Despite playing against the refs also.
I will reserve gratutious outrage over the late game officiating for another post.
There is one thing I can say for certain about this Tar Heel team is they posess that talent for playing tough when matters are bleak and making the necessary plays to win games. That is really it pure and simple. UNC has a decent defense at best. Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen recorded a career high in passing yards and it seems like every team UNC has faced this season has been able to move the football to some degree. What tends to happen even amid an opposing team’s ability to get yards is UNC will have someone on the defense step up and make an individual play which stops a drive, usually via a point scoring turnover. In this case UNC got the INT returned for a TD by Quan Sturdivant and a forced fumble by Aleric Williams which also led to an offensive touchdown. It was plays like this that held Notre Dame in check during the 2nd half and had it not been for another maddening running into the kicker penalty which kept the only TD drive ND had in the 2nd half alive. At some point those plays are not going to be there and UNC will need to play defense that stops an opposing offense from grinding yards but for now I will take it anyway they can get.
And what can you say about an offense that lost Brandon Tate but still managed to find ways to put the ball in the end zone. Cam Sexton continues to play well. It is obvious the offensive game plan is setup to have him pass the ball on short routes and on ocassion test the limits of the opposing secondary downfield. Sexton does a great job of getting the ball on short passes to Hakeem Nicks and also Brooks Foster. Sexton did struggle early coming out 3-10. After that he was 15-22 and hit almost all his passes down the stretch save the incorrectly overturned one to Foster. To a certain degree Sexton is not TJ Yates but he is out there playing mistake free football(another INT free game) and making plays.
The running game continues to show improvement. Shaun Draughan going for 92 yards on 17 carries is good. Not earth shattering but good, especially when he is able to pop off big runs from time to time. Ryan Houston’s presence as the bruising back has been key to scoring in some tight spots on the goal line, even if it means rolling over an opposing player to get into the endzone. Greg Little, at this point, is an island. I am not sure what Butch Davis and John Shoop have in mind but depending on what happens with Brandon Tate’s knee, a receiving position might be in Little’s future.
Overall, the importance of this win cannot be underscored. Yes Notre Dame is in the midst of a decade plus being rather mediocre but this was still a 4-1 team that rolled into Chapel Hill that obviously had enough moxy to hit UNC in the mouth to start the game, open a lead and knock the Heels off balance for most of the first half. I also think this game emphasizes that UNC is very much a 2nd half team and the coaches are doing a great job of keeping a young team focused despite the adversity along with making all the necessary adjustments to shift the momentum of the game. Granted getting INTs and fumbles is about players making plays but I continue to be impressed with how well UNC plays as a team. There is a similarity between the resilency shown by the football team and the same quality the basketball exerted last winter. This team is showing a level of maturity beyong their years in their ability to rally and win.
Their next trick? Trying to win somewhere UNC has not won since 1981.
![[Bloglines]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.tarheelblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Four things: 1) There seriously was almost a riot at Kenan tonight. I am not being hyperbolic at all when I say that, if Notre Dame had somehow gotten the ball back on the last play and won the game, the fans in Kenan were going to rush the field in anger. Not to mention the fights that would have occurred between UNC and UND fans in town.
2) That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of obnoxiousness by UND fans. There were still plenty of Fightin’ Irish who had a bad entitlement complex and felt we should consider ourselves lucky to be in their presence, but most of the Irish I experienced deserved a round of applause for their graciousness and pleasantness.
3) Tonight’s game is the sign of a special team. Is our offense great or even good? No. Is our defense great? Not at all. But that’s the thing: They’re winning in spite of that. They’re pulling out games that woudl have been 21-point blowouts during the Bunting years. I’m not saying they’ll go 11-1. But I honestly believe that 10-2 is a chance because Butch has these guys believing.
4) Something needs to be done about the reffing, because that was absolutely abysmal tonight. Seriously, I’m going to say it again. The fans were at near-riot status in the stadium tonight because of some of those calls.
The Refs, Sounds like me after just about every Basketball loss. Does the G-Town game ring a bell or how about the G-Mason game or lets think about all the times we’ve yelled at the t.v. once we’ve figured out that the dOOkies brought their own ref’s.
I hate that we blew a couple of interception chances on ND’s first drive, but overall a good job making the big plays. Despite the terrible officiating we manage to win again, but we are giving up way too much on defense and are really lucky to win this one.
I hate to sound cliche, but good teams find a way to win. It seems that in years passed we always found a way to lose.
I agree that our defense is giving up too much, but we’ve found a way to make the stops when we need them. I’m more worried about some of the backbreaking penalties we’ve had. It already cost us the VT game, and nearly cost us last night’s game.
And what about Casey Barth? I think he solidified his starting position. I hate that he missed that 52 yarder, but that was a prayer anyway. He did very well, and we will need his leg this year.
I don’t know what Butch said to your boys at halftime, but they sure came out a different team in the second half. Good read by Sturdivant on that interception. Hopefully, Clausen will look at the game tape and see that a little look-off or some play action, or just a draw play will work better in the future.
Great game, though. I thought–and apparently the ND coaches did, too–that the game was in hand at halftime but your defense came out and tried to set the tone in the second half and, even though we were able to move the ball, they pretty much held ND in check, especially when they needed to. But Sturdivant’s pick six definitely changed the face of the game and energized the entire squad.
It seemed like all the air and momentum that Notre Dame had built was expended on Kuntz’s sack in the second half. After that, they just looked disinterested in playing the game. I guess not stopping someone on 3-18 will do that to you.
I don’t know if there are any plans to keep the series going, but if they’re going to be as entertaining as this one, I’d be all for it. Granted, I’d prefer the opposite outcome, but still, helluva game. Good luck the rest of the year.