Holy crap T.J. Yates!
It is amazing how the last ten minutes of that game changed what I ended up writing in this post. Now, I am not normally one for moral victories but with the way UNC rallied to take two winning shots at the end zone before falling short it is difficult not to have a positive outlook of sorts about this game. Granted there is plenty of issues we can discuss which led to the giant hole UNC almost climbed out of but for a moment let’s take a look at the positives.
First of all, T.J. Yates, take a bow son. For all the crap flung in this guy’s general direction which included constant thrashing by fans and being booed on the “I am a Tar Heel” video at football games, he did exactly what you expect a senior leader to do. When the team is a facing adversity, he stood up, carried the team on his back, and put the winning TD in the hands of his favorite receiver twice. It was the performance most UNC fans hoped for but none of us were really convinced he was capable of. When you include the added degree of difficulty provided by poor OL play, botch center to QB snaps and missing Greg Little, Yates performance almost takes on an epic nature. For sure his stats do. For the game Yates went 28-46 for 412 yards, three TDs and did not throw an interception. If you had told be Yates would not throw a pick I would have taken but to rack up those numbers on a defense plenty of smart people have called pretty good is worthy of notice. Since we are talking about the passing game, I wonder how Jhey Boyd feels about his coming out party? Boyd collected 221 yards receiving which exceeds his output from the entirety of last season.
Hats off to the defense which, at one point, looked immensely better than the offense despite missing seven starters. LSU ended up with 303 yards of total offense which is respectable given the unit UNC was putting on the field and the fact poor kick coverage/offensive turnovers constantly put them in position where they were defending a much shorter field. Needless to say it was a huge break that Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter were made available for this game. Both players lived up to the hype surrounding them in terms of making key plays. Overall the defense did its job. Granted the LSU offense is not the brightest star in the sky. Still it is difficult to knock the effort of the Tar Heel defense.
Unfortunately we can only view these performances as great efforts for a losing cause. UNC dug itself a massive crater in the first half via poor plays on the offensive line and special teams. On the latter, the suspended players offer some measure of explanation for the special teams debacles. Some of the suspended players would have been part of the coverage team and left it depleted. That being said there was no excuse for some of the braindead moments from players on the field. There is also no excuse for the UNC coaches not making an adjustment to the kicking game. LSU’s Patrick Peterson is Brandon Tate dangerous and showed it enough times before the 87-yard TD return that Butch Davis should have opted to do something different in terms of kicking. The coverage on kick returns was simply awful and that is probably the one piece of the puzzle I think may have been different had UNC not lost so many players.
The offensive line on the other hand, specifically the center-QB exchange was shockingly bad. The expectation coming into the season was the Tar Heel OL would be healthy and effective in protecting Yates while opening up the running game. That was not the case tonight. UNC gave up nine points due to an complete inability to snap the football correctly. It was clear the OL was rattled, particularly center Jonathan Cooper who is widely regarded as being a good offensive linemen. In this game Cooper had issues handling the LSU defensive front which in turn led him to make mistakes on the snap. You also got the impressive Yates was not getting enough time from his offensive line which is why John Shoop switched to using short slant passes to avoid leaving Yates in the pocket too long. Sadly, Shoop seemed to forget what worked at points during the game as well.
All in all, it was a strange game. Local media in Atlanta is reporting that UNC fans appear to be happier than the LSU contingent. Earlier I wrote UNC could change the subject about the NCAA probe story by winning this game with a depleted roster. Obviously the Heels fell short but their effort, especially coming from Yates, could have the same impact. There is plenty to be happy about as long as you do not dwell on special teams and offensive line issues. The present hope is Yates can continue to play as he did vs LSU. Add Shaun Draughn, Ryan Houston and Greg Little back into the mix, it is possible this offense exceed expectations.
For UNC fans the feeling coming from this game is one of pride. Hopefully the NCAA will wrap up their business and get the other 13 players on the field sooner rather than later.
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These kids played their tails off tonight; I feel bad that they didn’t win. To come back from the mental mistakes the way they did and keep fighting gives me hope until the NCAA investigations are complete.
There were a some good things that happened out there; I think that guys like Paige-Moss have a great future. Boyd, Adams, and Highsmith stepped up big. Boston tightened the screws after he got burned. The defense caused some turnovers when needed.
I’ve been hard on Butch the past couple of weeks, but I think he did a good job of rallying the troops and keeping the team in the game. Finally, TJ Yates deserves a great deal of credit; he made some pretty impressive throws tonight and also did a hell of a job leading the team back in the game. I hope this is the start of a big turnaround and he’s able to end his career on a bright note.
Great effort tonight, guys. Just keep tightening the screws and it will get there. I have a feeling reinforcements are on the way (unless your name is Marvin Austin).
I am really proud of the Tar Heels, in particular T.J. Yates, the entire football team and Butch Davis for the way they stepped up and played with the odds against them and in a pressure-packed situation.
There is definitely stuff that needs to be worked on, no doubt, but just not giving up down 20 at the half, and coming back with two shots from your opponents’ six-yard-line from winning, to me was impressive. I would have liked to have seen Yates try Highsmith or Adams in that situation in the future though…
On a side note, I for one want to talk about halftime and postgame, particularly the LSU Head Coach Les Miles… I have always thought the guy was a jerk and he confirmed it tonight. No class whatsoever…
I would have liked the Heels to have picked up the win, but you have to feel good about them going into the rest of the season, with them missing 7 defensive starters, the entire backfield and Greg Little.
And THF and Doc, during the game I caught a little of the unlinkables comments over on the ESPN blog, KEEP HER UNLINKABLE!!!! She is a complete joke and a no-nothing with a keyboard…Her dislike for all things UNC related is so apparent…So thanks for not linking to her…
Worst moment of the night was when the cameras kept going to Marvin Austin, who got himself down there for the game. Does this guy have absolutely no common sense?
Proud of the Heels. What a lot of heart they showed.
One lesson I hope the coaches take away from this game: when the offense played like they had nothing to lose they almost won.
Stop being so conservative in every game (until we get down by lots of points – then they open up the playbook and we actually look like a good team)
Good Morning.. wildhorses..totally agree in regards to worse moment of night when cameras kept going to Austin..obviously Austin has no common sense…think we all figured thta out by now… ya think he would have stayed away..
^and not just stay away…the ******-clown didn’t even have the good sense to dress down. Jehranie was no surprise to me, but fun to watch nonetheless. We caught a break by the refs on the onside, but good to see them fight to the wire. There was enough incidental yapping going on by a very few of the Heels that I’m not at all convinced Butch has a handle on that, which is largely why this program has ended up where it’s at. Namely, exuberant entitlement. Had we won, no doubt there would have been a few players talking trash. THIS, is what I want cleaned up. IE–”act like you’ve been to the end zone”. Maybe Butch & crew need a forced viewing of the upcoming Lombardi movie.
^i dont think the onside kick review was a break at all. you can hit those guys, and the ball did touch the LSU player, going right through his arms and off his body. he touched it first. youre allowed to touch him, as odd as that seems. hes not a “receiver” in that situation.
i guess its a good sign when you can witness a game like that and its the next morning before you really start dwelling on the what ifs and saying to yourself “man, it would have been insane if Zack caught that ball.”
i didnt really picture a win til today. i was so into the effort shown. i wish ABC had stuck with the broadcast longer. i hear the LSU players were down and ours were up following the game. wish i couldve seen all that.
***
i would agree with Raj about the plays. when there was less time to think, TJ got in a groove and the offense moved.
even with most of the Defense and 3 important O weapons out, the game was 2009 all over again. make mistakes on O, the D keeps us in the game, then a furious comeback that either wins the game or comes agonizingly short, and we’re reduced to counting the points given away early in the game.
According to local media in attendance when the game ended UNC fans were giving a standing ovation and the band was playing. LSU fans were unhappy. Very weird game.
I’m in general agreement that there was a LOT to love about this game, and some SMH moments. However, I choose to look at the game as what it was – a growing up moment for a team.
LSU punched us in the mouth – 2 fumbles lost and nearly a third. The defense keeps LSU from cashing in on the first fumble, and the team fights to a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
The LSU explosion was very costly, but look at it for what it was – an experienced (and fully rostered) team pushing the kill button on a young, depleted team. A young secondary and a depleted special teams got burned by 3 beautiful plays. I think that most of our errors were emotional ones, and with a young group on the ropes you can expect that.
I was moved in the second half by the way that we got settled down and continued to compete. Our youngsters grew up on national TV and almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in memory. Our maligned senior QB turned into Brett Favre, and had LSU visibly rattled.
Sure, Davis could have figured it out sooner. Our C-QB exchanges could have been better. We were young tonight, but we grew up and almost won. I’ll take that in a heartbeat over rolling over and losing by 50.
Great game, Heels. I couldn’t be prouder.
no surprise..LSU is the team that should feel embarassed..when come down to it..UNC players even in defeat can hold thier heads HIGH….i know it will not matter because a loss is a loss but in the big picture it is about dignity and class. The UNC players that played last night showed LOTS of class last night shame on those that did not play…
maybe so HTTE–I thought he hit the player before the ball was touched, but maybe that doesn’t matter. I hate to be the wet blanket here, but it appears my fears of Butch having nothing to lose in this affair have materialized. The biggest thing he deserves credit for is staying with TJ when most everyone was ready to throw him under the bus. And yes, he did keep their spirit up despite the long odds. Does he get extra credit for that? Horrible special teams strategy-on-the-fly, and the previously mentioned yapping (admittedly few, but considering the circumstances it should have been conspicuously non-existent). Sorry BD. but you don’t get a pass from me in one game, which if LSU goes south in the SEC, will be more in perspective. Get your players behavior consistently under control, and I’ll be a believer.
^i, too, am very concerned about BD’s coaching tactics/strategy/psychology/whatever you want to call it.
this quote from the tarheelblue recap:
The effect the suspensions and withholdings would have on special teams might have been overlooked before the game, but with special teams standouts forced to play offense and defense (and conversely starters helping out on special teams), the players were either exhausted, playing unfamiliar roles, or both.
if the special teams coaches and Butch arent ACUTELY aware of the above, then who IS, exactly?
yet, you did nothing to adjust until 250 punt return yds were on the board, and 3 quarters of kick return yds.
how is that OK?
as coaches, youre supposed to give your players the best chance to succeed, and i think they failed there.
to repeat what i said last thread:
10 LSU drives started 60 or fewer yds from our end zone (the first 2 inside our 35), and the D stopped 7.
LSU only HAD 14 drives in the game.
picture a 60 yd football field and thats what we played D on for 3/4 of the game. and i think 80-90% of why, was coaching.
LAST year, we gave up very few long drives. with our team this year, we should be even better.
give our kids the tools to prevent short fields and we win. our D is HIGHLY unlikely to allow 4 drives of 70-80 yds in a single game.
it is clear who is in control. BD better crank it up..give Roy a call…. just kidding….LOL
313 yds surrendered from scrimmage. 101 on 2 plays, at least 1 of which, Carter and Sturdivant were on the sideline.
with an entirely new secondary, that is just awesome.
what a great game by Boston, too. a few errors, but 2 forced fumbles and a pick.
If we’d won, I think this could have been a program-defining game. By fighting back, I think it could be a season-defining game.
I was impressed with Boston as well. definitely was a season defining game. I agree…spoke volumes about the kids who did play last night..anotehr reason why college football is awesome
glad to see that BD kept carter and sturdivant from starting ..was it like 3 possesions before came onto field.
nailed it HTTE. Hope you won’t mind if I plagiarize those stats on next Friday’s radio show.
After staging this comeback in a game where we were so outmanned, the thing we have to do now is WIN against Georgia Tech. We have the spirit; last night showed that. Now we need real results.
I credit BD. To have these guys believing they could win, and playing like it, with such a depleted team and being so far down is a genuine feat. The cheating is a major problem; the yapping is only a minor problem.
The first half was appalling; there’s no getting around that. When the opposition returns every punt and kickoff 60 yards, you’re cooked. The hole was just too deep.
Boyd reminds me of DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles. What a dynamic player!
We are very, very far from being out of the woods. There are two investigations going and there will be sanctions from both, possibly involving many players. Over the long haul, it’s hard to believe we’re going to have anything like the season we could have had. But they have guts, and a leader in Yates, and those two things can take you a long way.
I am in the Bahamas and a bunch of us UNC fans found our way to a sports area of a casino down here. We were all screaming about the bubble screens and dives. The second it was nice to see them finally open it up!!
^^^go for it, big game.
there are sanctions coming just how detremental they will be…?? is the question.. ..
were there any other players in the standsthat are involved or was it just austin ??
If they kick the ball out of bounds every time we win. I kick everyone off the team, that’s dirty, and play these kids. More heart in one half than our bball team showed all last year.
Marvin u are a moron, and hopeful destroying ur draft stock. Stop trying to be in the spotlight, u fd up, lay low.
there’s a lot of chatter about whether Marvin is done for the year, but we better be careful wishing him ill. if he has to sit out 4 games, that leaves 8 or 9, and you can bet Butch will play him if the administration is fine with that. the guy is too good, and the name of the game is winning.
Who cares about Marvin, are dline is good without him.
Make an example out of Marvin so future players don’t bring this on the program. I never want to see him play again for the heels. The fact that he showed up taking the spotlight away from the team was the last straw.
ditto.. makeitwayne22
Hm.
a presumably not shorthanded Tulsa kicking team sky kicks the opening kickoff to ECU and avoids ECU’s acknowledged dangerous return man.
how odd.
^+1
Hm.
after trying one normal kickoff to Tulsa’s dangerous return man, ECU’s second kickoff is a high, short, angled kick AWAY from him.
that is just weird.
I was there and stayed the full game, family requirement and one that has paid huge dividends, say Clemson and this one are the best on the lost cause saved at the end.
Lots of people leaving the stands on the UNC side but not has bad as you would expect late in the game. Then we started to turn the corner and our crew was louder than all of the LSU horde. There were in shock. The usual SEC pregame jibber-jabber made worse by their certainty that LSU would roll over us. The insane outfits. Then the game changed. We were so loud at the end of the game it was really impressive. In fact it was so loud during the last two drives the UNC players kept trying to quiet the crowd, which would happen when needed.
The standing ovation happened, people left on high note. It was great, you can’t feel bad about losing when it was yours to win in the last two seconds. The LSU people were bitter and angry looking at what is going to be a long, long season.I took the Marta to my parking and the entire LSU group would have lynched Les Miles if he had walked in at that moment. One guy even stated “We could have had Davis but we got Miles, *&*&#^@W*&#…”.
It was worth the trip and if this wasn’t a season defining game then I don’t know what could be.
I’m going to leave the analysis of the game for later but I’m looking forward to our season.
Ugh@ECU doing what we didnt.
Disclaimer: I was at the game, and had no idea there was any media coverage of Marvin Austin or the extent of said coverage. I am trying to understand what is wrong with Marvin Austin coming out to support the team. All of the suspended players should have come down on their own dime, cheered, and given the other players their blessings. Once a Tar Heel, always a Tar Heel.
I would have loved to have seen TJ Yates complete his last pass attempt and the subsequent look on the faces of the so called fans sitting beside me who left at the end of the third quarter when they learned that we had won.
Also, I am calling out our band. A good band, with more than four formations, is an integral part of college football culture and ours is woefully understaffed, particularly in the percussion section. Sitting accross from an SEC school’s band made this abundantly clear.