It's Gotta Be the Pants

So I just moved to a new residence across town here in quaint Blacksburg, VA. I met my neighbors the other night briefly, all young folks and very nice at that. There are not too many unfriendly people around our little college town anyway. I briefly wondered to myself after meeting them what they thought of me. Polite, sarcastic, educated...but not insane. However, after three hours of me whoopin' and hollerin' last night, I feel their opinions might have moved toward insanity. You see, I had very little feel for what to expect during the North Carolina football game at Rutgers Thursday evening. Will they be competitive? Can we stop the run? Can we run? Is Brandon Tate human? But beyond my wildest dreams, we got 44-12 and this. Don't you know his mama is so proud.

At one point last night, as Bruce Carter was at about the fifteen yard-line on his way into the endzone off a third quarter interception, I went over the back of the sofa, spun around, yelped some more, and chest-bumped a column in my living room. Then, crouched on my knees and said aloud, "what team am I watching? Who IS this?" You see, we fans of the Tar Heels do not know this feeling very well. Sure, we have had some big wins in the last few years, against much better teams than Rutgers. But at no point have the Heels dominated a quality opponent in that fashion since my freshman year, 2001, at home against Florida State (41-9, rushed the field, hung from the goal posts, etc).

Now I personally have no idea how good this team really is; no one does frankly. And it worries me that this victory excited me that much last night, because I tend to not get excited about too many victories that do not end with a banner of some sort being hung from the rafters in Dean's little building. If I'm excited, where does that leave most of our fanbase?

All that being said, it was a great performance by a good football team...and a bad performance from a pretty bad football team. Rutgers looked awful. Fans filing out with 6:51 to play in the 3rd quarter. Heck, I made phone calls to friends and family during the second half, I never do that for fear of losing focus.

This morning, my phone rang at 9:01 am. SturgeMuffin had a request: tell me what was wrong last night. I saw all of these good things happen and got real darn excited, but I know we had to be bad in some areas. So tell me what they are. Glad you asked buddy. Paging Debbie Downer:

1. Pass rush. The front four did not succeed in pressuring the quarterback without the aid of a blitz. Playing in a fairly soft defense anyway, the back seven are just supposed to sit back in space and hit people. This can be exploited by wideouts sitting down in the zone (as Jesse Palmer and Craig James pointed out). However, if this supposedly talented defensive line can generate some pressure, the Heels will not have to rely on a skiddish quarterback throwing crushing INTs all the time to end drives. One sack is not going to cut it.

2. Total defense. Rutgers outgained the Heels. Not as concerned with this stat, as the defense is indeed designed to bend, but not break. However, it might lead to pointing out more about the offense's ability to sustain drives. Which brings us to...

3. Sustaining offense. Carolina is very good with the Big Play. Long passes, punt returns, etc. But a methodical, 11-play, 6:52 drive will be needed at some point to run some clock and put some points on the board. Too many times, especially early in the game, a bad play on first down led to second and long situations. Before you knew it, three-and-out and a punt followed. Keeing a defense fresh and milking the clock are important traits to a winning football team.

I realize I'm nitpicking a bit here, but it is important to remember that this was game numero dos on the season. Other teams will see this game on film (if they were not already watching last night) and break down the weaknesses of the Tar Heel attack. No one will take UNC lightly, instead looking to pound a good football team. Next week's game with Virginia Tech looms large in the Coastal Division race, but also in establishing a culture within the ACC that says Carolina is a team to be reckoned with. Beating up on a below-average Big East team and defeating the league's recent resident Big Dog (I would know first-hand) are far different. In a lot of ways, Virginia Tech is what Carolina is trying to become: consistent, team-oriented, a winning culture. But, we'll see how that unfolds in ten days. For now, enjoy a nice win on a national stage and keep those expectations tempered. It's still a young football team with a lot of growing to do in order to consistently play at a high level.

With that being said, Brandon Tate for Heisman.