University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Lords of Discipline
November 20, 2016 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
By Turner Walston
Larry Fedora has not read The Lords of Discipline, the late Pat Conroy's novel set at a fictionalized version of his alma mater, The Citadel. The Tar Heel head coach might not be familiar with the plight of Will McLean's experiences in the plebe system of a military college, but on Saturday, his Tar Heels displayed a focused intensity in dispatching The Citadel Bulldogs, 41-7.
It would have been easy to overlook this game. Coming off a heartbreaking one-point loss at Duke last Thursday, with a non-conference FCS opponent coming to town ahead of the season finale against rival NC State, the Tar Heels could have been caught in a trap. But no. They were eager to put the Duke loss behind them, prove that their identities were not just wrapped up in a bell on a cart and make a statement.
"i think that was big for us," redshirt freshman defensive tackle Aaron Crawford said of the opportunity to get on the field and put the Duke loss away. "It definitely left a bad taste in our mouths. Trying to get to this game, I feel like our preparation, our practice was very crisp. We did the same things that we do every other week, obviously we tweaked things a little bit because of the scheme that we're playing, but I really feel like we were locked in the entire week, and we were just ready to play today."
The Citadel Bulldogs came out on Saturday and punched the Tar Heels in the mouth a bit, running the ball with B-back Tyler Renew up the middle on five straight plays as part of a 12-play drive to get to the Tar Heel eight yard-line. But that drive ended with a missed field goal. After a Tar Heel punt, the defense forced a three and out, and then the offense found the end zone when Mitch Trubisky connected with high school teammate Brandon Fritts for a score.
Carolina's next possession lasted one play: a 72-yard Trubisky bomb to Ryan Switzer. The one after that, T.J. Logan made a beautiful one-handed grab to put the Heels up three touchdowns.
But it wasn't just offensive fireworks in Kenan Stadium. After their first drive, four of the next five Citadel possessions went for three plays. The other was a turnover on downs near midfield. After that came the Tar Heels' first interception of the season, when Dominquie Green grabbed a Dominique Allen pass and returned it 58 yards for a score. That made the score 28-0 early in the second quarter. The rout was on.
"I was told that we are the only team in the country that has returned all their interceptions for touchdowns," Larry Fedora said with a dry wit after the game. "So that's a pretty big deal, I would think."
To a man, the Tar Heels in the postgame press conference said they were eager to put the next game on film after Duke, to show up and grow up. "We just wanted to get back out there and get a good win under our belts, and that's what we did today," said Malik Carney.
It just happened that The Citadel was the next team on the schedule. The Tar Heels were fired up; they'd let a two-touchdown lead slip away last week. They weren't about to do it again. "When we go out like that, we really need to be conscious of what we're doing on offense and stay aggressive, and just pull together and finish in the end zone."
Carolina got the interceptions and forced five fumbles, recovering three for a total of four turnovers. They turned those into 13 points. That was a direct result of the focus and discipline they brought to practice this week, in a week they might have coasted. "It was just a continuation of doing what we do in practice on game day," M.J. Stewart said. "Everything we did on the field today, we did also in practice. Green's pick, he picked that off in practice the other day too, so everything we did on the field we did in practice. So it's kind of contributing to our practice habits."
Now, the focus turns to another short week and a Black Friday matchup with NC State. The Wolfpack are 5-6 and looking for bowl eligibility. The Tar Heels are 8-3 and clinging to the hope that a win and a Virginia Tech loss will earn them an ACC Championship Game bid. "I think we need to look at the film, learn from the mistakes and go even harder this week, because we've got a big one against State," said Trubisky. "Another rivalry game, so we're going to want to get after it, and it's the senior's last home game, so we've got to make it count for them."
Make it count on Friday, but make it count in practice, too. Continue to be lords of discipline.
