Nov. 14, 2009
By Turner Walston
Big-time football was back at `The U.' In Randy Shannon's third season, Miami started the 2009 campaign by winning five of their first six games, including victories over Florida State, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma. After 5-7 and 7-6 seasons, the national media couldn't wait to welcome the Hurricanes back to the college football elite.
Meanwhile, Butch Davis' Tar Heels appeared to be floundering. With Miami on the rise, Carolina dropped three of four and settled at the bottom of the ACC's Coastal Division.
At home on a Thursday night, Carolina led Florida State 24-6 in the third quarter before falling 30-27. For a half, the Tar Heels had played big-time football. But then it all came crashing down, as the Seminoles scored 24 of the game's final 27 points. It was a humbling experience.
When Miami came to town, the Tar Heels were playing for more than bowl eligibility. With a 3:30 kickoff on ABC, it was a second chance at big-time football.
And big-time football players make big-time plays, like Kendric Burney's three interceptions (not the first player to pull off a hat trick against Hurricanes this season, but I digress . . . ) and Ryan Houston's pounding away at the Miami defense. With Shaun Draughn lost for the season, the junior knew the Hurricane defense would key on him, and it showed: He rushed for just 15 yards in the first half. "I was just hoping the coaches wouldn't get down on me," Houston said after the game. "I'm glad they stuck with me, and during the fourth quarter, everything just sprung open." He finished with 76 yards for the game.
But Butch Davis and John Shoop used more than Houston to move the ball. Jhay Boyd, Greg Little and Anthony Elzy also had carries, and the T.J. Yates to Zack Pianalto connection continued to be productive.
For a while, though, Saturday night looked eerily like that Thursday against Florida State. Carolina led 23-7 in the third quarter, but the Hurricanes weren't going away. Miami sandwiched a Tar Heel 3-and-out with 10 points. Even after the brilliant Jacory-to-Kendric-to-Melvin pick-fumble-fumble-six in the fourth quarter, it took just two minutes for the `Canes to get back within a score.
That's when the offense went to work. With the game on the line, knowing that a six-point cushion might not be enough, T.J. Yates orchestrated a five-minute drive. On that series, Houston took the ball five straight times to take the Heels from midfield to the 19, well within Casey Barth's range. Big-time football players making big-time plays.
Miami got the ball back down nine with less than two minutes remaining. With the `Canes out of timeouts, the Tar Heel defense helped salt the clock away.
After the game, Butch Davis said he didn't remind his players of Florida State this week. He didn't have to. "We did all that talking after the Florida State game," he said. That game, Davis said, was one of many shared experiences that this team, this program is going through together. The core contributors on this team (with some notable additions) are the same players who went 4-8 in 2007, losing six games by a touchdown or less, the bitter taste of close defeats lingering in their mouths. This team experienced losing a bowl by a single point last December. Just three weeks ago, this team went through the most stinging defeat of the Davis era.
But Saturday, it all seemed to come together. The lessons learned from victories and defeats, the ability to close, and the resolve to not be defeated. The result? Big-time football on a national stage.
"All those little bitty things that you say to players, they take root," Davis said. "Sometimes some of the outcomes are not as good as you'd like. We are sick to death that we lost to Florida State. If that doesn't happen, maybe we don't beat Miami tonight. Who knows? And what's the impact that that has in 2010 and 11 and 12 and on down the line?"
Saturday night, big-time football was back, all right. Unfortunately for Miami, it was on the other sideline.
Turner Walston is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly. Turner's weekly Tar Heel football podcast, The Walkthrough, is available on iTunes.
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