Boston College Game Guide

November 20, 2009 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Nov. 20, 2009

Every Friday, check TarHeelBlue.com for the latest edition of the Game Guide, which provides all the information you need to get ready for gameday.

By Lauren Brownlow

The Basics

After playing four of its last five games at home, North Carolina (7-3, 3-3) will close out its season on the road for two games, starting at Boston College (7-3, 4-2). Carolina gained bowl eligibility with a 33-24 win over Miami last week. North Carolina is ranked No. 25 in the Coaches' Poll after beating two ranked teams in the last three weeks. Boston College is coming off of a 14-10 win at Virginia, its first road win of the year, and technically still has a chance to win the Atlantic Division if Clemson loses. Carolina holds a 3-2 edge in the series with Boston College and 2-0 since the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005. Carolina won in 2005 and 2008, both meetings in Chapel Hill. The last time - and only time - the two teams met in Chestnut Hills, Boston College won 52-20 behind Doug Flutie in 1984. Butch Davis is 7-0 against Miami as a head coach.

Game Time: North Carolina at Boston College, 12:00 PM, ESPN2

Carolina's game notes can be here.

Last Time: Carolina beat Boston College in Chapel Hill 45-24 on October 25, 2008. At the time, Boston College was ranked No. 23 and Carolina was unranked coming off of a loss at Virginia. Boston College had a 10-0 lead in the first quarter after a field goal and a sack-fumble forced on Cam Sexton returned for a touchdown. Carolina responded with a 24-point second quarter, including 17 unanswered, to take a 24-17 lead. Hakeem Nicks scored all three second-quarter touchdowns, catching a 26-yard pass, a 43-yard pass and a 40-yard pass. Kendric Burney intercepted a Chris Crane pass on Boston College's first drive and returned it to the Carolina one-yard line to set up a touchdown, giving Carolina a 31-17 lead. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Trimane Goddard returned an interception for a score to give Carolina a 38-17 lead. Hakeem Nicks rushed for his fourth touchdown later in the quarter to give Carolina a 45-17 lead; Boston College would score on its next drive but there were only two minutes left.

Sexton completed 19-of-30 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Shaun Draughn had 64 hard-earned yards on 18 carries. Hakeem Nicks rushed three times for 31 yards and a touchdown. Nicks added eight catches for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Brooks Foster had seven catches for 64 yards. Mark Paschal had ten tackles to lead the team. Kendric Burney had eight tackles (all solo) and two interceptions. Chris Crane completed 28-of-42 passes for 204 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Josh Haden led the Eagles with 25 yards on six carries and Montel Harris added 24 yards on six carries. James McCluskey had eight catches for 58 yards. Mark Herzlich had eight tackles and a sack; Ron Brace had ten tackles (one sack) and a forced fumble.

Gameday Weather: Check the local weather forecast before heading to the game.

Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 11:00 AM.

TV Coverage: The game will be shown on ESPN2.

Game week TV/radio coverage: "Butch Davis Live", Coach Davis' weekly radio show, will be broadcast live from the Top of the Hill restaurant on Franklin Street every Wednesday at 7:00. Inside Carolina Football with Butch Davis airs Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on FOX Sports South. Inside Carolina Football with Butch Davis will air on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on WTVD ABC 11 in the Triangle and will review Saturday's game. The show will also be available On Demand on Time Warner Cable channel 1234 for free. The Tar Heel Football Review 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 on the local Time Warner Cable station.

Storylines

Getting pressure: Carolina was able to get pressure on Jacory Harris 11 times officially, not even counting all the times they were able to let him know of their presence in other ways. On those 11 quarterback hurries, Harris completed just 3-of-11 passes for a total of eight yards, three interceptions and just one first down. On all of his none-hurried attempts, Harris completed 25-of-40 passes for 311 yards, 16 passing first downs and one interception. It even made a difference on Harris' next attempt - counting attempts he was pressured on and the next attempt after the hurry, Harris was a combined 10-of-22 for 46 yards (2.1 per attempt), just four first downs and four interceptions. Without a hurry on the previous attempt or on the attempt, he was 18-of-29 for 273 yards (9.4 per attempt) for 13 first downs and a touchdown. "It's been one of the strengths of our football program. We've got a good group of defensive linemen. We've got eight guys who we try to rotate and get in the ballgame," Davis said. "If you don't get pressure on Jacory, who came in the ballgame as the most efficient quarterback in the ACC and you see when you're not getting pressure on him, how dangerous he is. The early pressure that created the turnovers was unbelievably instrumental in the win."

It will be important for Carolina to concentrate on getting pressure throughout the game. In the last three games, Carolina has 18 quarterback hurries and six sacks in the second and fourth quarters combined and ten hurries to two sacks in the first and third quarters. The defensive line's depth almost allows them to much better at closing games and tiring out the opposing offensive lines, but with an experienced group like Boston College's offensive line and momentum being key on the road, Carolina will need to establish its pressure early on. Carolina is getting better at this - it has six quarterback hurries in the first quarter of its last three games and none against Florida State, Virginia and East Carolina combined in the first quarter.

Boston College is second in the league in sacks allowed with just 12; Georgia Tech is the only team that has allowed fewer (eight) and that is not a passing team. So it won't be easy to get pressure on a unit that Butch Davis said was perhaps the best offensive line Carolina will face this season. But make no mistake - that ability to close with pressure is crucial. On attempted passes with pressure, Carolina's last three opponents have completed just 1-of-9 passes for -8 yards in the fourth quarter. In attempts without pressure, that number skyrockets to 10-of-19 for 129 yards. Carolina recorded neither a hurry nor a sack in the fourth quarter against Florida State. The results were 7-of-7 passing for 77 yards and an incredibly calm, cool and collected Christian Ponder. "Pressure on a quarterback is extraordinarily important. It's the one thing that we didn't get much of on Florida State and Christian Ponder. If you sit somebody back there and you give him a lot of time in the pocket, just about any quarterback is gifted enough. They wouldn't be starting for somebody if they weren't good enough to sit there and play really good in a 7-on-7," Davis said.

"So the difference is, you've got to somehow manufacture some pressure. Sometimes, it comes in the nature of sacks and sometimes, it just becomes the idea of getting the ball out of the quarterback's hands. You don't even have to hit the quarterback sometimes for the pressure to be effective because it disrupts the timing. The receiver may not be out of the break in time. So the pressure was very important (against Miami) because it led to the interceptions."

Finishing strong: After Carolina earned bowl eligibility last season with a win over Boston College, it was a huge step for the program and a relief for the entire team, particularly the seniors that had never been to a bowl game. But after clinching bowl eligibility against Boston College, Carolina lost two of its next three games and three of its final four games, including the bowl loss to West Virginia. Coming off of Notre Dame, its third straight win, Carolina went to Charlottesville and lost in overtime to Virginia. Then Carolina returned home for two games and beat Boston College and Georgia Tech, only to travel to Maryland and lose and lose yet again at home against NC State, 41-10. All of Carolina's losses were close last season except for that one. It kind of epitomized the way Carolina let its 7-2 start slip away and become a 1-2 finish. Carolina is not playing NC State for another week but that game remains a rallying cry for this team. "It's still a sour taste in our mouths, that game. It's something we've preached all year about never having a game like that, never having a breakdown where all four quarters, we didn't play Carolina football," Burney said.

It has become an important point of reference for a team that is starting to build shared experiences and learn lessons. Butch Davis brought up the hypothetical question: does Carolina beat Miami or Virginia Tech without the meltdown against Florida State? There are plenty of hypothetical's to go around, though, like does Carolina beat Virginia Tech without the painful loss last season in Chapel Hill? Does Carolina adapt as well to injuries during the course of a game (like Miami) if they haven't been dealing with them all season? Does Carolina bounce back from potentially momentum-shifting plays as well as it has the last few weeks without experiencing that 98-yard touchdown against Florida State? "Sometimes, the outcomes are not as good as you would like. We are sick to death that we lost to Florida State. But if that doesn't happen, maybe we don't beat Miami tonight. Who knows? What's the impact that has in 2010, 2011, on down the line," Davis said. "You talk to the kids now about perseverance and fighting through adversity, they get it. They know."

So here are the Tar Heels, having bounced back from a 0-3 start in the ACC, bowl eligible yet again with a 7-3 record with two games to go. Carolina has won three straight, two over ranked teams, and nearly a fourth straight had it pulled out the FSU game. Carolina has dealt with injuries and powered through it, just like the 2008 Tar Heels dealt with the loss of guys like T.J. Yates and Zack Pianalto seemingly without missing a beat. Then there was Maryland's Chris Turner rushing for a first down on fourth and ten and NC State's Russell Wilson throwing all over the Tar Heels in Kenan Stadium.

But this team has been through so much this season, and plenty of them went through the back-to-earth fall last season as well. So it's unlikely the leaders will allow the young players to understand that just because this team has had success, none of it has been easy. "Young kids, when they're freshmen and they're sophomores, a lot of times, they don't even appreciate how tough it is to win games. Winning these games, it is a knockdown, drag-out every single Saturday. The minute that you think that something is going to be easy, it almost assuredly won't be easy," Davis said.

"We went through that a little bit last year. It was the first opportunity to qualify to be bowl-eligible and there was kind of a sigh of relief that we'd finally accomplished something as a program. As we talked about all season, sometimes you get tests and this is another one of those tests with your players and with your program. This season is not over with and we want to finish well. Certainly, the respect for the opposition and the opponent, it doesn't take long to realize that this is going to be one heck of a challenge."

At The Game

Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in Alumni Stadium will be 99.9 FM.

Tickets: Tickets are available for purchase here.

How to get to the game: For parking and transportation information, click here. For a comprehensive A-to-Z guide, click here. For maps and more information, click here.

What to do in Chestnut Hills: Check out the visiting team's guide on BC's 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.

ESPN2 coverage: The game will be shown on ESPN2. Ray Bentley and Pam Ward will have the call.

Names To Know

T.J. Yates: Against Miami, Yates completed 17-of-31 passes for 217 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions, his first interception-free game - and first 200-yard game - since East Carolina. His head coach was asked about Yates' ability to "manage" the game, generally a backhanded compliment to quarterbacks. "That's the role of the quarterback is to get the ball in the hands of playmakers and to make plays that give you a chance to win. When you manage the game, sometimes that's a bad analogy because it makes it sound like you're just taking the ball out of his hands," Davis said. "The touchdown that he throws to Greg Little - what a great pass and a great read on the coverage, knowing it was man-to-man coverage and they had no free safety in the middle of the field. Greg makes a stick move to the outside, beats the guy underneath and T.J. throws a great ball. He has the poise and presence of a guy that has experience."

And he has certainly bounced back from a three-game stretch against ACC foes (Carolina lost all three) during which he threw for just 336 yards (112 per game) and added just two touchdowns compared to five interceptions. Since the Florida State game, T.J. Yates has completed 51-of-87 passes (58.6%) for 467 yards, adding three touchdowns and two interceptions. On the road this season, Yates has actually been pretty good. He led the crucial late drive at Connecticut to tie the game and he made a huge fourth-down conversion at Virginia Tech. His lone egg was laid in the Georgia Tech game when he was inexplicably missing receivers and - like the rest of the Carolina offense - looked lethargic at times. He completed 11-of-26 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions; it was only the third time in his career he failed to complete at least 50% of his passes.

Taking out that game, he led Carolina to road wins at Connecticut and Virginia Tech by completing 41-of-60 passes (68.3%) for 364 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, engineering two game-tying drives. In seven home games, he has completed 58.2% of his passes for six touchdowns and five picks. He didn't play against Boston College last season but Cam Sexton did, completing 19-of-30 passes for 283 yards and three scores. Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour was once considered a Heisman candidate. He went to Chestnut Hills and completed 20-of-34 passes for 152 yards and no touchdowns.

Zack Pianalto: Everyone - including opposing defenses - know that Pianalto is T.J. Yates' favorite target, and with good reason. Despite missing three games, he is still third on the team in targets with 35. He is dependable and catches almost everything thrown his way - 24 of the 35 passes, to be exact, for 239 yards. He is always in the right place and he and Yates have been together the longest, meaning the two seem to know the adjustments they need to make during the course of a play. "Me and T.J. do have a great rapport together. We've developed that over the past three years," Pianalto said. "If there's a certain route where I can break in or break out, we both know what I'm going to do."

Of Pianalto's 24 catches, a whopping 17 have been for a first down. Yates does use him as an outlet but he is often able to bail out the Tar Heel offense on long drives, catching 11 passes on third down for 83 yards and nine first downs. He has been targeted by Yates 17 times on third down and the only game he failed to catch at least 66.7% of those passes was against Miami. "We've been lucky that this year, he's been putting it on the money when he throws it to me and luckily I've just been there to catch it and hopefully bail out the offense sometimes, get some first downs, keep some drives going and hopefully put some points on the board," Pianalto said.

He has caught 16 of the 27 passes thrown his way since his return from injury and has gained ten first downs. Against Virginia Tech, he was blanketed early and caught just two passes for seven yards (he was targeted five times). But in the second half, he caught four of five passes thrown to him for 27 yards and two first downs, including a crucial third-down conversion late. But in the last two games, it was his first-half work that laid the groundwork for the offense opening up - he caught six for 52 yards and two first downs in the last two first halves. He doesn't have a fourth-quarter catch, but Erik Highsmith does, and so do Jhay Boyd and Greg Little.

Against Miami, he was targeted three times and caught just one, but of course it was for 14 yards and a first down. Yates threw his way ten times out of 32 pass attempts and Pianalto caught five for 51 yards and three first downs. Teams with smart and sound defenses are starting to catch on to Yates' affinity for Pianalto and Yates will have to be careful not to force it to him. But with receivers like Greg Little emerging as playmakers, defenses can't just converge on Pianalto, making his return to this offense crucial to its resurgence.

Dave Shinskie: The true freshman quarterback is 25 years old after playing baseball for the last six years. He was selected as a pitcher in the first round by the Minnesota Twins and finished his career with the Blue Jays' AA team. In high school, he was a four-year starter at quarterback and established school records in completions and yardage. "They've got an older, experienced man playing quarterback, kind of a unique scenario," Davis said. "I had a situation like that when I was at Miami by the name of Andre King that played for four years with the Atlanta Braves and then came back. Having had someone like that in your program, it's kind of unique because they're become a really good mentor. They become so experienced and so mature that their maturity helps transitions like they've gone through and changing coordinators, having somebody like that."

But Shinskie has been the key to the unexpected success of the Eagles this season. He has completed 109-of-204 passes for 1,503 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. But like his team, he has been all over the place. In the Eagles' four ACC wins, he has completed 56-of-12 passes for 773 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. In the two losses, he has completed 2-of-13 passes for six yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He was either pulled or split time in both losses. He has played much better in the Eagles' last four games, however, completing 60-of-114 passes for 875 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions, being sacked just twice. He had a rough game against Virginia, completing just 12-of-26 passes for 147 yards. But he passed for a touchdown and rushed for one, including the go-ahead score. He has shown he has the ability to perform in big moments - see his 279 yards at Notre Dame and the way he fought through three interceptions - and there will be none bigger than the Eagles' having a chance to win the Atlantic (with help).

Montel Harris: The true sophomore running back has been very dangerous this season at running back. He had just 24 yards on six carries against Carolina last season, and he is certainly hit-or-miss at times. He has had as many as 264 yards in a game (against NC State) and as few as 13 on 12 carries (at Clemson). Home and away appears to be the best indicator: Harris is averaging 139.3 yards per game and 6.1 per carry (with 12 touchdowns) at home but just 61.3 yards (2.9 per carry) and one score in four road games. But the Eagles have yet to face a run defense inside the top 30 this season: Carolina is ninth in the country. Two of BC's three ACC home wins have come against teams that rank in the bottom of the country in run defense (Wake Forest is 93rd and Florida State is 105th). NC State, surprisingly, is 44th even after allowing Harris to gain 264 yards on the ground.

Against a solid Virginia defense, he had his first 100-yard effort on the road with 151 yards on 38 carries. In the last four games, the only team to hold him down was Notre Dame - 38 yards on 22 carries - and the team still had a chance to win at the end. Harris also fumbled three times and lost two against Notre Dame, the only time he has ever lost a fumble in 446 career touches. Boston College and Gary Tranquill will stay with the run game but Harris is hardly a plodding back and has plenty of big-play potential. On the season, he is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and 108.1 yards per game with 13 touchdowns. Carolina's defense will have to be disciplined and focused to stop Harris, particularly since the Eagles will try to establish the ground game early.

Lauren Brownlow is the executive editor of Tar Heel Monthly