer in his career; two have come in the last there games. He had a 66-yard touchdown run against Louisville and a 54-yard touchdown run against Pittsburgh. After averaging a season-low 0.7 yards per carry against Auburn and 2.0 yards per carry against Cincinnati, White closed out the season averaging 6.9 yards per carry in the final three games. He rushed for 200 yards against Louisville, 93 against Pitt and 40 against South Florida. He scored four of his eight rushing touchdowns in the final three games. Nearly one-third of his rushing yards (333 of 919) came in the final three games. He also completed 35-of-62 passes (56.5%) in the final three games, passing for 406 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. On the season, he completed 154-of-242 passes (63.6%) for 1,510 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Noel Devine: The 5-8, 173-pound sophomore running back was one of the most dynamic players in the country as a freshman last season, rushing for 627 yards on 73 carries (a ridiculous 8.6 average). He also rushed for six touchdowns. He had 136 yards on just two carries against Maryland last season. His 65-yard touchdown run sealed West Virginia's win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl last season. It was the longest-ever run in a bowl game. This year, he no longer is a complementary back to Steve Slaton and has had to carry the load. He has 18 runs of 23 yards or more in his career. He has eight 100-yard rushing games, five of which have come this season. His 200-yard game came against a stout Auburn defense; six of those runs were for 20 yards or more. In a win over Syracuse earlier this season, he had 188 yards on 18 carries, including a 92-yard touchdown run. In the last game against USF, he had 90 yards on 17 carries (5.3 yards per carry). He had 1,228 yards this season on 193 carries (6.3 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. The sophomore is one of the fastest players in the nation with the ball in his hands, averaging 7.0 yards per carry and 111.4 all-purpose yards per game.
Mortty Ivy: The fifth-year senior strong-side linebacker has been the leader of a West Virginia defense that has played extraordinarily well this season. He is second on the team in consecutive starts with 25 and earned first-team All-Big East honors this season. His 86 tackles were sixth in the Big East and first on the team. He is tied with two other teammates for the lead in interceptions with three. He is also responsible for the Mountaineers' only non-offensive touchdown this season, returning an interception 29 yards for a score against Villanova. He also had a 30-yard fumble return in that game. He has earned Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors twice this season and won the team award as the most valuable defensive player. He also won the team Defensive Champion award n seven of 12 games. The defensive playmaker not only leads the defense but also will be playing in his fifth (and final) bowl game and plays on every special team. No doubt Ivy will be looking to end his career in a positive way.
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly
