In something of a rivalry game, the North Carolina Tar Heels eventually pulled away from the East Carolina Pirates, 31-17.
East Carolina has been a thorn in the side of several ACC teams in recent years, but this squad lost a lot of talent from last season.
Nonetheless, they hung tough with North Carolina, although they never really threatened to take the lead.
The Tar Heels took a 21-14 lead into the locker room and never really looked back in remaining perfect on the season.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 7:11 pm by steve
24th-ranked North Carolina always had an answer on Saturday, holding off East Carolina for a 31-17 win in a battle of in-state rivals. The victory gives the Tar Heels their first 3-0 start since 1997.
Quarterback T.J. Yates spent the afternoon carving up the ECU defense, completing 19 of 24 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He was helped by the breakout performance of freshman wide receiver Erik Highsmith, who was on the receiving end of six of those passes for 113 yards and a TD.
The Pirates had closed the gap to seven with a field goal midway through the fourth quarter, but the Tar Heels found another gear. They took the ensuing drive 81 yards down the field for a touchdown, all while not facing a single third down and taking five minutes off the clock to close the door on the Pirates’ hopes.
North Carolina will face a daunting task next week when it visits Georgia Tech to open ACC play, but there’s optimism abound in Chapel Hill right now.
Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 2:57 pm by Raj Sethi
In a sloppy game played in poor weather conditions, the North Carolina Tar Heels escaped with a 12-10 victory over the Connecticut Huskies.
With a storm hanging off the Northeast coastline, heavy rain and winds whipped around the Stanford area.
The Tar Heels found themselves trailing 10-0 entering the fourth quarter only to score 12 unanswered points.
Without much of a running game to lean on, quarterback T.J. Yates threw for 233 yards and a touchdown along with two interceptions.
The winning score actually came via a safety at the end of the fourth quarter.
Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 4:28 pm by steve
The North Carolina Tar Heels made quick work of the Citadel, rolling to a 40-6 victory in their season opener.
T.J. Yates is back under center for the second straight year and should give North Carolina stability at the quarterback position. He threw for 114 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the season opener.
Ryan Houston had the big scoring day, as the running back had 45 yards on the ground and found the end zone on two different occasions.
The Tar Heels defense was really the story of the day, as the unit allowed just 30 total rushing yards and only eight first downs.
The special teams unit, now wanting to be outdone, also got into the act. Da’Norris Searcy returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Sunday, September 6, 2009 at 8:53 am by steve
In one of the more… unique… dramas of the offseason, Florida International University and new head coach Isiah Thomas (recently of Knicks notoriety) finally agreed to open their season with a game against UNC in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.
For months, FIU was reportedly preparing to play Ohio State University in the opening game, as their contract specified either a game against OSU or UNC. FIU was so upset about the situation that they gave serious consideration to pulling out of the whole tournament.
Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, and while Thomas may not have a player above 6′7″ on his roster when he opens up against UNC’s lineup of All-Americans, he recognizes the value of the game.
“Now we can respond in a more sensible way that says this is something that can benefit all of us,” Thomas said. “So we’re really looking forward to that night. We want to teach our students and our student-athletes that it’s not always going to be an easy walk. Sometimes you have to take some painful steps.”
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 4:48 am by bryan
