UNC's Johnny White (34) splits the Clemson defense to score the Tar Heels' first touchdown of the game. ROBERT WILLETT - rwillett@newsobserver.com
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina lost another player to an NCAA investigation on Saturday.
As long as the Tar Heels don't lose Johnny White, they'll be alright.
White rushed for two touchdowns and set up the third in UNC's unconventional 21-16 win over Clemson at Kenan Stadium.
It's the third straight win for the Tar Heels (3-2, 1-1 ACC), first in ACC play, after an 0-2 start.
The Heels sidelined another player, fullback Devon Ramsey, in the ongoing NCAA investigation — bringing the missing total to 11 — but they didn't need any extra help in their first meeting with Clemson since 2006.
UNC was out-gained by the Tigers (2-3, 0-2 ACC) and had more fourth-down conversions than third-down ones, but Clemson committed nine penalties and couldn't stop White.
White rushed for two touchdowns, 4 and 26 yards, and set up UNC's third touchdown with a 51-yard catch. The senior running back finished with 179 total yards, leading UNC in both rushing (22 carries, for 89 yards) and receiving (six catches, 90 yards).
The UNC defense, aided by the return of safety Deunta Williams from a four-game suspension, grounded Clemson's running game and made the plays it had to, when it had to.
The Tigers trailed 14-10 and had the ball on UNC's 29. Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker, who was indecisive all game, air-mailed a pass through the back of the end zone on third down.
On fourth down, Chandler Catanzaro, who made a 48-yarder earlier, missed from 42 yards.
UNC took over on its own 24-yard line and compiled a game-winning drive, capped by White's 26-yard touchdown, but sustained by two Clemson penalties, including one which wiped out an interception.
Clemson corner Marcus Gilchrist intercepted UNC quarterback T.J. Yates but Xavier Brewer held Jheranie Boyd on the play. Clemson forced another third down but Byron Maxwell held Shaun Draughn on a passing route.
On the same, wild drive, UNC converted twice on fourth-down. Yates had a successful sneak on fourth-and-1 from Clemson's 38 and Yates found White for a 12-yard pass on fourth-and-3 from Clemson's 30-yard line.
White ended any need for dramatic conversions with a 26-yard burst off the left side for a 21-10 advantage with 7:03 left in the game.
Clemson got one score back, a 74-yard strike from Parker to Jaron Brown — after Williams gambled on the interception — but it wasn't enough.
UNC got the ball back with 5:45 left and milked all but 13 seconds off the clock. Clemson's last-gasp wasn't even close and UNC officially improved to 3-2.
Comments
I am just surprised that
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 22:15 — unc098I am just surprised that Renner has been nonexistent this season. He has only been in on one down series against ECU I believe. I think he might have been effective against Clemson because of his mobility. Your right to state that the game was on the line and not having any game experience may have been a disaster. The kid has got to get some snaps though.
I really hope we can crush Virginia. I am so tired of losing to these guys. It would be great to head into Miami 4-2 with Burney back. Hopefully others will join him.
Overall this team is showing outstanding character.
GT
Mon, 10/11/2010 - 12:08 — SurferI don't recall Bryn being in against ECU, but he was in for one down in the GT game. I would like to see him in, but I still think that T.J. can get the job done. Renner will have plenty of opportunities in the future. T.J. made some mistakes again CU, but he made some awesome plays that were key in the win, as well. Two key passes to Johnny White, come to mind and I am not talking about the 50 some yarder, although that was nice too.
Surfer...Your right. It
Mon, 10/11/2010 - 15:13 — unc098Surfer...Your right. It was the end of the game and TJ went out for one play and Renner threw that awful pass into triple coverage.I thought it was GT originally, then got confused (not the first time) and said ECU.
Agreed
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 22:41 — Heels20It's tough being 3-2 when you know we're just a couple careless errors away from 5-0, but you can't help but be proud of these guys. This team has demonstrated tremendous perseverance and will be better off in the long run because of it. Guys like Kareem Martin and Tre Boston are gaining invaluable experience and older guys such as Bruce and Yates are setting an excellent example for some of the players who are new to the program. Despite the suspensions, watching this team has been a privilege and I'm anxious to see how the rest of the season goes.
Glad to see
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 11:18 — Heels20that we can still win games even when not at our best. TJ could have played much better, but Johnny White carried this offense in the fourth quarter. Congrats to the Heels, and here's to hoping that next weekend we can prove that curses don't exist.
Hey if State can get the BC
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 13:00 — unc098Hey if State can get the BC monkey off their back maybe we could do the same in Charlottesville.
Does anyone else have a problem with the way Shoop called this game? Our offense was rendered one dimensional against a very good front by Clemson. It wasn't until the 4th qtr that they returned to running Johnny White after having very good results doing so in the first qtr. Of course they may have been protecting his ankle and saving him until the end. Shoop just loves to go for the home run and its seems like every possession TJ went deep. He was really off and Shoop just kept calling pass, pass, pass....Very unimaginative.
Shoop
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 14:29 — Heels20will continue to hold this offense back until we hire a new coordinator. He's conservative at the wrong times and aggressive at the wrong times. The offense will have to adjust to a QB change next season anyway, so I wouldn't very much mind getting rid of him after this year.
Thank you 20..my sentiments
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 14:43 — unc098Thank you 20..my sentiments exactly...Its almost schizophrenic they way he changes directions in the middle of a game and them pedantically plods along. And why the heck aren't we playing Renner ??????? We have two capable QBs. USE them!!!
Also
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 14:58 — Heels20One thing I've noticed is that this is the first time I've ever seen a fifth year senior QB (also a four year starter) be so restricted by his coaches. They gave him the green light on a couple of deep balls yesterday, but I think the goal of that was really just to keep the defense honest so that White could keep picking up yards on the ground. Swinney's goal was to stop our running backs and force us to be one-dimensional, but throwing the deep ball really stretched the defense and allowed us to utilize the running game and short passing game.
Just to add to it
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 14:56 — Heels20Why'd we stop running the ball in the fourth quarter against GT? Johnny White was on fire and we totally neglected the run at the end of the game. Horrible game management.
I agree that we should have played Renner against ECU, but I'm not sure if it'd be good to play him right now. I believe that he's capable, but after seeing what happened in '06 with the Sexton/Daly two-QB system (which may only be minimally comparable considering how bad they were at the time), I'd be very hesitant to throw Renner into a game when it's on the line.
Best case scenario: We'll be up on UVA by 30 at the half and Renner can be eased into the position.
Well, Carolina got one that
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 03:26 — mad_maxWell, Carolina got one that I thought they would lose. So, props to them, and for the fan support...I think home field was a huge factor in this game. That being said...
I'm still not buying into the TJ Yates hype. He can thank the refs for not having any interceptions in this one. Didn't see all of this game, but I did see UNC's drive that put them up 21-10. Very fortunate that this drive was held alive by multiple 3rd/4th down penalties on Clemson. The interception that was wiped away by that umm, "pass interference", was crucial lol. Nevertheless, UNC comes away with the win to go to 3-2 (or 1-4 perhaps, when it's all said and done).
I never like to see the Heels win, but hey, handing a loss to Clemson does kinda help my Wolfpack, so I can't be too upset :)
Gee....Thanks Max....What do
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 09:05 — unc098Gee....Thanks Max....What do you or the 'Pack' have to gain by all this negativity. We also had some calls go against us as well. UNC was the more discipined team on the field and I have to give credit to the coaches for that.TJ had a tough game against a very solid defense. I believe the Pack has to go to Death Valley this season at some point.
BTW, congratulations to the Pack for returning to form against a very weak BC team. They played well and deserved to win. I would have pulled Wilson out a little sooner to avoid injury myself. I wish the Pack luck against ECU. Your secondary has matured by leaps and bounds but is still susceptible to the long play but it won't matter because the Pack will probably score over 60 points in this game.
Maybe I won the score this week. My prediction was 48-17. Apologies to JDP. I misstated my score in a previous post. Really took it on the chin this week. Missed ECU, UNC, Wake, and I think one other.
This weeks prediction State: 63- ECU-28
No worries
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 10:06 — JPDOhioI am just happy there is at least one guy out there that is worse than me at picking winners.
Congrats to UNC for hanging on to win. Clemson looks somewhat disfunctional to me this year, but that doesn't take away from the Tar Heels win. No team in the ACC (and probably across the country) has to deal with more distractions than UNC.
Like yourself I listened to
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 23:52 — unc098Like yourself I listened to the game instead of watching. Had work to do.
TJ reverted to his old self today and I was itching and hoping Renner would make an appearance. I also felt the play calling was atrocious which isn't TJs fault.
White is just a gutsy player. Injuries are starting to pile up and I am worried that White, Hicks, and Carter may not be available next week.
I am so proud of this team for playing tough and gutting out a difficult game.
Clemson penalized themselves to death in this one.
Heels stayed disciplined and committed very few penalties and no turnovers.
A defensive game for sure. Our defense is really coming on and is becoming a force.
Really the D won this game by not caving in despite being on the field way to long.
hats off to the kids for continued resiliency against a difficult opponent.
I listened to most of this game....
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 20:46 — UNC1998on the radio at work. I started watching on TV when I got home, and started to think yellow was one the teams' official colors. Yates made few throws, but missed some very badly. This will go down as another "managed the game". I say 3-2 sounds a lot better than 0-5. This team is getting better on defense, and getting more confident overall. Each week will give a new challenge, and Davis and staff seem to be doing a good job of keeping the team focused.
What about this crazy rumor of the BOG ordering Thorpe to fire Davis? Which one of you started this? lol!! Well, I'm still standing firm that Davis goes nowhere. Thorpe's made few nerdy statements, and his tendency to just apologize over and over is starting to make it seem like he lacks man parts. Other than that, I'm happy this week. :)
1998
Sat, 10/09/2010 - 23:48 — gvillegatrLet's not give Thorp the ammo he needs to fire Coach Davis by claiming Thorp has no msn parts.
I promise he might not read this, but someone he knows does!
Keep on truckin' Heels! 11/20 ....
Butch Davis...
Sun, 10/10/2010 - 19:47 — UNC1998isn't going anywhere. I think Thorpe is a great chemist, and will grow into a great chancellor. Certainly this isn't what anyone would wish on a relatively new chancellor, but it's here. History will look back at how he handled it. I think Davis and Baddour have said and done all the right things in the aftermath. Thorpe is coming at it from a different angle, for sure. His constant apologies are just not needed.