All posts by Forrest Norman
Forrest Norman ·
22 Nov 2008, 10:12 PM ·
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UNC got mugged by the Wolfpack Saturday.
I could write about linebacker Mark Paschal’s excellent game, or the fact that QB TJ Yates showed a sign or two of returning to the form he was in before an injury forced him to sit out for most of the season, but that would be gilding the 41-10 turd that was today’s game.
Coach Butch Davis, still steaming after the Heels managed to find a way to turn over the ball for a sixth time with almost no time left, said it best in his postgame comments: “Six turnovers - you can almost totally disregard any of the other stats. Once you get past the turnovers, there are other things that certainly contributed to today’s loss - giving up big plays in the secondary, balls being thrown deep and not being contested, guys being open - all of those things contributed to the way that we played today.”
TJ Yates
Davis answered questions about starting Yates over backup Cameron Sexton who, for the most part, played the part of steady hand and maintained the team’s positive momentum after Yates’ injury.
“You can’t look in the rearview mirror,” Davis opined. “How do you know? We feel that both of those guys are pretty good quarterbacks. They have both had some pretty good success. Was T.J. nervous coming back for the first time? Conceivably, maybe so.”
Yeah, could be. Continue reading »
Football, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill Butch Davis, Cam Sexton, Mark Paschal, TJ Yates
Forrest Norman ·
25 Oct 2008, 7:05 PM ·
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As a “sports blogger,” I’m not really sure what ethical parameters are supposed to guide me. I guess if a UNC athletic department official offered me $20 to say that Boston College’s cheerleaders smell like bourbon, or that I heard that Randy Shannon huffs amyl nitrite and drinks PBR, I wouldn’t do it. I might take the money, but I’d never write anything I knew to be false.
I am, however, fairly certain that I don’t have to pretend to the same kind of impartiality that news reporters fake. I’m free to be a fan.
Hakeem Nicks
At first, this didn’t matter much. I like football, I live in North Carolina, I knew I’d enjoy covering the ‘Heels, but I didn’t care much whether they won or lost. To be honest, I expected them to be terrible, but I thought that, in some ways, it might be more interesting to cover a bad team than a good one.
But now I’m a convert. These guys don’t have the most high-profile players, a media-anointed coach, or the most historic program. They play for a school whose academic standards are high enough to make recruiting tricky. They’re not in, or near, a major urban center likely to attract high profile players. They lost starting QB TJ Yates early in the season, and their best offensive player, future NFL starter Brandon Tate, two weeks ago. Neither will return. Coming into Saturday’s game, they had two in-conference losses, one to Virginia Tech when Yates went down, and the other to erratic Virginia in their first game without Tate.
But this has been a strange and exciting season for North Carolina under Coach Butch Davis, an old hand brought in to raise the program’s reputation. Strange because they keep winning games despite allowing opponents to beat them in total yards and time of possession, and exciting because they make big plays, offensively (usually big passes to Hakeem Nicks or Tate), defensively (the team is intercepting the ball at a record-setting pace), and on special teams (specifically punt blocks).
Last week, against see-saw Virginia, they finally outgained an opponent - and lost.
Saturday, North Carolina faced another ACC foe, 5-1 Boston College. BC has an ace QB, Chris Crane, and is known for scoring in bunches. Having lost two in-conference games, UNC had to win to keep their bowl hopes alive.
However, UNC lost their first Tate-less contest last week, and I was pretty skeptical that they could keep pulling rabbits out of a hat every game. Continue reading »
Football, UNC-Chapel Hill Brandon Tate, Butch Davis, Cam Sexton, Hakeem Nicks, Trimane Goddard
Forrest Norman ·
12 Oct 2008, 10:17 AM ·
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Alright, this’ll have to be quick, mainly because I wasn’t able to go to the game, and a TiVo malfunction precluded me from watching the whole thing. In fact, I think I’ll supplement this summary with a Roy Williams anecdote, seeing as how basketball season is within sniffing distance.
Butch Davis
The Tar Heels beat storied Notre Dame to continue their surprising season Saturday. OK, they didn’t exactly triumph over the Notre Dame of yore, but Charlie Weis’ team, after suffering through a hellish ‘07, was 4-1 coming into Saturday’s game, and looks to be on the up. So, another win over a name team for the Heels, bringing their record to 5-1 and further cementing the impression that, in the long-term, Coach Butch Davis will make North Carolina a contender in the ACC, and in the short-term, North Carolina could be looking at some interesting bowl scenarios after the regular season.
What’s most interesting about the Notre Dame game is how UNC won. Much like last week’s win over (previously) undefeated UConn, a glance at the stats would lead a casual observer to believe that UNC probably lost the game. But the Heels have developed an expertise in turning opponents’ mistakes into points—in this case capitalizing on turnovers by talented, precocious Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen.
So, the defense has been good at forcing mistakes (already exceeding their interception total for last season) and the offense has been able to score when it counts. This is promising, and it has to say something about defensive savvy and overall endurance. But the fact that UNC has had to scrap for almost every win (yesterday’s game against Notre Dame was decided in the final seconds, as was the win against Miami), and that they tend to let opponents score between interceptions and fumbles, is troubling. They’re going to have to play better to beat really good teams, but they seem to be closer to that level than they’ve been in years. And they’ve certainly improved their performance in close games over last year’s 4-8 squad, which lost four games by four points or less.
Cam Sexton
The other high point for UNC in Saturday’s game: QB Cam Sexton, filling in for injured starter TJ Yates, continues to get the ball to the team’s best offensive assets, receivers Brandon Tate, Hakeem Nicks and Brooks Foster. Against Notre Dame, Sexton passed for 201 yards and ran for a 4-yard TD early in the fourth quarter. Nicks had nine receptions for 141 yards. Tate, however, went out in the first quarter with an injury sustained while returning a punt. He walked off the field under his own power, but there’s no word on the prognosis yet.
Next up, a trip to Charlottesville for the even-steven Cavaliers (3-3, 1-1). This is the club that Duke throttled earlier this fall. This is also the club that knocked off East Carolina yesterday, 35-20.
_______________________
So, a couple weeks ago, I spent all of five minutes with UNC basketball coach Roy Williams at a UNC football game.
Well, we waited for an elevator, rode on the elevator, and walked down a hallway together. I didn’t even try to talk to the guy. First of all, what’s the point? But even if I’d wanted to offer thanks and praises, or ask him to lay hands on me, I would have had to find an opening, because this guy was swarmed. I felt uncomfortable just watching. Everyone wanted a piece, and Roy just smiled and took it as everyone within a 20-foot range yelled greetings and, hilariously, basketball advice.
The strangest thing was how touchy-feely people were with Roy. He was accosted on the elevator by an alum, and this guy (Carolina blue sweater vest, pressed khakis, Titleist visor) stood inches from Roy’s face, talking about how he was sure he and Roy had some friends in common and wouldn’t it be great to go out to dinner sometime, and by the way he had no doubt, none whatsoever, that a national championship was in store for Roy’s boys this year. … And on he went.
When the elevator door opened for his floor, he didn’t just shake Roy’s hand, like many of the others I’d seen (a pattern which would repeat three times during a short walk from the elevator to the box where Roy was watching the game, culminating with a guy who I’m pretty was a janitor giving Roy a hearty handshake and mini-hug).
This good old boy patted Roy’s belly. Patted his belly! How is that an acceptable salutation?
Granted, as UNC coach, Roy is public property to some degree, and he also doesn’t have the forbidding mien of a Nick Saban. He looks like a nice guy, often has a grin on his face. … But how that translates into a license to pat his belly. … Roy just took it all with a happy smile. Maybe he’s been that way ever since Ty Hansbrough decided to play another year, or maybe he gulps down a handful of Xanax before facing the good burghers of Chapel Hill in public situations. All I know is that I had an almost irresistible urge to ruffle his hair and kiss him, softly, on each cheek, before we parted ways.
Basketball, Football, UNC-Chapel Hill alumni, Brandon Tate, Brooks Foster, Butch Davis, Cam Sexton, Hakeem Nicks, Notre Dame, Roy Williams, Tyler Hansbrough
Forrest Norman ·
5 Oct 2008, 1:10 AM ·
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When I moved to North Carolina a year ago, I was surprised to find such avid football fans in Chapel Hill. I knew the team had some success in the past, but I’d never thought of it as a storied program, and I guess I always assumed that basketball consumed the interest of most UNC fans. But I’ll be damned if Tar Heel fans don’t turn out for every home game like their team was in the championship hunt – and if the program’s recent trajectory has been any indication, maybe they will be, soon enough. They’ve certainly been a compelling team this year.
In any case, Chapel Hill turns into a picture-perfect college football town on home-game Saturdays, brimming with tailgaters in Carolina blue sipping pregame cocktails underneath the shade trees. (It’s a scene out of some idyllic, nonexistent past, especially when the temperature hints at fall’s approach, and the clear skies conspire with a mild breeze, as they did Saturday night.)
And when those genteel folks hit the stadium, they raise a respectable ruckus.
Maybe it was all the pregame gin rickeys (or whatever it is that people in golf-visors and sweater vests drink), or just the good year the ‘Heels have had thus far, but the fans were completely geeked by kickoff, making more noise than they have all season.
Kenan Stadium looks strange at night when the stands are filled with fans clad in Carolina blue, like half a giant luminescent blue Easter egg emerging from the turf. Into this dreamlike arena emerged the home team, hoping for another encouraging win, and the visiting University of Connecticut Huskies, ranked 24 in the country, undefeated, and hoping to stay in the hunt for the Big East title, a trophy they shared with West Virginia last year.
The night would retain that pristine, end-of-summer feeling for the next four hours, the only clouds in the sky generated by the fireworks that exploded over the stadium every time the ‘Heels scored on the way to their first win over a ranked opponent since 2005.
Junior QB Cameron Sexton started in place of injured first-stringer TJ Yates, Coach Butch Davis opting for the backup who beat Miami with solid play last weekend over freshman Mike Paulus. Sexton was more than respectable, once again, passing for 56 yards and one interception in the first half, though the stats didn’t tell the story of this game.
The game’s other big question mark, UConn backup QB Zach Frazer, would not fare as well.
The ’Heels showed defensive moxie in the half, twice holding the Huskies to field goals despite the best efforts of star tailback Donald Brown, the nation’s leading rusher at 181-yards-per-game, to get into the end zone. They also had two first-half interceptions, bringing their season total to 11, matching their total for the entire last season. One of those interceptions was by safety Trimane Goddard, the player who saved the Miami game by snatching a game winning touchdown reception out of the hands of a Miami receiver as the clock expired. His grab in Saturday’s game was a bit of a save as well, taking the ball out of Husky hands at the end of a long drive when they were inside the UNC 20 yard line.
Special teams were an unexpected boon, chalking up two punt blocks and a punt deflection, all in the first half.
Still, the 17-3 halftime score, while good, didn’t reflect exactly how lopsided this game would become. In fact, none of the numbers told an accurate story. A glance at the end-of-game stat sheet would lead the casual observer to assume that UConn won. In fact, UConn played a pretty good game, but UNC made points out of their every mistake.
Despite a temperature drop and a 20-minute delay when half the stadium lights inexplicably went out, the crowd stayed amped and the team responded with total badassery in the second half. Highlights included tailback Shaun Draughn breaking free for a 39-yard TD off a great block by right tackle Garrett Reynolds, and Frazer, falling to the ground under pressure, inexplicably tossing the ball right into the giant mitts of behemoth defensive tackle Marvin Austin, who chugged into the end zone for another TD to make it 31-6.
Despite more total offensive yardage and a lopsided time-of-possession advantage, UConn couldn’t convert those numbers into points. Final score: 38-12.
As the last tuft of smoke from the night’s final fireworks drifted over the field, fans lingered in the stands. Little kids in too-big jerseys climbed around on the stadium seats, their parents sitting and watching contentedly even after the players disappeared into the locker room. The student section was still three-quarters full long after game’s end, co-eds passing flasks and singing, arms thrown carelessly around each other’s shoulders. They all knew that winter is coming and there won’t be many more nights like this.
Football, UNC-Chapel Hill Butch Davis, Cameron Sexton, Donald Brown, Garrett Reynolds, Marvin Austin, Shaun Draughn, Trimane Goddard, University of Connecticut, Zach Frazer
Forrest Norman ·
27 Sep 2008, 8:57 PM ·
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Until the second half of last week’s game against Virginia Tech, it looked like the Tar Heels had a good season going. Not a national championship season, but the kind of season that can reasonably be called progress, and might even include a shot at having some fun in the ACC title race. Then quarterback TJ Yates went down with a broken ankle, consigned to the sidelines for six weeks.
Even though Yates isn’t on anyone’s Heisman list, the injury was a boot to the groin of UNC’s offense.
Continue reading »
Football, UNC-Chapel Hill Butch Davis, Cameron Sexton, Greg Little, Mike Paulus, TJ Yates, Trimane Goddard
Forrest Norman ·
20 Sep 2008, 7:46 PM ·
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One of the interesting things about sports is the unquantifiable nature of much of it. No matter how much sportswriters and analysts try to fit the entirety of a game into a box score, there are always things that can’t be measured. These things are often very important: They can comprise the “why” of winning and losing.
For instance, when North Carolina’s defense went limp in the second half of an important game against conference rivals Virginia Tech Saturday, there was no easily discernible reason behind it.
Continue reading »
Football, UNC-Chapel Hill Add new tag, Brandon Tate, Hakeem Nicks, Mark Paschal, Mike Paulus, Rutgers, TJ Yates, Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
Forrest Norman ·
12 Sep 2008, 5:32 PM ·
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- Yowza. Is the Butch Davis plan working, or is Rutgers actually worse than they were before they were good before they were mediocre?
- I didn’t realize UNC only has 11 scholarship seniors…
- This game was even better for UNC than the final 44-12 score would suggest. For instance, Hakeem Nicks had two TDs, but they weren’t even his finest moments of the game. He made a fingertip catch in traffic early in the second that left Rutgers’ coaches barking at their players.
- It’s hard to draw too many conclusions about UNC without knowing whether or not Rutgers sucks quite as badly as they seem to suck.
Continue reading »
Football, UNC-Chapel Hill Butch Davis, ESPN, Hakeem Nicks, Rutgers
