From the Sidelines: Going Collegiate
Every so often RotoRob will take in a college football game. It’s some seriously rare footage; not Halley’s Comet-esque, but damn close.
Yesterday, we watched our beloved Tar Heels put up a bit of a fight (more than we expected, anyways) against 11th-ranked Notre Dame, ultimately going down 45-26. Suffering through another UNC football game (1-8, 0-5 vs. ACC) made us thank our lucky stars that NCAA basketball starts this week.
Anyways, here’s a couple of nuggets from the game:
- The Tar Heels may have found themselves a quarterback. Junior Joe Dailey, a former Nebraska Cornhusker who had to sit out all last year because of NCAA transfer rules, turned in a big performance (14-for-22, 213 yards, three TDs). Best of all, he wasn’t picked. Interceptions having been killing UNC this year. Of course, when you’re constantly facing third and about 30, you tend to toss a few picks. Dailey came in with seven of the Heels’ 15 for the year, and he had managed just two TDs before yesterday’s bonanza.
- Fighting Irish QB Brady Quinn picked apart UNC for a season-high 346 yards. a Huge 43-yard TD pass midway through the third ended any hope the Heels had for a major upset. The senior is supposed to get a starring role in an upcoming movie planned about the life of George Gipp. Film one for the Gipper? Why not.
- Tar Heel WR Jesse Holley is having a tough senior season, but yesterday’s 12-yard TD reception capped a huge eight-play, 80-yard drive as UNC tied the game 7-7 with under six to play in the first. For Holley, the TD was his second of the season, matching a career best.
- The Heels had not one, but two huge scoring plays. Try a 90-yard kickoff return and a 72-yard TD strike.
- The Irish keep improving. They’re now 8-1 on the season and 5-0 at home and are looking like a serious force.
- Inability to convert on third down, as mentioned above, has been a Carolina problem all year. Yesterday was more of the same, as the Heels went 4-for-13 on third downs compared to the Irish, who were 8-for-14. That’s the game, folks.
- Notre Dame’s first four red zone possession resulted in three TDs and one field. Damn efficient.
- Tar Heels showed some life, coming back from 24-7 down to pull within 31-19. Hey, gotta take something positive from this game.
- Lame duck coach John Bunting (actually, he’s worse than a lame duck — he’s already been fired) is coaching the season out, but rumours abound that the Heels are close to hiring Butch Davis as his replacement. Davis has coached the Hurricanes and the Cleveland Browns. The program needs a serious shaking up, so hopefully Davis is up to the task.
