WRAL correspondents Gregg Found and Dane Huffman are filing a live blog today from the State-Carolina game. Here is their report - and feel free to jump in with your own comments and observations.
Post-game from the UNC locker room: Hilee Taylor, the senior defensive end with two sacks in the game, spoke with eyes clouded red after the game, still feeling the sting of letting a late lead slip away. When asked what the Tar Heels had left in the season now that their bowl eligibility is gone, Taylor said, "We're just playing for ourselves, as a family."
Kendric Burney said he was 100% confident that the Tar Heel offense would score on their final drive, with special faith in T.J. Yates, one of his best friends on the team. But the drive wouldn't have been possible without Burney's interception return for a touchdown. "The first thing I thought was, 'Just catch it,'" Burney said with a smile after the game. "Cause once I had it, I know I was gone."
Head coach Butch Davis gave credit to his team's tenacity for mounting a comeback, but reminded everyone of what caused the deficit. "We dug such a big hole in the first half, that really hurt us. We were outplayed on offense, defense and special teams." His halftime speech focused on chipping away at the lead; not by posting a slew of points in a hurry, but by doing it by stopping N.C. State's attack. "I think we looked a lot better defensively in the second half and I liked how our defensive line got after the quarterback," Davis said. "If you're going to win a game like this you have to win it on defense."
3:35 p.m., State wins: State just held off Carlina right at the end, with the Heels driving to a first and goal at the State 7-yard line with 20.3 seconds left.
Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates threw into the end zone four times, but each time, the Wolfpack held. The final pass was a fade to Hakeem Nicks that was well-defended by Pack corner Jimmie Sutton.
3:21 p.m., State takes the lead: N.C. State just took a 31-27 lead as Jamelle Eugene plunged in from a foot out on third down with 1:41 to play.What a series that was - Carolina had the ball, but quarterback T.J. Yates was hit and State defensive lineman DeMario Pressley made a diving interception at the UNC 25. Eugene carried the load from there, finally pushing in from inches out for a Wolfpack lead.
3:04 p.m., Heels take the lead: Carolina just took a stunning 27-24 lead when corner Kendric Burney returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown. State had the lead and was driving when Daniel Evans threw left to fullback Pat Bedics. But Bedics was hit as the ball arrived and it ball bounded up into the air, where Burney snatched it and ran down the right sideline. Connor Barth's point after gave Carolina a 27-24 lead, it's first lead in the game after trailing 17-0 early.
2:38 p.m., 50 seconds left in the third quarter: The Tar Heels just
used an old middle-school football philosophy to keep their drive
alive. On third and two, T.J. Yates rolled out on a play-action pass
and threw low and incomplete to an open Bobby Rome, who would've been
able to pick up the first down. So on fourth and two, the Tar Heels
ran the EXACT same play, with the same motion, fake handoff, Yates
rollout and short route by Rome. This time, Yates' throw was on the
money, and Rome kept the drive alive. Connor Barth's field goal makes
it 24-20 as we start the fourth quarter.
2:20 p.m., 8:05 left in the third quarter: No sooner had I written
that than the Tar Heels did air out the ball -- but from a very
unlikely source. On the first play of their drive at the 50-yard line,
fullback Bobby Rome lined up as the single back in the backfield. He
took a handoff from Yates, cocked back and fired a strike to a
wide-open Brandon Tate for an easy touchdown, pulling the Tar Heels
within 24-17. The stocky Rome, who hardly looks the part of a
quarterback, has a little experience at the position: he was a QB in
high school.
2:16 p.m., 8:15 left in the third quarter: The two teams have gone
punt-punt-punt, which suits N.C. State and its 14-point lead just
find. For the difference in the game, look no farther than the rushing
yard statistics. At half, N.C. State had run for 105 yards, and the
Tar Heels mustered just 5. Keep in mind, the State defense had been
one of the worst in the ACC in rushing, allowing close to 200 yards
per game. But the Tar Heels, who haven't found a running rhythm all
season, didn't even come close to taking advantage. It's unlikely
they'll be able to improve on that number much in the second half, as
they'll have to air the ball out while playing catchup.
2:06 p.m., 12:45 left in the third quarter: One odd quirk of the Tar
Heel defense today is that they've dropped their defensive ends back
in pass coverage on a few plays. Hilee Taylor has roamed the middle of
the field and E.J. Wilson just ran State's tight end out of bounds
after a catch. This isn't uncommon in football -- especially with a
versatile, athletic defensive end -- but it's something we haven't
seen a lot from the Tar Heels this year. If all 265 pounds of E.J.
Wilson is counted on to run down receivers in coverage, that could be
trouble for the UNC defense that needs to shut down the Wolfpack in
order to get back into the game.
Halftime stats; State's Jamelle Eugene has rushed 15 times for 91 yards and two scores. Daniel Evans has completed 19 of 28 pass for 186 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He has been sacked once.
Johnny White leads UNC in rushing with five carries for 5 yards, which tells you something about how State's defense is playing. Quarterback T.J. Yates has completed 9 of 16 throws for 118 yards and one interception.
Very few penalties in this game - just two for UNC and one for State.
1:42 p.m., halftime: As quickly as the momentum shifted towards the
Tar Heels after the interception and Connor Barth field goal, it
shifted back to the Wolfpack thanks to a prolonged drive towards the
end of the second quarter. Donald Bowens wowed the crowd with a
40-yard reception; he caught the ball and changed direction,
completely fooling UNC safety Deunta Williams, who tried to spin
around and catch up. By then, Bowens was off, and Williams had to
wrestle him down around the shoulder pads. A few plays later, Evans
found a wide-open Marcus Stone for an easy lob touchdown to put State
back on top 24-10. The catch was the first TD reception of Stone's
career -- but not his first TD. The former quarterback has thrown for
several scores, but this was the first to settle in his hands out of
the air.
At halftime, State heads to the locker rooms energized, and believe it
or not, the Tar Heels feel fortunate to just be within 14 points.
1:16 p.m., 8:34 in the second quarter: What a change a single play can make. After UNC coach Butch Davis called a timeout to chew out his players as the Wolfpack were driving for another touchdown, a gift floated into the hands of Charles Brown. While its doubtful Davis' lashing had anything to do with it, Daniel Evans overthrew a pass to Marcus Stone over the middle, Brown cradled it for the interception and sprint the other way. He went untouched for a 92-yard touchdown,
jolting his team and the fan base alive in a game that had lulled them to sleep, disappointed. The UNC defense has responded by forcing State to punt, and the Tar Heels have the ball in Wolfpack territory.
1:02 p.m. 12:00 in the second quarter: It might not turn out to be a
major play in the game, but N.C. State kicker Steven Haushka just
booted one of the best kickoff I've ever seen. He pointed it to the
front corner of the endzone, over Greg Little's head and to the side
of Brandon Tate. As Little watched it sail bay, the ball bounced at
the 3-yard line and stopped dead right in front of the end zone --
no chance for a touchback. All Little could do was grab it and return
it to the 18-yard line. The Tar Heels took over from there and just
went three-and-out.
12:48 p.m., end of first quarter: T.J. Yates came out gunning on UNC's
ensuing drive, firing a 17-yard gain to Hakeem Nicks, then making an
audible at the line -- a dangerous thing to do so close to the N.C.
State student section -- and nailed Brooks Foster down the seam for 38
yards. His precision then left him, as he missed Nicks for a touchdown
down the sideline, and missed Foster on an out route. Typical of his
play all season, we've seen some nice throws and nice calls from
Yates, but we've seem some balls that were pretty far off the mark as
well.
12:43 p.m.: One key point in the game so far is that State's offensive line is dominating UNC. Daniel Evans is getting good protection when he throws, and State is running the power running plays that Tom O'Brien loves effectively. On State's touchdown drive, the Pack got 18 yards on a beautifully conceived play when the line pulled right and Jamelle Eugene followed behind.
12:34 p.m., 4:11 left in the first quarter: The Wolfpack has been running their offense the unconventional way this drive -- using the
play-action pass to set up the run instead of vice-versa. It has worked well as they've moved from their own 11-yard line to the UNC 4 thanks to several long runs with an Evans pass sprinkled in.
Evans, by the way, has been very spry in the pocket, zipping around to avoid sacks and running a few bootleg passes. His throwing motion is an interesting sidearm; almost a sling rather than a throw. His handoff
isn't bad either, State just punched in a touchdown behind a 4-yard
plunge from Jamelle Eugene for a 10-0 lead.
12:18p.m., 9:58 left in the first quarter: Both teams came out passing on their opening drives, but it worked a lot better for N.C. State
than it did UNC.
The Tar Heels took the kickoff, and on their second play, quarterback T.J. Yates read State's blitz and lobbed a pass down the seam to Hakeem Nicks. But N.C. State safety easily read the floater and picked it off before Nicks could get there.
With Daniel Evans at the helm for State, the Wolfpack threw on each of their first four plays, completing three of them for a couple first downs. The drive then stalled, and a 40-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka has N.C. State leading 3-0.
11:55 a.m., 10 minutes before kickoff: Thanks to the N.C. State marching band, the rockets have shown their red glare and the bombs have burst in air. They will burst on the field too, as pyrotechnic blasts are set to greet the Wolfpack as they sprint onto the field.
Interesting note about the student section seats at Carter-Finley: the student section is spread among both the upper and lower decks, but the upper deck is left almost completely devoid of students. That's
because, as the Technician reporter next to us explains, students print out extra copies of lower-level seats and cram into the lower
sections instead of spreading out among both decks.
The students have filled out a solid sea of red surrounding the players' tunnel as the rest of the crowd trickles in. Of course, on
the other side of the tunnel is the UNC marching band -- close to the same size as the band for home games. The two bands are only separated by one section, so we'll see who can out-volume each other throughout the game.
11:20 a.m., 50 minutes before kickoff: Welcome to coverage from
Carter-Finley stadium,
where the student section has already poured and and filled up their
seats 60 minutes
before game time. The rest of the crowd seems to be in the parking lot
and fairground,
still enjoying their tailgates before heading inside for the game. The
Tar Heels are
going through pregame stretching sporting their blue pants -- which
could be an ominous
sign. The two other games this season where UNC wore blue pants were
the 27-10 loss at
Wake Forest and the 34-31 loss at East Carolina.
We'll be back in a bit to give you the scene before kickoff.
