Comments on: NCSU 41 UNC 10

By: badbadleroybrown

badbadleroybrown — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:19:04 +0000

It was painful, very painful but I can let it go and I will let it go. While this loss was bad we are still headed in the right direction. I feel good about Davis, I like the players and I’m grateful for a winning season.
The last two Bunting seasons were beyond painful with a host of demoralizing factors at work for every game – bad calls and bad execution. In the first season with Butch Davis we cut the margins and looked better on the field, just add water. In the second season we have won the games that were questionable last year and we found roles for more players.

Nothing can make this past game go away but I’m pretty much with THF – on to Duke and on to the bowl. Let’s move forward.

If you want point of view, I’d take a winning season with a chance for a good bowl over two teams that nobody outside of NC cares about playing an empty rivalry. Still for this to be a rivalry this game needs to have serious implications for both teams – hence the Duke and UNC games. This year we threw off the out of state victory curse and you can bet that people at Rutgers, CT and ND will remember UNC in seasons to come. This was the high water mark for state.

I have no reason to think that we won’t have a better season next year, just assume we improve at the same rate we did this season over next – what do you think it would look like? When was the last time you could feel good about the future of football at UNC?

I’m not looking for sunshine on a cloudy day but I do think the team and the coaches accomplished quite a bit this year. What you do next matters not what you did last.

By: chuckheel

chuckheel — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:52:30 +0000

THF,
To defend Butch a little bit, I think he was just trying to take the pressure off the team.
I went to the UNC-Maryland game and Rick Steinbacher said that Butch had let the team what’s at stake before the game: Divsion Title, ACC Title game, ACC Championship and BCS Bowl berth. They also had let the team know if they had won out they could be the first Carolina team in history to win 12 games in a season.
I thought Carolina played tight against the Terps and it ended up costing them the game.
I think Butch was trying to take the opposite approach with NCSU and it just didn’t work out.
Both quarterbacks seem woefully off their game right now. UNC’s receivers were killing Maryland’s secondary all day (Wide open) but Sexton couldn’t get them the ball. Same thing happened on Sat. with Yates.
Hopefully, the QB play can improve so we can go 8-4.

By: Tar Heel Fan

Tar Heel Fan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:04:22 +0000

It would appear the GT game was the high water mark and the team essentially quit after that. That is on the coaches. Also, Davis does need to make the game a bigger deal. He said it was just another game and he should know better than to say that before the game.

By: DailyDoc

DailyDoc — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:07:51 +0000

My first game in Kenan in almost 3 years. My first of the Butch era and this is what I get. Sheesh.

Yes, bad days happen. As well as State played, we still may have been dropped by 3TDs.

But there is no excuse for what happened yesterday. We were literally out of it from the opening kickoff (when we got the stupid penalty). You name it yesterday, and we were out-ed it. Out-coached. Out-prepared. Out-hustled. Out-muscled.

Here’s my perspective from on-site in Kenan:

*The game was lost (other than between the ears) on the line. For all the talk of QB play and defensive play, the key was on the line. The O-line looked like a bunch of high schoolers. Their inability to open the simplest of holes stifled the running game, forcing us to rely on a rusty QB. I seriously wonder how much the distraction of the court shenanigans this week affected the team.

*Once again, the defense just could not get it done. At one point it seemed State converted every 3rd down, no matter how long. Whether it is scheme or brawn, you cannot allow a QB like Wilson that long to throw. And while the DBs are rightfully taking a lot of grief, there were a number of times that the DBs covered well enough but with zero pressure on Wilson, he checked down to 4th and 5th options. Also, the LBs were noticeably absent and the tackling was Bunting-esque.

*I am very conflicted on the QB thing. I truly think Yates is a better QB and, in a vaccum, gives us the best chance to win. But it really looked like the offense picked up if only for a brief second when Sexton finally came in (until he promptly threw a pick). I trust Butch, but I think he manufactured a QB controversy this week when it didn’t need to be. Simple understanding – Sexton starts, then Yates comes in if/when needed. But by starting – and sticking with Yates – there is now yet another QB controversy this week for what will now be Dook’s Super Bowl.

*Butch is taking heat on the internets for not hyping the State game as a rivalry. I’ve got news for you – he shouldn’t have to. The kids should get up enough on their own.

*If you had told us in August that we would end up 8-4 and in contention for the division title until the next-to-last week, we would have all taken it. But we are not playing our best football right now (and State is) and the complete lack of effort and competitiveness is troubling. Now we see what we’re made of – if we come back and take Dook behind the woodshed, then this can be more classified in the “fluke” category. If not, I’ll worry more about the future…

By: Andy In Omaha

Andy In Omaha — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:30:47 +0000

Agreed about the fan base, THF. What boggles my mind is that living in Nebraska, I keep hearing about how these are the best fans around. Fact of the matter is that I’ve seen Duke fans with more class than some of these chuckleheads. A lot of the Fresno State fans were pretty rude and classless at the College World Series last summer, too.
It’s frustrating for all of us because we’ve been waiting for so long for our football team to do something; even if it’s just go to a bowl game. Granted I got a little overzealous when we had a chance to win the ACC, but we should be happy and proud with the progress. No one reall knew what to expect, and a Peach Bowl or even a Gator Bowl bid will be fine with me.
PS, word on the street up here in Nebraska is that the Gator Bowl may pick them. If so, and UNC gets selected to play Nebraska, I may not make it. If the number of posts from me drops substantially during basketball season, you can start questioning my wife and in-laws.

By: Tar Heel Fan

Tar Heel Fan — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:26:09 +0000

Another issue is I think we all get hung up on the fact there are jerks in this world and the jerks pull for a rival team. No doubt there are UNC fans who can be equally classless. As far as all the NCSU fans I know, they are going to give me some grief but nothing that lacks class. It all boils down to the fact there are bad eggs in every fan base and it would seem most of that section of every fan base has a computer and cable modem.

By: uncgirl50

uncgirl50 — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:05:26 +0000

THF, sometimes NCSU fans puzzle me. If they really thought that I would respond to that, and you would let them through then I am bewilderd. Not only do they have no class they seem to me to be stupid too. Only my best NCSU friends said nothing to me.

By: Tar Heel Fan

Tar Heel Fan — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:12:29 +0000

uncgirl,

You think that is something, I have two comments sitting in moderation right now over the game yesterday. They are not profane but they are meant to take shots at UNC. I just wonder why a person would go through the process of registering at a UNC site simply to flame? Did they really think I was going to let it through?

By: 52bgJ

52bgJ — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:46:05 +0000

spot on Andy, esp the O-line. DB’s were playing the man and not the ball all day long–perhaps Butch should bring Dre back for a clinic.

I’m not usually one to take quotes out of context, but TOB’s bs yesterday smacked of false-bravado and bad taste, but then that would be a good fit with much of the Pack fan-base. All TOB had to add was something to the effect of “injuries have played a big part for both teams this year”, and it would have made all the difference in my perception of the guy…from here on, the guy is a POS imo until he proves otherwise.

By: william

william — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:25:58 +0000

NC State may be the best team in North Carolina, but according to the standings, they are the worst team in their division, so if that makes you State guys feel better proclaiming your in-state dominance, so be it. It probably shows more so just how bad the ACC actually is in football.

State fans are going to need lots more comfort this year when they see how much better Sendek’s ASU team is than Lowe’s Wolfpack.