University of North Carolina Athletics
Motivated Tar Heels Ready For Duke Challenge
November 19, 2014 | Football
By Emily Fedewa, UNC Athletic Communications
CHAPEL HILL --- The North Carolina football team isn't lacking motivation for its game against Duke on Thursday night. There is a lot riding on this game for the Tar Heels, including a chance at bowl eligibility.
“You're going to see a lot of guys flying around out there. We have a lot going for us in this game,” senior safety Tim Scott said at Tuesday's practice. “This game could get us bowl eligible, we could get the bell back and we can beat Duke, three things in one game. That's enough motivation as it is.”
In the past, Scott said, the Tar Heels have struggled with backing up that kind of talk with how they play in the game.
But he believes they've learned from those mistakes, and coming out ready to play early on the way they've talked about will be crucial against a team like Duke.
“We talked about how we were motivated and ready to play (against ECU) but when we came out when the game started, we played lazy,” he said. “If you play lazy against a team like Duke, they're going to jump on you early and if they jump on us early, it's going to be tough for us to get back.”
Allowing teams to get out to an early lead has been an issue for Carolina all season; opponents have scored first in seven of UNC's ten games so far this season. But the Tar Heels have learned not to panic in those situations and they've won the last three games in which they were down early.
That ability to play through all 60 minutes of a game and not give up could prove helpful against Duke since the last two games between the two teams have come down to the final minutes.
“We know how to play 60 minute games,” Scott said. “Hopefully it doesn't come down to that, but if it does, I know our team will be prepared for it.”
UNC will also face the challenge of Duke's running game. But while this is the third run-heavy team the Tar Heels have faced in a row, the Blue Devils also have another threat in wide receiver Jamison Crowder.
Head coach Larry Fedora said Crowder presents a unique challenge for UNC because he's capable of doing a lot of different things and Carolina will need to be prepared for that come Thursday night.
“(Crowder) is special. That guy can do it all, he's got great speed, he catches the ball really well, and they use him in the return game too,” Fedora said. “He's a special player, watching him for three years, he's a dang good player.”
Scott agreed with his coach. He knows they'll need to focus heavily on Crowder this week, but he also added that UNC's defense can't guard just one player.
“(Crowder's) a great receiver. We know that he's their top target but they also have a great receiving corps on top of that,” Scott said. “Yeah, we're going to have our emphasis on (Crowder) but we also know that we have to guard those other receivers too.”
And Crowder is just one of the things the Tar Heels have to take into account for this game. With the bell and bowl eligibility on the line, the team knows it needs to keep the focus simple.
“We just put big emphasis on one play can decide the game and we've got to make sure that that one play is on our side this year,” Scott said. “So we'll come ready to play like we should.”
