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By Stephen Cheek
SouthernPigskin.com State of North Carolina Columnist
SouthernPigskin.com State of North Carolina Columnist Stephen Cheek looks back at week 11 in North Carolina.
Tar Heel fans are a finicky bunch. Jokes are often made by rival fans and players about UNC’s “Wine and Cheese” crowds and the “Aluminum Jungle” that is Kenan Stadium during home football games. Those labels are regularly assigned each season to Chapel Hill fans due to the late showing, early leaving nature of Tar Heel supporters. As much as I hate to condone apathy, it is easy to see why. The University of North Carolina is good at most sports and has been for a long, long time. There are several non-revenue sports that have won championships in recent years including the men’s soccer program, the baseball team, women’s basketball, field hockey, and the single most dominant NCAA program in any sport, the UNC women’s soccer team, with 20 national titles in the past quarter century. All of this success though pales in comparison to the big daddy in Chapel Hill: men’s basketball. The basketball program boasts 5 NCAA titles, the most final fours, the most tournament wins, the most ACC championships, and the list goes on and on. Legends such as Lennie Rosenbluth, Charlie Scott, Billy Cunningham, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Michael Jordan, Antawn Jamison, and Tyler Hansbrough among many others have been coached by even bigger legends like Frank McGuire, Dean Smith and Roy Williams. UNC arguably has the best basketball tradition in the country, although I recognize that Kansas, UCLA and Kentucky would beg to differ. Is it any wonder that fans are somewhat apathetic to the football program that has been middle of the pack traditionally and one of the worst in the ACC since the departure of Mack Brown in 1997?
On its own merits, the Tar Heel football program has a decent tradition. It has an all time winning record against all of its immediate rivals, some big wins in its history, a decent bowl record and several famous players who have gone on to professional success. UNC was a football school until the mid 1950s in fact after a late run in the 1940s where the Heels went to three straight major bowl games and featured Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice. The problem is that since 1957 on, when the basketball team won its first NCAA title, the hoops program has won more often and more consistently than the gridiron Heels. Good players and coaches like Don McCauley, Amos Lawrence, Kelvin Bryant and Natrone Means in football have consistently been overshadowed by legends like James Worthy, Michael Jordan, Dean Smith and Roy Williams. In 2006, UNC tried to change the equation by hiring Butch Davis, a highly successful former coach of the University of Miami who rebuilt a sanction laden program into a national contender. With the hire, the university finally decided that it would try to build a football program that would at least be able to look eye to eye at the basketball program and maintain the success. Davis was the biggest hire the football program had made since the 1950s when they hired Jim Tatum away from Maryland after he won the 1953 national championship for the Terps. All the other UNC football coaches between the two had been assistants or small college guys and were hired on the cheap. No way football was going to overpower basketball at Carolina right? Davis was Carolina’s attempt to play with the big boys of college football, and the proof of UNC’s commitment was when his first contract was larger than the one basketball coach Roy Williams had at the time (Williams was soon renegotiated.)
In the first season under Davis, UNC made some headlines by recruiting one of the top classes in the nation and then fielded a competitive team that lost close games to top programs before finishing 4-8. In season two, Carolina made a large jump by finishing 8-4 and making a postseason game. The 2008 team had several signature wins against Miami, and Notre Dame but also got spanked by a mediocre NC State team. The results showed an inconsistency that was typical of a young and building program. They finished the season with a one point loss to a good West Virginia team in the bowl game, and despite the basketball program winning another national championship, there was a lot of buzz around Tar Heel football going into 2009. Could UNC really build a top football program? Some thought so.
This column tried to be realistic about the 2009 squad in August when the forecast for another 8-4 year but a bowl victory was made. The defense was going to be top notch but the offense lost its star when Hakeem Nicks bolted for the NFL. There was hope and optimism though that through some good fortune, the Tar Heels could contend for the ACC championship and they started the season in the Top 25. After a 3-0 start the Heels made it as high as #22 but the offense took a midseason hiatus and the Heels lost three in a row in the ACC including a beat down to Georgia Tech, a surprise loss to a bad UVA team, and a heartbreaker of a collapse to FSU on national television. After such high preseason expectations for a football team at a basketball school had fans actually in pigskin mode, the wind came out of the sails in Chapel Hill. The inevitable “thank god basketball is right around the corner” statements started to come out of the mouths of those in light blue, and fan interest waned. Typical basketball school stuff, many in the media said.
It was after the FSU game though, that the value of Butch Davis was found. His team did not collapse, and instead it proved that his program has been built on a sound foundation in the past three seasons. The Tar Heels traveled to Blacksburg, VA where on a Thursday night, in front of another national audience, the Heels upset a top 15 ranked Virginia Tech team. Then this past week, they welcomed the #12 ranked Miami Hurricanes to Kenan Stadium and proceeded to beat them for the third straight season. Now, instead of fighting just to make the postseason with a .500 record, the football team is still the talk of the town, on the cusp of the top 25 and has a chance to make one of the ACC’s top bowl games against an SEC foe or potentially Notre Dame. The Tar Heels don’t boast a great offense, but they have a top notch defense and are beating good teams. They have faced adversity this season, and are still a relatively young football team. No matter what happens against Boston College this coming weekend, Butch Davis has managed to accomplish a feat that few have achieved in Chapel Hill. He has kept Tar Heel football relevant into basketball season, and that is all anyone can ask of a UNC coach. The stilton and chardonnay mindset isn’t going to change anytime soon, but by recruiting well and building a consistent top 25 football team, Davis has at least mixed in a little canned beer and cornhole into the Chapel Hill culture.
Week 10 Old North State Power Rankings
1. North Carolina – The Tar Heels have finally lived up to preseason expectations. BC is a different team at home though than they are on the road and will beat the Heels if Carolina goes up to Boston thinking they have already won. In fact the Eagles are currently 3.5 pt favorites and will make this a hard fought game. That being said, the Tar Heels will win on Saturday because of their defense, and are looking at potentially a Gator or even Peach Bowl game if they can finish 9-3. Those rewards are worth playing for. Record 7-3 overall 3-3 in the ACC Next up: at Boston College
2. East Carolina – Pirates scheduled big time non-conference games against regional BCS foes and lost them all. Give credit to the Pirates for a tough schedule, and even more credit to the team for winning games in C-USA despite the BCS losses. ECU is on track for another conference championship game and maybe a Liberty Bowl berth against a good SEC foe if they can survive a two game home stand against surging UAB and longtime nemesis Southern Miss. Those two games are a big if, but well within reach. Record 7-4 overall 5-1 in C-USA Next up: UAB
3. Wake Forest – Deacons have lived through a season that could have been, but after 5 losses by a combined 13 points plus two overtimes, Wake is bowl ineligible. Rivalry game vs Duke is worth staying motivated for, but the Deacon players have got to be down after a great 4 year run. Record 4-7 overall, 2-5 in the ACC Next up: Off Week
4. Appalachian State – The Mountaineers deserve the big jump ahead of the ACC schools simply because they stepped up in the big game against Elon and dominated. After the 27-10 win in the Southern Conference GOY, the Mountaineers continue their conference dynasty and will ride into the playoffs on a high. Oh yeah, they will have the Old Mountain Jug too after they stomp Western on Saturday. Record 8-2 overall 7-0 in the SoCon Next up: WCU
5. Duke – The Blue Devils have faded down the stretch after a 3 game winning streak. Red hot QB Thad Lewis has faded, and the running game has been non-existent allowing teams to shut down the pass. To make a bowl, Duke will have to upset both Miami on the road and Wake at home. Unlikely, although there is no doubt that Duke is on the rise under David Cutcliffe and will be a factor in the future. Record 5-5 overall 3-3 in the ACC Next up: at Miami
6. NC State – The season can’t end fast enough for the Pack who have been decimated by injury. The Clemson smack down on Saturday is probably only a precursor to what will happen this coming weekend up in Blacksburg. The end of the season game with the hated Tar Heels will be a dogfight though as the Pack will treat it as their bowl game. At some point, Tom O’Brien will have to get past injuries and show improvement or the restless natives will grow louder. I would say “some point” will be next year. Record 4-6, 1-5 in the ACC Next up: at Virginia Tech
7. Elon – The Phoenix were riding high and feeling good about their chances on Saturday, but came up against the behemoth that is Appalachian St football. Scott Riddle was intercepted 3 times in the loss, although superstar receiver Terrell Hudgins did record another 100 yd game. Elon can still make the playoffs on an at-large bid, but the team is no doubt disappointed that they remain #2 in their own conference. Record 8-2 overall 6-1 in the SoCon Next up: at Samford
8. Western Carolina- How bout WCU showing a little team pride and smacking Eastern Kentucky in the mouth 24-6. I hope it felt good because the trip up to Boone to try to take the Old Mountain Jug from Appalachian likely won’t. Good win none the less for the downtrodden Catamounts. Record 2-8 overall 1-6 in the SoCon. Next: at Appalachian St
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Old North State Pigskin is a blog focused on the North Carolina schools in the ACC and Southern Conference. Referencing the state’s Revolutionary War nickname to include all the schools with its borders (and not just the Tar Heels with the state’s civil war nickname) this blog is written from a fan perspective, nothing more, nothing less. I am not a current or former coach, administrator or player of any university. I am not a professional journalist. While I am a graduate of the University of North Carolina, I am also the son of a lifelong Duke Football fan, and the son-in-law of an NC State alumnus. I just make observations as I see them…and try to leave the bias out. Comments, criticism, suggestions and corrections are all welcome at .
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Comments
I love cornhole, but prefer the liquor. One thing about UNC is that the offense had a lot of setbacks. Offensive line depth is not where it needs to be, and it showed.
Hope for the future based on the recruiting of top lineman UNC98. I think Davis was a great hire and despite all the negativity mid-season, the program is on a really firm foundation. Carolina will be playing in the post season for years to come. I think that is quite a feat in Chapel Hill and alot harder to do than at a Clemson or FSU.
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