Oct. 14, 2009
After returning to the win column with a victory over Georgia Southern, North Carolina returns to conference action vs. Florida State Thursday, October 22 at 8 p.m. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN and is the first Thursday night home game in North Carolina history. It also is the first of six consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference games for North Carolina to close the season.
The Tar Heels (4-2 overall, 0-2 ACC) are coming off a 42-12 victory over Georgia Southern. Linebackers Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter scored defensive touchdowns and running back Ryan Houston found the end zone three times as the Tar Heels scored all 42 points in the first half.
Thursday's game is the first meeting between Carolina and Florida State since 2004 and the first meeting at Kenan Stadium since 2003. Florida State holds a 14-1-1 lead in the series and has won three straight vs. the Tar Heels. Carolina's only win in the series was a 41-9 victory in Chapel Hill in 2001.
Florida State (2-4, 0-3 ACC) is coming off a 49-44 loss to Georgia Tech. Both UNC and FSU had last Saturday off to prepare for a Thursday night game.
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North Carolina Thursday Night Football History
• Carolina's game vs. Florida State on Oct. 22 is the first Thursday night home game in school history. The Tar Heels did play Bowling Green in a non-ESPN televised game on Thursday morning, Nov. 25, 1982 (Thanksgiving) and won, 33-14, in Kenan Stadium. The first ACC game on ESPN on Thursday night was a Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game in 1991. Prior to that, ESPN had broadcast some Thursday night games in the late 1980's and 1990, but no ACC team was involved.
• North Carolina is 4-2 in ESPN Thursday night games, and is one of four ACC teams (Miami, Virginia Tech, Boston College are the others) to have a winning road record (3-2) on Thursday nights. Carolina's also defeated NC State in Charlotte on Thursday night in 1999. Florida State is 4-4 in Thursday night road games.
• This is the first of two consecutive Thursday night games for North Carolina as it travels to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech on Oct. 29.
• The Tar Heels last played on Thursday night a year ago at Rutgers as quarterback T.J. Yates threw for three touchdowns and the UNC defense picked off four passes in a 44-12 victory.
• Carolina's Thursday night appearances have all been memorable for various reasons.
2008 at Rutgers: Carolina's 44-12 victory was the first win for the Tar Heels outside its home state since 2002. Future first-round NFL Draft pick Hakeem Nicks scored twice, wide receiver Brandon Tate scored on a reception and a 12-yard end-around and linebacker Bruce Carter found the end zone on a 66-yard interception return.
2006 at Virginia: The Tar Heels lost 23-0 in Charlottesville on Thursday, Oct. 19. Four days later, Carolina announced that head coach John Bunting would not return for the 2007 season.
2001 at Georgia Tech: Carolina rode into Atlanta on a five-game winning streak and ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in nearly three years. Carolina's defense, which would finish the season No. 15 in the country, gave up 198 yards rushing to tailback Joe Burns as No. 23 Georgia Tech knocked off the 22nd-ranked Tar Heels, 28-21. With senior quarterback Ronald Curry sitting out with a sore hamstring, freshman Darian Durant played the entire game. It would be more than six years later before Carolina returned to the national rankings in 2008.
1999 vs. NC State: Carolina snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 10-6 victory over its in-state rival at Charlotte's Ericsson Stadium when defensive backs Errol Hood and David Bomar stopped NC State's Chris Coleman at the 1-yard line with just under two minutes to play.
1997 at Georgia Tech: No. 5 North Carolina ran its record to 8-0 with a tight 16-13 victory over the Yellow Jackets. Despite gaining more than 500 yards of offense, Carolina had to recover an onside kick in the game's final minutes to secure the victory. Tailback Jonathan Linton became the first player in school history to rush for 100 yards and have 100 yards receiving in the same game.
1995 at Louisville: Wide receiver Octavus Barnes, now an academic counselor for UNC, caught a touchdown pass with 14 seconds remaining to give Carolina a 17-10 victory. That game is the 12th-highest rated ESPN Thursday night game involving an ACC team.
