Nov. 27, 2009
By Lauren Brownlow
Every Thursday, check TarHeelBlue.com for the latest edition of the Game Guide, which provides all the information you need to get ready for gameday.
The Basics
No. 23/24 North Carolina (8-3, 4-3) will close out its regular season at NC State (4-7, 1-6), marking the first time the rivalry game will be the last game of the year for both teams since 1995 and only the third time ever. North Carolina is coming off of its fourth win a row at Boston College (and its third road win of the season), 31-13. NC State is coming off of a 38-10 loss at Virginia Tech. The last time Carolina finished a season ranked was 1997 (No. 4). Were the Tar Heels to win, nine wins are the most since an 11-1 season in 1997. The four-game winning streak is the longest for Carolina since 2001. Carolina has won nine games or more just 15 times in 118 years. Carolina leads the all-time series, 63-29-6. Carolina is 1-2 in the last three seasons and has lost two straight but does hold a 5-2 edge in the last seven games played at Carter-Finley Stadium. The series is the fourth-most played in ACC history.
Game Time: North Carolina at NC State, 12:00 PM, ESPN2
Carolina's game notes can be found here and NC State's official football site is here.
Last Time: Carolina lost to NC State 41-10 in Chapel Hill in the final home game of last season on November 22, 2008. Shaun Draughn fumbled on back-to-back plays on two different drives for Carolina, resulting in a missed field goal and a made field goal by NC State. State scored again to go up 10-0 at the beginning of the second quarter. Carolina responded with a field goal to cut it to 10-3. On Carolina's last possession of the quarter, T.J. Yates was intercepted and State couldn't capitalize before halftime. State went up 17-3 after a 54-yard Russell Wilson completion and Carolina responded with a touchdown drive to cut it to 17-10. NC State responded with a touchdown drive to go up 24-10, a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff followed by another touchdown to go up 31-10 and then a field goal to go up 34-10 with 8:39 left Cam Sexton was intercepted at the State 32-yard line on Carolina's next drive and then again on his next pass, returned to the Carolina one-yard line. State scored again for the final margin with two minutes left.
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T.J. Yates got his first start since breaking his ankle against Virginia Tech and completed 10of-22 passes for 116 yards and one interception.
Cam Sexton came in late and completed 4-of-6 passes for 31 yards and two interceptions.
Shaun Draughn rushed for 56 yards on 13 carries and
Ryan Houston added 27 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Hakeem Nicks had four catches for 56 yards and
Brooks Foster added 33 yards on three catches.
Mark Paschal had 13 tackles in his final home game to lead Carolina. Russell Wilson completed 17-of-28 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Andre Brown had 81 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, Jamelle Eugene added 56 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and Wilson added 50 yards on 11 carries. Owen Spencer had three catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Willie Young led the Wolfpack defense with three tackles for loss (including two sacks) and an interception.
Gameday Weather: Check the local weather forecast before heading to the game.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 11:00 AM. The radio broadcast is also available on XM Channel 191 at 12:00 PM. Since it's an away game, the NC State's broadcasters will be heard instead of the Tar Heel Sports Network crew.
TV Coverage: The game will be available on ESPN2.
Game week TV/radio coverage: "Butch Davis Live", Coach Davis' weekly radio show, will be broadcast live from the Top of the Hill restaurant on Franklin Street every Wednesday at 7:00. Inside Carolina Football with Butch Davis airs Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on FOX Sports South. Inside Carolina Football with Butch Davis will air on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on WTVD ABC 11 in the Triangle and will review Saturday's game. The show will also be available On Demand on Time Warner Cable channel 1234 for free. The Tar Heel Football Review show featuring highlights of the previous week's games will air Tuesday's at 7 p.m. and Thursday's at 8 p.m. in the Triangle and Fayetteville on the local Time Warner Cable station.
Storylines
Doing just enough offensively: The biggest reason that Carolina's offensive output against Boston College nearly wasn't enough is largely because of turnovers. In the first half alone, three turnovers (including two T.J. Yates interceptions) were turned into 13 points, the total allowed by the Carolina defense all day. Two of the turnovers were inside the Carolina 30-yard line, costing the Tar Heels a chance to get points. "We had opportunities down inside the red zone where we turned the ball over where even if we're just kicking field goals, the score would have continued to have separated a little bit," Davis said. "You never know how that changes the complexion of how they're playing the ballgame. The running game is not nearly as significantly important and maybe they've got to throw the ball more. There are a lot of factors that go into how games unfold."
But the struggling unit has done what it has needed to do for the most part. Carolina's offense has to do what it can to stay on the field. In three losses, Carolina was on the field for a little over an entire 60 minutes, about 73 minutes (an average of 24.3). In Carolina's eight wins, the offense has held the ball for over 30 minutes in all but one and in the last four games, Carolina ahs had the ball 33 minutes or more in three of the last four games. Carolina's offense has converted 42.3% of its third downs in wins (22.5% in losses) and has averaged 69.8 plays in wins to just 57 in losses as a result, gaining just 13 first downs in losses compared to 19.8 in wins. Carolina has averaged around the same yards per rush in its wins and losses, but it has been forced to run the ball just 27.3 times per loss compared to 41.5 times per win. T.J. Yates has completed 63.3% of his passes in eight wins for 6.2 yards per attempt compared to 49.4% of his passes in losses and 4.1 yards per attempt.
But it's no coincidence that the team that has held the advantage on the ground has won this game 16 of the last 17 times. (The exception was in 2004 when Carolina won but was out-gained on the ground 304-164.) Carolina will have to establish its ground game early and often not only to take pressure off of T.J. Yates, but also to keep the ball away from a dangerous NC State offense. Carolina's ability to mount an 11-play, 70-yard drive against BC last week on its first drive of the game was great because it took the wind out of the crowd but Carolina averaged 3.4 yards per play after that.
"There have been little glimpses into what we're capable of doing - maybe not as a complete game, but we've had games where we've run the ball well. We've had games where we've thrown the ball well. We've had games where we've protected well," Davis said. "I think that's one of the challenges that we've asked our football team offensively is, `Let's put a whole game together. Let's play smart. Let's be effective. Let's be efficient.' Hopefully, we'll be able to do that. I think from where we were in Week 2-3 offensively, we've made some strides in spite of the fact that it's an awful lot of very, very young players because of all the injuries that we've incurred."
Making the Wolfpack one-dimensional: While Russell Wilson's huge performance was a big reason Carolina was beaten so soundly last year, another part of it was the rushing offense, which came in ranked near the bottom of the league, ran roughshod on Carolina. Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene combined for 142 yards on 32 carries (4.4 per rush) and three touchdowns. Wilson himself had 50 yards on 11 carries (4.5 per carry), giving the team a total of 187 yards. The averages might have been higher were it not for NC State simply trying to run clock towards the end of the game in the fourth quarter. But even early in the game, NC State stuck with the run - even when Carolina was stopping it early - enough so that the Tar Heels had to respect it when the run did start working. Only two teams have managed to both rush and pass for at least 100 years on North Carolina, and the Tar Heels have a 1-1 record in those games, beating Miami but losing to Virginia.
Carolina's secondary has been ball-hawking and turnover-forcing recently in large part because of Carolina's ability to slow or stop the run. It was something Davis actually mentioned at his press conference as a problem in last week's game though, and it was one of the reasons that Boston College was nearly able to get back into the game. Montel Harris rushed for 100 yards on 13 carries (a whopping 7.7 per carry) in the second and third quarters combined. Harris had four carries for 21 yards, including a 14-yard run, on a drive after a T.J. Yates interception that set up a field goal to make it 21-6. The Tar Heels have allowed over 100 yards rushing just three times this season and is 1-2 in those games; Boston College nearly passed that mark with 97 yards. In fact, in Carolina's last two games combined (against very dangerous backs and one mobile quarterback in Jacory Harris) Carolina has allowed 106.5 yards per game after allowing 91.2 in its first nine. It's no coincidence, then, that Carolina's defense has had 15 of its 19 interceptions in games in which opponents have rushed for fewer than 100 yards. "The only thing last week that we didn't do as well is stop the run, so I think that's the major thing. We've got to get back to doing that," Deunta Williams said. "But when we don't have to worry about the run and we can just lock down on their receivers, it gives us a better chance to make plays on the balls. That's one of the things that's helped us out in the secondary a lot."
It might seem like the last thing Carolina wants is Wilson passing it every time. But he has been forced to do that quite a bit this year as the Wolfpack is often playing from behind, and while he has done the best he can, no team can be a one-man show. He needs help from the rest of his weapons and if Carolina can shut those weapons down, particularly the running back weapons, the defense will be able to concentrate on containing Wilson. "The major thing is to shut down the run and make them one-dimensional," Williams said. "With a good quarterback like that, we've got to pressure-rush him sometimes and try to make sure your lanes are very disciplined when your defensive line is rushing."
It's not just Wilson that makes the NC State offense go - Toney Baker is having a great season and Jamelle Eugene is still a speed threat. Wilson has quite a few receivers that he can rely on and that can make plays. Carolina's defense has allowed opponents to convert just 25-of-125 third downs (20%) in eight wins compared to 22-of-41 conversions (53.7%) in three losses; Carolina's defense has also allowed 20.0 first downs per game in three losses compared to just 12.9 in eight wins and with those two factors combined, opponents have averaged 71.3 plays in Carolina's three losses compared to 61.5 in eight wins. This defense has been able to gain confidence by combining disciplined play with turnover-forcing acumen and though the latter might not be easy to force, Carolina can control their own discipline on defense.
"I think that you have to have a good defensive scheme plan but you're not just trying to stop Russell Wilson. They've got a good running game and a big physical offensive line. Their receivers are fast and they make plays," Davis said. "So it's just not as simple as loading the box up with 7-8-9 guys and being able to take away every single scramble lane. There are a lot of other concerns besides Russell Wilson. Certainly, he's a major part of it, but you just talk to your kids about being focused, about not taking liberties and running underneath blocks and being unsound in their pass rush. And I don't know that you can ever totally stop anybody like that, but hopefully you can minimize the damage."
All the intangibles, including the rivalry: As this rivalry has gone on through the years, there are often times where the less talented team will knock off its more talented opponent just due to executing, playing hard and a little extra edge perhaps. There will be plenty of edge to go around in this game for both teams. NC State's offensive coordinator Dana Bible is ill with leukemia which has both shaken up and rallied his team, but it has also added some perspective to this rivalry. Butch Davis has always believed in preparing for all games the same way, an even-keeled approach that has benefited Carolina in every game throughout Davis' tenure.
But what's most important in this game is that the 41-10 loss Carolina took to NC State last year in Kenan Stadium not motivate the team in a bad way, but rather in the way Davis and his staff like to use setbacks - as a teaching tool. "I just really have never gotten into previous years and past scores and past games," Davis said. "The thing that we will do with our players is that you've got to look at that game and you've got to say, `Hey look, these are the things we didn't do very well that led to that particular outcome.' You've got to use it more as a teaching tool than a motivational tool."
Still, it's a loss that very much stung what was an up-and-coming Tar Heel team that even if it lost, was not blown out last season. All of Carolina's other four losses (including the bowl) came by eight or fewer points and three were by less than a touchdown, two by less than a field goal. The fact that the loss came to a bitter rival didn't help matters, but it was a humiliating loss nonetheless. "It hurt a lot," Deunta Williams said. "We had to get rid of it quick because we had other games that we had to go out and play. But I think everybody still remembers what happened and how it happened. We've got to make sure it doesn't repeat."
"The whole team all felt bad," Bruce Carter said. "We were embarrassed, not only for the team but for the program. That's something that's going to come into play in playing this game. We don't want to feel like that ever again." But it's the kind of rivalry in which anything can happen, and either - or both - teams have the potential to play their best game of the season against each other. NC State has had one of the worst rushing defenses in the league in the past few seasons, particularly in 2007 when it held Carolina to just 12 yards rushing in the game. Carolina has beaten much more talented NC State teams in the recent past.
Rivalry aside, one of the biggest lessons learned from that game was to not give up. There was some frustration early on when Carolina kept turning the ball over and Williams said it eventually led to a bit of a let-up. That lesson learned has translated into a defense that, while of course deeper, is better able to play 40 minutes of relentless football. "I think that the defense was playing pretty stout at the beginning of the game. (The Carolina offense) had a couple turnovers and we kept stopping them and then at one point in time in the game, we just kind of gave it to it a little bit. This year, our attitude has been no surrender, no letdown. So I think that will be a lot different this year."
The situation with Bible is particularly affecting NC State quarterback Russell Wilson, who has played through adversity before. His father had a stroke before preseason practice last season and he had to play through that, and he played quite well despite what must have been quite a bit of worry. "I've been through some situatiosn with my family similar to this," Wilson told Gopack.com's Tim Peeler. "With Coach Bible, someone you see every day, someone who is pushing you and motivating you, it gives me more motivation to do things right. He is a perfectionist, and that is something I love about him. His perfectionist attitude is something that is a positive for our football team and our players."
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in Carter-Finley Stadium is not yet known.
Tickets: The game is sold out.
How to get to the game: To get directions, click here. For frequently asked questions, including when the gates open and the location of a general public parking lot, . For a parking map, click here. For a stadium map, click here.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
ESPN2 coverage: The game will be available on ESPN2. Pam Ward will have the play-by-play and Ray Bentley will be the analyst.
Names To Know
Kendric Burney: After a game like he had against Miami, the natural assumption would have been that he wouldn't have many more opportunities to make plays the next week and that his side of the field would be avoided. That was not the case evidently, as Burney had two tackles (both solo) and an interception returned 30 yards for a score. He is not likely to be thrown at too much this week, but it will be a great battle if Wilson - one of the few quarterbacks who might actually dare to do it - goes at the emerging star at cornerback.
And he certainly has a history against NC State as well. As a freshman (against QB
Daniel Evans, not Russell Wilson), he had six tackles (three solo), a pass breakup and an interception returned 76 yards for a score. That touchdown return in the fourth quarter put Carolina up by three points with 9:40 to go, a lead that Carolina would not hold on to but did change the momentum and give the Tar Heels a chance. Last season against NC State, he had seven tackles (three solo) and 0.5 tackles for loss.
Burney's return in 2007 began something with him that became a UNC record three interceptions returned for touchdowns. His 347 career return yards are behind only Duke's John Talley's 395 in ACC history. With his three interceptions returned for 170 yards against Miami, he set the Carolina single-season interception return yardage record in that game alone. He also became the first Tar Heel since Dre' Bly to have three interceptions in a game.
E.J. Wilson: Robert Quinn has been a beast-like force at the other defensive end spot, but senior defensive end E.J. Wilson has quietly proven that he can hold his own as well. At one point this season, teams were practically ignoring him to focus on Quinn and he has made them pay. He had six tackles (five solo) against Boston College, including a sack and a forced fumble, both of which happened on one play that resulted in a Cam Thomas fumble recovery and touchdown. Wilson has 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and all three of his quarterback hurries this season during Carolina's four-game winning streak. In his last two games against NC State, Wilson has three quarterback hurries and eight tackles. Two of his three hurries came against Russell Wilson last season, certainly not an easy quarterback to rush. This year, Wilson is tied for tenth in the ACC with 9.0 tackles for loss and tied for fourth in the league in forced fumbles. Carolina will need Wilson to continue his solid play and perhaps even make a few game-changing plays on Saturday.
Russell Wilson: To say Russell Wilson tore up Carolina's defense last season would not be quite summing up his impact. He was solid for most of the game but it was the seemingly endless number of big plays that killed Carolina. Last year, Wilson accounted for five of NC State's eight third-down conversions, completing 7-of-8 passes for 126 yards and rushing five times for 17 yards on third down alone. Unlike Tyrod Taylor, who can be a dangerous runner but is an inconsistent passer and holds the ball too long at times, Wilson is a superb passer and an even better decision-maker. He will be by far the most complete quarterback Carolina has faced this season, perhaps with the exception of Christian Ponder.
In NC State's two FBS wins, Wilson has passed for over 300 yards and has 102 yards rushing on 19 carries (5.4 per rush) in those two games. He has eight touchdowns (one rushing) and three interceptions in the two wins, completing 63% of his passes and taking just two sacks in those two games. In seven FBS losses, Wilson has been held in check either as a passer, a rusher or both. He has negative rushing yards in two of the seven losses and has fewer than 200 yards passing in three of the losses. He has faced five of the top 30 total defenses in the nation so far and three of the top 12 pass defenses; obviously, Carolina falls in both categories. Against the top 12 pass defenses, he and NC State are 0-3 and he has averaged 164.3 yards, passed for three touchdowns and two interceptions. In his other six FBS games, he has completed 58.2% of his passes for 284 yards a game, 16 touchdowns and nine picks. But the biggest stat is that against the top pass defenses, he has been sacked a whopping 13 times in three times compared to just 11 total sacks in the other six FBS games.
Wilson is also one of the rare quarterbacks that doesn't get as rattled by pressure. Carolina was able to essentially take - and keep - Boston College's Dave Shinskie out of the game last week. Wilson won't be nearly as easy to vanquish. Despite being sacked five times last week against Virginia Tech, he completed 15-of-26 passes for 126 yards, one touchdown and one interception. "Russell Wilson is probably, in my opinion - with the exception of maybe C.J. Spiller - he's one of the most dynamic players in this entire conference," Davis said. "He is a double-edged threat from the standpoint that he can extend plays. He throws the ball extremely well. His mobility gives absolutely everybody fits - some by design and some not by design, some that he does by his own creation."
Willie Young: Just ask Carolina's secondary how valuable it is to have a stout defensive line getting pressure on an opposing quarterback, particularly when one of its members is as elite as a Robert Quinn. NC State senior defensive end Willie Young has been that for the NC State defense this season, doing what he could to help hide holes in the secondary by making it tough on quarterbacks. Despite opposing offenses knowing he is the Wolfpack's best defensive player (particularly in the absence of linebacker Nate Irving), he is still third in the league in sacks with 8.0 and fourth in tackles for loss with 12.0. He notched his eighth sack of the year last weekend against Virginia Tech. Perhaps his best game of the season was against Wake Forest when he had five tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. But in State's upset win over Pitt, he had five tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. "Will Young is a kid who just plays really well," Davis said. "He had an outstanding game against us last year. You see him just cause havoc against everybody that they play against."
He leads the Wolfpack in tackles for loss and sacks, both by large margins, and is first in forced fumbles (2). He is tied for the team in lead in pass breakups with three. Despite playing on the defensive line, he is fourth on the team in tackles with 49 (29 solo). He also has two quarterback hurries and an interception. But the senior is playing in his final home game and while he has had a stellar career against every team, he has been a game-changer against the Tar Heels in the last two seasons. In 2007, he had just two tackles but one was a sack and he also had four quarterback hurries. Last season in Chapel Hill, he had four tackles (all solo), including three for loss and two sacks. He also had a spectacular interception of T.J. Yates.
Lauren Brownlow is the executive editor of Tar Heel Monthly
