University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Handful Of Plays
November 18, 2011 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
Nov. 18, 2011
It hasn't been easy to be a North Carolina football fan lately. To say nothing of the events off the field, and the accompanying derision from opposing fans, the play on the field has been at times heartbreaking.
Thursday night in Blacksburg - one of the most awesome atmospheres in college football - the Tar Heels got oh so close. Again. Carolina's loss to Virginia Tech was the Tar Heels' fifth of the season, and the third by a touchdown or less. In the previous three seasons, the Tar Heels went 8-5 in each year, for a combined 24-15 record. Ten of those 15 losses were by seven points or fewer. In Davis's first season, six of the Tar Heels' eight losses were by a touchdown or less. The numbers are maddening. Of the past 28 Tar Heel losses, 19 of them have been by seven points or less. When games are that close, every play is magnified in importance.
"There's always a handful of plays in a ballgame," Everett Withers said, referring to the swing plays that make the difference in winning and losing. We've got to be able to master some of those plays. Some of those four or five plays in a ballgame, we've got to be able to make them, and we didn't make them tonight."
The Tar Heels came prepared. On the game's first play from scrimmage, Sylvester Williams stripped Hokie quarterback Logan Thomas, and Tydreke Powell recovered the fumble. That set up a Giovani Bernard touchdown moments later, and a vocal 66,000 in Lane Stadium were quieted.
Then there was one of those plays: Carolina had a chance to go up by two scores on the following possession, but Ryan Houston fumbled at the five-yard line on 1st and goal. Antone Exum and Luther Maddy combined to pop the ball loose as Houston fought for yardage, and Derrick Hopkins pounced on it.
The Tar Heel defense had a chance to bounce back, but on 3rd and 19 allowed Thomas, flushed out of the pocket, to pick up 18 yards, then sneak for the first down. The Hokies would tie the game on that drive.
Virginia Tech's next possession began in prime field position after a kick catching interference penalty. David Wilson got them to the one-yard line. "Read it Tre! Read it!" assistant coach Troy Douglas yelled at safety Tre Boston. Boston responded by combining on consecutive tackles to help hold the Hokies to a field goal.
Sometimes it's not plays, but breaks, that change a game. Carolina lost Bernard midway through the second quarter with a concussion. Houston and A.J. Blue did an admirable job stepping up in the backfield, but Bernard's impact was gone.
Sometimes that oddly-shaped ball doesn't bounce your way. On the same series that felled Bernard, it appeared as though Bryn Renner and Erik Highsmith had hooked up for a first down on 3rd and 6 from the Hokie 26. The linesman on the field called a catch but was overruled. The play was reviewed and confirmed as incomplete. The Tar Heels settled for a Thomas Moore field goal attempt that was wide left.
On their first possession of the second half, Virginia Tech was helped by a pass interference call on one play - the Tar Heel coaching staff was certain the ball was uncatchable - and a non-fumble that was reviewed and confirmed on the next. Thomas then rushed 23 yards for a score. Virginia Tech would put together a 67-yard drive later in the quarter to make the score 24-7. Suddenly the temperature - 34 degrees at kickoff time - felt a lot colder.
The Tar Heels hadn't lost their fight, however. Renner and Highsmith connected for a touchdown midway through the fourth, and `Mookie' set up a Houston score to cut the lead to three. But Charles Brown caught the on-side kick attempt just before it had gone ten yards, and the Hokies were able to take all but three seconds on the clock. The Tar Heels set up a lateral play to try to score as time expired, but Renner missed Blue and the game was over.
More than any in recent memory, this game came down to a handful of plays, as Withers said. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels either weren't able to make those plays, or simply caught tough breaks.
What if Houston had been able to hold onto the ball?
What if Bernard had been hit anywhere but in the head?
What if Highsmith had been ruled inbounds?
What if Charles Brown hadn't been called for pass interference?
What if David Wilson hadn't been ruled down on the following play?
What if Thomas Moore hits even one of two field goal attempts?
What if Everett Withers had been able to get within earshot of an official to call a timeout, as he was attempting to do, on the play that resulted in a Logan Thomas touchdown pass?
What if Brown had caught the on-side kick attempt one yard farther downfield?
What if?
Unfortunately, that's the question fans are left asking after a three-point loss on the road on a Thursday night at the nation's ninth-ranked team.
Four years ago in Blacksburg, Houston fumbled on the five-yard line with the Tar Heels trailing 10-3 in the third quarter of a game they would lose 17-10. After Thursday night's game, he was emotional, mindful of the similarities. "It just was a horrible feeling," he said. "Two years ago when we played here, we came up here on a Thursday and we kicked butt. I feel like we could have done the same thing today, and I just feel like I just didn't do the best I can today to put the team in the best position to win."
Houston's fumble didn't cost the Tar Heels the game. There were more than 47 minutes yet to play when it happened. There were more plays to be made. Still, time and time again, the ball didn't bounce the Tar Heels way. As Rece Davis said during the ESPN broadcast, it was "another tough break for North Carolina."
Turner Walston is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly. The views expressed are his alone and do not necessarily represent those of anyone at the University of North Carolina. Turner's weekly Tar Heel football podcast, The Walkthrough, is available on iTunes.
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