Staff photo by Robert Willett
CHAPEL HILL — Who needs T.J. Yates to make big plays? Not UNC.
In the second game without Yates, their injured starting quarterback, the Heels found new ways to make big plays. They blocked a punt for a touchdown, returned an interception for a touchdown, set up another with an interception and got a 39-yard touchdown run by Shaun Draughn in a 38-12 win over No. 24 UConn.
The Heels (4-1) have already matched their win total from 2007.
Marvin Austin's 23-yard interception return for a touchdown has the Heels in party mode.
His defensive touchdown came right after Shaun Draughn busted a 39-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The Heels created breathing room in the second quarter with linebacker Bruce Carter blocked his third punt of the game, this one in the end zone and was recovered by Matt Merletti for the touchdown.
Mark Paschal's interception set up Ryan Houston's 1-yard touchdown run with 6:05 left in the second quarter to give the Heels a 10-3 lead.
Paschal picked off UConn quarterback Zach Frazer and returned it 23 yards down to the Huskies' 15.
UConn scored on its first drive of each half. Donald Brown set up a 26-yard field by Tony Ciaravino running for 44 of 63 first-half yards.
After going three-and-out on their first possesssion, the Heels tied the game with a 31-yard field goal by Casey Barth at 2:44 in the first quarter.
Paschal's pick of Frazer, who is making his first start of the season for injured Tyler Lorenzen, gave the Heels their first lead.
Cam Sexton started in place of Yates, making his first start since 2006. After leading the Heels to a comeback win at Miami last week, the junior struggled in the first half against the Huskies.
Sexton completed 9 of 16 passes for 121 yards with one interception and one touchdown. Freshman Mike Paulus, who started last week vs. Miami, did not play.
Ciaravino kicked a 31-yarder on UConn's first possession of the second half to make it 17-6.
Comments
blitz and penalties
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 10:24 — s32741bunc has to protect the quarterbacks better when the other teams are blitzing/ hard rushes. also we need to work on the kicking game and penalties.
they're not there yet, but
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 08:13 — chuck (not verified)they're not there yet, but it IS looking good. good call on Draughn ik, but why do you think Houston isn't serviceable on short yardage sits?
on houston
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 17:18 — izzykareemRyan Houston played football in high school and was one of the top recruits coming out as a running back. He was also 6-2 or 3 and 250lbs. Most of the kids who were trying to tackle him were not D1 LB's, they were 150lb bean poles when they were soaking wet and in the highlight tapes he would barrel over them like he was knocking down year-old corn stalks.
Plus, short yardage situations are a little too hyped in my opinion, Draughn runs like he's supposed to, and he can get any short yardage gain you need provided the OL gets a push. If the OL doesn't get a push a big RB isn't gonna get a short yardage gain anyways. I'm not saying anything bad about the kid, but did you see that one run he had where he broke free and they just caught him...seriously that's slower than Anthony Elzy and Elzy is supposed to be "slow" since he's a fullback and Elzy is pretty fast. i think Houston would be a great DE or LB though, he's fast enough for those positions i think and he's big.
Izzy
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 19:49 — gvillegatrsounds like you are becoming a Heels fan Izzy!
also...
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 01:36 — izzykareemnot sure how that analysis means im "becoming a carowhina fan"...
i just know more about UNC-CH than most of their so-called fans do. keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Have you ever seen when the camera pans into the stadium after a big play. The students are kind of raucous, but the general public, pathetic. They clap like you do at an opera when a long scene thankfull ends. I also couldn't believe how many people had left by the middle of the 3rd quarter. The game was still in reach; this has always been an issue with their fans though.
seriously??
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 09:22 — gvillegatrdo you tthink I was being serious about you turning into a fan of the Heels? pigs will fly first I am sure of it!
hold up
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 01:29 — izzykareem(vomit in mouth)...no i'm not. I just am kind of talking to myself because honestly, holes fans don't understand football, sadly, bball maybe, but their comments speak to the truth. I've yet to hear one sentence of analysis out of any of the regular posters on here or on wral. In a way its hard to blame them, they've recruited so well in basketball for all these years i am not sure they reall understand what its like to have to analyze what exactly is going on because alot of the players who have played for them make it look pretty effortless.
So all these UNC-CH fans don't (seem to) understand why the running game is important and how the win over UCONN was really not as big as the score indicates (due to Field Position and Sexton being able to manage a team JUST ENOUGH to capitalize) but them running the ball for the first time all year is big for them; so i felt it my duty to point out some of that, not that they understand of course, but maybe it will sink in with someone; UNC alumnus will understand i'm sure.
3 phases to the game
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 09:27 — gvillegatrwouldnt you have to say the defense and ST's played a significant role in where the offense had the ball too?? you claim to be objective, but you're really trying to hand out back handed compliments and half truths if you ask me. cool with me though ... i'll just continue to set you straight!
the fact UNC didnt have to rely on the passing game speaks volumes to the contrarians of UNC football who said all UNC could do was throw the football to the best three wr's in the country.
i do NOT claim to be objective
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 15:06 — izzykareemfar from it...i do claim to see things though that a homer fan isn't going to see.
For example: a few years ago, FSU strolled into Carter-Finley and promptly threw 7 interceptions. As happy as i was that we beat them, i wasn't satisfied.
Same thing with 2-3 blocked punts. One blocked punt is huge, but 2 (the first one went right thru Bruce Carter's hands, which means it was essentially a block, he was there). One of them recovered in the end-zone, the other gave UNC-CH a very short field to work with.
Yes there are 3 phases...but me personally, i want to know if my team can line up somewhere between the 15 and 25yd line and make a 10-12 play drive and score a touchdown because that is how most drives start out, that is mano-i-mano; that tells you how good of a D or O you have. UNC-CH has a pretty good D. And like JPG mentioned in his other post, why UCONN decided to stop running the ball and throw it is beyond me. Blocked-punts, returns for touchdowns, pick-6s (unless you are NCState QB's Harrison Beck or Daniel Evans) are rare.
the tarheels
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 02:50 — tony (not verified)the heels dont need to listen to all the stuff about they wont lose another game this year, all they need to do is to take one game at a time. when they start thinking about all the other stuff they will lose they way. take it one game at a time guys.
What a game!!
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 00:43 — UNCAlumnusUConn won time of posetion, first downs, and total yards. How did UNC win? blocked punts, ints, and guts. They not only won, but won big!!! I have no personal injuries to report after this game, but I did cheer and clap like the homer fan I am. Go Heels!!!
Field Position...
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 05:56 — izzykareemIt's all about Field Position. Good things happen no matter if you are on offense or defense when you are constantly playing in your opponents half of the field. Blocked punts, pick-6's, even if you get a good punt from the opposition you're still gonna get the ball around the 50 or in the opponents half. I was very curioius to see how UNC-CH would do if they actually had to run a sustained drive and towards the end they had that opportunity but i don't think they were able to do anything with it.
I saw that Tate got hurt at some point, was it serious, they never mentioned if he came back in or if he was seriously hurt.
what was weird about that Marvin Austin INT was that he actually stopped playing, he was literally just standing there and that dummy threw it right to him.
izzy
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 10:14 — gvillegatryea. Frasor was in the grasp when he threw the int. I thought the play was going to be ruled dead and prolly would have drawn a flag had Marvin not intercepted it.
in the grasp...
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 17:24 — izzykareemto my knowledge there is no "in the grasp rule". Remember when Paulus was tackled in the end zone, he still threw the pass, was actually about to hit the ground clearly in the grasp of the VT defender (should have been intentional grounding but who cares now) and they called it incomplete. Did you see the pass that Colt McCoy threw, in the grasp, as he was falling down that went for a touchdown?
What i was commenting about was just how Austin had stopped playing a good couple of seconds before that because it looked like the play was going away from him. I think he plays too heavy, he'd be more effective at 280lbs. and it looks like he takes plays off.
yes. i remember the Paulus
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 19:47 — gvillegatryes. i remember the Paulus play. same play pretty much except Frasors pass got intercepted by Austin, who I agree is playing too heavy. he has ballooned, it looks like, since he said he was coming to UNC. his ass is HHHUUUGGGGGEEEE! but he seems to always be making plays so S&C coach knows more than I.
In the grasp??
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 10:54 — dirk (not verified)What game were you watching?? The quarterback was going down, in fact no part of his body was even touching the ground when he unwisely tried to throw the ball.
maybe
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 16:35 — gvillegatrnow, I could have the definition of "in the grasp"wrong, but if any part of the guys body (QB) is touching the ground, he is down and thus it doesnt matter where he decides to throw the ball, he is down and it does not count.
so, i'm thinking your defintion is wrong. my thoughts on "in the grasp" are the tackler has you and you are either a.) not going anywhere or b.) you are in the process of going down but none of your body parts have officially hit the ground.
either way, UNC destroyed UCant. I'm sure you are disappointed in more ways than one. It will be ok dirt.
In the grasp?
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 10:50 — Anonymous (not verified)What game were you watching? The quarterback was falling down, in fact no part of his body was touching the field when he unwisely tried to throw it away.
I would think the gorilla on the table was answered.
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 08:43 — UNCAlumnusDraugn ran the ball well, averaging better than 5 yards a carry. I don't know about Tate. I didn't bring my headset radio. It was not mentioned in the post game on the radio, either. As for Austin, the play was about over. The qb was going down. It was his fault he threw it to a player standing still. UNC sustained drives last week. They played with the short field a lot. Sexton threw the int in the "red" zone, sure. They did get 3 offensive TD's and a field goal. I'll credit UConn with doing what they do....running the ball. Brown got over 100 yards. They had no real effect, though. I was disappointed with the defensive penalty when the Heels had stopped them on 4th down. Those points would've been prevented otherwise.
penalties
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 17:26 — izzykareemdidn't butch have some on-field discipline problems at Miami. I just can't get over the boneheaded penalties and drive savers that UNC-CH commits on D.
GO HEELS!!!
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 00:09 — Anonymous (not verified)GO HEELS!!!
Tampa and Miami
Sat, 10/04/2008 - 23:44 — gvillegatryou guys do realize UNC will not lose another football game this year unless it happens to be in the OB on new years day. I only say "unless" b/c I do not know who the opponent is. scary thing is, how many of you NCSU fans read (as in red) this and thought the same thing!!!
i still hate the holes...
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 05:51 — izzykareem...but that was an impressive win. Regarding the rest of their year, the ESPN announcers were already talking about them going 11-1 and i'm like: "hold up". There's alot of football left to be played - GT just beat the crap out of the mighty Blue Devil football goliath (hopefully that will end the Duke For National Champions talk) and UVa absolutely destroyed the Twerps.
But whose the man? I am. From the first game I have been saying that Shaun Draughn needed to be running the ball and it only took 6 games for Shoop and Butchy to figure that out. I'd love say 2% of Butch's raise for that observation. Also, Ryan Houston should never see the ball again. They need to either convert him to a fullback or a DE or LB. The kid looks like he's running with a piano on his back; i blame the coaches for that.
Uhhhhhh
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 00:19 — JohnANice prediction, I seriously doubt it will come true.
the headline
Sat, 10/04/2008 - 22:54 — gvillegatrHeels blast UConn, match '07 win total
Love it!! the last knife in the back of UNC before they leave the rest of this state in the dust as far as football goes. Even my beloved Pirates have nothing to say about the football being played in CH!
Shocker
Sat, 10/04/2008 - 22:32 — gvillegatrmy guess is UCant was overrated now. just like all of UNC wins.
you must be a dook fan,you
Sun, 10/05/2008 - 02:45 — Anonymous (not verified)you must be a dook fan,you people can`t stand success.
i see Justice was served
Sat, 10/04/2008 - 20:37 — gvillegatri see Justice was served before HT with the pick. what a load of crap on the late hit prior to the pick.
w/ 8 mins to go in the 2nd
Sat, 10/04/2008 - 20:11 — gvillegatrw/ 8 mins to go in the 2nd qtr and UNC "threw" the int ... BS! why was there not a review!!
UNC will still win, but they should have reviewed it.